L.A. Critics Name ‘Anomalisa’ Best Animated Film of 2015, While Boston Critics Call It A Tie Between ‘Anomalisa’ and ‘Inside Out’

Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman’s stop motion drama Anomalisa is making its presence felt during awards season. This afternoon the Los Angeles Film Critics Association named Anomalisa the best animated film of the year, with the runner-up animation distinction going to Pixar’s Inside Out.

The Starburns Industries-produced Anomalisa received two additional honors from the L.A. critics: best music score, an award that composer Carter Burwell shared with himself for his score of Carol, and runner-up award for best screenplay, which went to Charlie Kaufman.

Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, the Boston Society of Film Critics couldn’t decide which animated film they liked the most, and decided to call it a tie between Anomalisa and Inside Out. Aardman’s Shaun the Sheep Movie was fêted as the runner-up in their animation category.

Anomalisa’s multitude of honors will likely have little impact on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which has awarded the best animated feature Oscar to a Walt Disney Company-produced film for seven out of the last eight years.

Paramount will release Anomalisa on December 30 in New York and Los Angeles, before rolling out the film nationwide in early-2016.