‘Pinocchio,’ ‘Turning Red,’ ‘ The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse’ Lead Annie Award Nominations

Nominations were announced today for ASIFA-Hollywood’s Annie Awards, which are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.

Netflix was the big winner once again this year, earning 50 nominations from the Annies’ 32 competitive categories across film and tv, one less than last year. Disney companies came in at second with 23 nominations and Dreamworks was third with 14.

No feature film scored more nominations than Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio at nine, but Pixar’s Turning Red came close at seven, followed by Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and The Sea Beast at six. Dreamworks tried something new aesthetically in 2022 with The Bad Guys and was rewarded with five nominations for its efforts. 2022’s biggest commercial success, and arguably the film with the largest cultural impact, Minions: The Rise of Gru, was nominated four times (if you count its “The Office” animated short), tied with indie darling Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.

The five films nominated for best feature were Turning Red, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Sea Beast, and Wendell & Wild. Netflix scoring three nominations in the best feature category is a real coup for the company, which only got one last year – although it did eventually win the category with its acquisition The Mitchells vs. The Machines, produced by Sony Pictures Animation.

Among tv productions, Apple’s short film acquisition The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse was the most recognized title with seven nominations, followed by Netflix’s The House and Oni: Thunder God’s Tale at six and Love, Death + Robots at five.

Two significant changes were made to the awards categories this year: the Best TV/Media – General Audience award has been redefined as Best TV/Media – Mature, and a new award was added, Best TV/Media – Limited Series.

This year’s anniversary ceremony will be held on February 25 at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California.

The 50th Annie Awards will feature 37 categories, including the honorary awards, listed below:

Best Feature

Turning Red
Pixar Animation Studios

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Netflix, Double Dare You!, Shadowmachine in association with The Jim Henson Company

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Dreamworks Animation

The Sea Beast
Netflix

Wendell & Wild
Netflix, Monkeypaw, Gotham Group Production

Best Indie Feature

Charlotte
January Films, Ltd., Balthazar Productions, and Walking the Dog

Inu-Oh
Science Saru

Little Nicholas, Happy As Can Be
On Classics (Mediawan) / Bidibul Productions

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Marcel the Movie LLC

My Father’s Dragon
Cartoon Saloon for Netflix

Best Special Production

Prehistoric Planet
BBC Studios in association with Apple

Superworm
Magic Light Pictures

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
NoneMore Productions, Bad Robot Productions

The House
Nexus Studios for Netflix

The Sandman
Warner Bros. Television for Netflix

Best Short Subject

Amok
Boddah

Black Slide
The Hive Studio, FlipBook Studio

Ice Merchants
Cola Animation, Wild Stream

Love, Dad
13ka, Famu, nutprodukcia

The Flying Sailor
National Film Board of Canada

Best Sponsored

Can’t Negotiate the Melting Point of Ice
Nomint

Minions: The Rise of Gru / The Office
Illumination

Save Ralph
Arch Model Studio

Ted Lasso: The Missing Christmas Mustache
Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television for Apple

Today’s Holiday Moments are Tomorrow’s Memories
Hornet

Best TV/Media – Preschool

Elinor Wonders Why
Episode: “Rest is Best”
Shoe Ink. LLC

Gabby’s Dollhouse
Episode: “Cakey’s Cupcake Cousins”
Dreamworks Animation

Rise Up, Sing Out
Episode: “Name Tag”
Disney TV Animation

Spirit Rangers
Episode: “Thunder Mountain”
Laughing Wild, Netflix

The Tiny Chef Show
Episode: “Pancakes”
Tiny Chef Productions LLC, Imagine Entertainment

Best TV/Media – Children

Abominable and the Invisible City
Episode: “Everest Returns”
Dreamworks Animation

