Film and television animators stepped into the spotlight April 16 at the 48th annual Annie Awards, which gave seven top honors to Disney and Pixar’s awards season darling “Soul.” Indie feature “Wolfwalkers,” from Apple, fared well with five wins, while TV series “Hilda” and “Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal” earned three and two prizes, respectively.
“Soul,” directed by Pete Docter and featuring the voices of Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey, has also claimed animation gold at the Golden Globes, BAFTA Film Awards, and PGA Awards. At the upcoming 93rd Academy Awards, both “Soul” and “Wolfwalkers” are in the mix for animated feature, alongside “Onward,” “Over the Moon,” and “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon.” The Annie Award winner for best feature has gone on to claim the industry’s top animated film prize 13 out of 19 times; last year’s Annie winner “Klaus” fell to “Toy Story 4” on Oscar night.
READ: Your Guide to the 2021 Oscar-Nominated Animated Films
The Annie Awards’ 31 competitive categories are voted upon by the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association. In addition, this year’s ceremony included juried awards: Willie Ito, Bruce Smith, and the late Sue Nichols became Winsor McCay Award recipients; the 2021 June Foray Award went to Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi, and the Special Achievement Award recognized 2018 documentary “Howard,” written and directed by Don Hahn. For a full list of Annie Award winners and more, visit their official site.
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