Big Nate
Episode: “The Legend of the Gunting”
Nickelodeon Animation

Moominvalley
Episode: “Lonely Mountain”
Gutsy Animations

The Owl House
Episode: “King’s Tide”
Disney TV Animation

We Baby Bears
Episode: “The Real Crayon”
Cartoon Network Studios

Best TV/Media – Mature

Bob’s Burgers
Episode: “Some Like it Bot Part 1: Eighth Grade Runner”
20th Television, Bento Box Entertainment

Harley Quinn
Episode: “Batman Begins Forever”
Warner Bros. Animation

Rick and Morty
Episode: “Night Family”
Rick and Morty LLC

The Simpsons – Treehouse of Horror XXXIII
Episode: “Treehouse of Horror XXXIII”
Gracie Films in Association with 20th Television Animation

Tuca & Bertie
Episode: “The Pain Garden”
The Tornante Company

Best TV/Media – Limited Series

BAYMAX!
Episode: “Sofia”
Walt Disney Animation Studios

El Deafo
Episode: “Everybody Sounds So Weird”
Lighthouse Studios in association with Apple

HouseBroken
Episode: “Who’s Having A Merry Trashmas?”
Kapital Entertainment, FOX Entertainment

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale
Episode: “The Demon Moon Rises”
Netflix, Tonko House

Undone
Episode: “Rectify”
Tornante Company, Amazon Studios

Best Student Film

Au revoir Jérôme!
Directors: Adam Sillard, Gabrielle Selnet, Chloé Farr
School: Gobelins, l’école de l’image

Birdsong
Director: Michelle Cheng; Producer: Michelle Cheng
School; California Institute of the Arts

Synchronie Passagère
Director: Julia Le Bras-Juarez
School: Supinfocom Rubika

The Most Boring Granny in the Whole World
Director: Damaris Zielke; Producer: Jiayan Chen
School: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH

The Soloists
Director: Mehrnaz Abdollahinia, Feben Elias Woldehawariat, Razahk Issaka, Celeste Jamneck, Yi Liu
School: Gobelins, l’école de l’image

Best FX – TV/Media

Cars on the Road
Episode: “Road Rumblers”
Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios
Vfx Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios; Christopher Foreman, Elana Lederman, John Lockwood, Jae Jun Yi, Justin Ritter

Love, Death + Robots
Episode: “Bad Traveling”
Production Company: Blur Studio for Netflix
Vfx Production Company: Blur Studio; Kirby Miller, Igor Zanic, Joseph H. Coleman, Steven Dupuy, Josh Schwartz

Prehistoric Planet
Episode: “Coasts”
Production Company: BBC Studios in association with Apple
Vfx Production Company: MPC

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Production Company: NoneMore Productions, Bad Robot Productions
Vfx Production Company: NoneMore Productions; Peter Baynton, Raymond Pang, Martial Coulon

The House
Production Company: Nexus Studios for Netflix
Vfx Production Company: Nexus Studios; Germán Díez, Álvaro Alonso Lomba, Hugo Vieites Caamaño

Best FX – Feature

Avatar: The Way of Water
Production Company: 20th Century Studios, Disney Studios
Vfx Production Company: Wētā FX; Johnathan M. Nixon, David Moraton, Nicholas Illingworth, David Caeiro Cebrian, Alex Nowotny

Lightyear
Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios
Vfx Production Company: Pixar; Carl Kaphan, Cody Harrington, Hope Schroers, Jon Barry, Nate Skeen

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Production Company: Netflix, Double Dare You!, Shadowmachine in association with The Jim Henson Company
Vfx Production Company: MPC; Aaron Weintraub, Warren Lawtey, Alireza Malmiri, Baptiste Malbranque, Mikhail Donchenko

Minions: The Rise of Gru
Production Company: Illumination
Vfx Production Company: Illumination; Frank Baradat, Simon Pate, Milan Voukassovitch, Milo Riccarand

The Sea Beast
Production Company: Netflix
Vfx Production Company: Sony Pictures Imageworks; Spencer Lueders, Dmitriy Kolesnik, Kiel Gnebba, Oleksandr (Alex) Loboda , Jeremy Hoey

Best Character Animation – TV/Media

Entergalactic
Aziz Kocanagullari

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale
Episode: “The Mighty Storm Gods”
Toshihiro Nakamura

StoryBots: Answer Time
Episode: “Taste”
Henrique Baron

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Tim Watts

The House
Kecy Salangad

Best Character Animation – Feature

Turning Red
Teresa Falcone

Turning Red
Eric Anderson

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Tucker Barrie

The Bad Guys
Jorge Capote

The Bad Guys
Min Hong

Best Character Animation – Live Action

Avatar: The Way of Water
Daniel Barrett, Stuart Adcock, Todd Labonte, Douglas McHale, Stephen Cullingford

Beast
Alvise Avati, Chris McGaw, Bora Şahin, Krzysztof Boyoko, Laurent Benhamo

Finch
Simon Allen, Harinarayan Rajeev, Paul Nelson, Matthias Schoenegger

Jurassic World Dominion
Jance Rubinchik, Alexander Lee, Rich Bentley, Antoine Verney Carron, Sally Wilson

Peacemaker
Michael Cozens, Mark Smith, Kai-Hua Lan, Selene McLean, Richard John Moore

Best Character Animation – Video Game

Cuphead – The Delicious Last Course
Chad Moldenhauer, Hanna Abi-Hanna

God of War Ragnarök
NA NA

Horizon Forbidden West
Richard Oud, Jan-Erik Sjovall, Guerrilla Animation Team

Moss: Book II
Episode: “A single game”
Richard Lico

Potionomics
Emily Lattanavong , Anguel Bogoev

Best Character Design – TV/Media

Amphibia
Episode: “The Hardest Thing”
Joe Sparrow

Entergalactic
Meybis Ruiz Cruz

Love, Death + Robots
Episode: “Jibaro”
Alberto Mielgo

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale
Episode: “The Demon Moon Rises”
Rebecca Chan

Spirit Rangers
Episode: “Belly of the Beast”
Marie Delmas

Best Character Design – Feature

Luck
Massimiliano Narciso

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Jesús Alonso Iglesias

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie
Ida Hem

The Bad Guys
Taylor Krahenbuhl

Wendell & Wild
Pablo Lobato

Best Direction – TV/ Media

BAYMAX!
Episode: “Sofia”
Lissa Treiman

exception / エクセプション
Episode: “Misprint”
Yûzô Satô | サトウユーゾー

More Than I Want To Remember
Amy Bench, Maya Edelman

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale
Episode: 2The Demon Moon Rises”
Daisuke ” Dice” Tsutsumi

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Peter Baynton, Charlie Mackesy

Best Direction – Feature

Turning Red
Domee Shi

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Guillermo Del Toro, Mark Gustafson

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Dean Fleischer Camp, Kirsten Lepore, Stephen Chiodo

My Father’s Dragon
Nora Twomey

Wendell & Wild
Henry Selick

Best Music – TV/ Media

Love, Death + Robots
Episode: “The Very Pulse of the Machine”
Rob Cairns

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale
Episode: “Onari’s Kushi Power”
Zach Johnston, Matteo Roberts

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Isobel Waller-Bridge, Charlie Mackesy

The Cuphead Show!
Episode: “Carn-Evil”
Ego Plum

The House
Gustavo Santaolalla

Best Music – Feature

Turning Red
Ludwig Göransson, Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Alexandre Desplat, Roeban Katz, Guillermo del Toro, Patrick McHale

Mad God
Dan Wool

The Bad Guys
Daniel Pemberton

The Sea Beast
Mark Mancia, Nell Benjamin, Laurence O’Keefe

Best Production Design – TV/Media

Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal
Episode: “Echoes of Eternity”
Scott Wills

Mall Stories – Atilla the Grilla
Jasmin Lai, Lauren Zurcher, Junyi Wu

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale
Episode: “The Demon Moon Rises”
Robert Kondo, Rachel Tiep-Daniels, Lia Tin, Yohei Hashizume, Masa Inada

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Mike McCain

The House
Niklas Nilsson, Alexandra Walker

Best Production Design – Feature

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Curt Enderle, Guy Davis

Mad God
Phil Tippett

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Nate Wragg, Joseph Feinsilver, Claire Keane, Wayne Tsay, Naveen Selvanathan

The Bad Guys
Luc Desmarchelier, Floriane Marchix

The Sea Beast
Matthias Lechner, Jung Woonyoung

Best Storyboarding – TV/Media

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Episode: “Let You Down”
Yoshiyuki Kaneko

Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight
Episode: “The Knight’s Code”
Grace Liu

Looney Tunes Cartoons
Episode: “Hex Appeal”
Mike Ruocco

Love, Death + Robots
Episode: “The Very Pulse of the Machine”
Emily Dean

The Cuphead Show!
Episode: “A Very Devil Christmas”
Karl Hadrika

Best Storyboarding – Feature

Minions: The Rise of Gru
Nima Azarba

Minions: The Rise of Gru
Dave Feiss

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Anthony Holden

Strange World
Jeff Snow

Strange World
Javier Ledesma Barbolla

Best Voice Acting – TV/Media

Looney Tunes Cartoons
Episode: “Hex Appeal”
Candi Milo (Witch Hazel)

StoryBots: Answer Time
Episode: “Glue”
Fred Tatsciore (Bang)

Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls Mayhem in the Multiverse
Episode: “Full Movie”
Tara Strong (Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Raven)

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
Episode: “New Kids On The Block”
Karen Malina White (Dijonay Jones)

Zootopia+
Episode: “The Godfather of the Bride”
Maurice LaMarche (Mr. Big)

Best Voice Acting – Feature

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
David Bradley

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Gregory Mann

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Jenny Slate

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Wagner Moura

The Sea Beast
Zaris-Angel Hator

Best Writing – TV/ Media

BAYMAX!
Episode: “Sofia”
Cirocco Dunlap

Big Nate
“The Legend of the Gunting”
Mitch Watson, Emily Brundige, Ben Lapides, Sarah Allan

Love, Death + Robots
Episode: “Bad Traveling”
Andrew Kevin Walker

The House
Enda Walsh

Tuca & Bertie
Episode: “The Pain Garden”
Lisa Hanawalt

Best Writing – Feature

Turning Red
Domee Shi, Julia Cho

Eternal Spring (長春)
Jason Loftus

Inu-Oh
Akiko Nogi

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Dean Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate, Nick Paley, Elisabeth Holm

Best Editorial – TV/ Media

Amphibia
Episode: “All In”
Andrew Sorcini, Yoonah Yim, Jennifer Calbi, Julie Anne Lau, Louis Russell

Green Eggs and Ham
Episode: “The Sam Who Came In From The Cold”
Margaret Hou

Karma’s World
Episode: “Keys, The Inventor”
Damien Dunne, Ultan Murphy, Emma O’Brien, Fred O’Connor, Aiden McKenna

Star Trek: Lower Decks
Episode: “The Stars At Night”
Andy Maxwell, Zach Lamplugh, Brandon Brocker, Paul Mazzotta

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Daniel Budin

Best Editorial – Feature

Lightyear
Pixar

Turning Red
Pixar

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Netflix, Double Dare You!, Shadowmachine in association with The Jim Henson Company

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Dreamworks Animation

The Sea Beast
Netflix

Juried Awards

Winsor McCay (lifetime achievement)
Pete Docter, Evelyn Lambart, Craig McCracken

June Foray Award (significant and benevolent or charitable impact)
Mindy Johnson

Ub Iwerks Award (technical advancement)
The Visual Effects Reference Platform

Certificate of Merit (service to the art and industry)
John Omohundro