Nominations Announced for the 38th Annual Annie Awards

BURBANK, Calif., Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, announces nominations today for the 38th Annual Annie Awards™ recognizing the year's best in the field of animation including best animated feature, television production, commercials, short subjects, video games and outstanding individual achievements. The 2010 nominations for Best Animated Features are: Despicable Me (Illumination Entertainment); How to Train Your Dragon (DreamWorks Animation); Tangled (Disney); The Illusionist (Django Films); Toy Story 3 (Disney/Pixar).

Nominations for this year's Best Short Subject include "Coyote Falls" (Warner Bros. Animation), "Day & Night" (Pixar), "Enrique Wrecks the World" (House of Chai), "The Cow Who Wanted To Be A Hamburger" (Plymptoons Studio) and "The Renter" (Jason Carpenter).  Best Animated Television Productions include "Futurama" (The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox), "Kung Fu Panda Holiday" (DreamWorks Animation), "Scared Shrekless" (DreamWorks Animation), "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (Lucasfilm Animation, Ltd.) and "The Simpsons" (Gracie Films).  

Nominations for Best Animated Television Production for Children are "SpongeBob SquarePants," and "Fanboy & Chum Chum"  (Nickelodeon), "Adventure Time" and "Regular Show" (Cartoon Network) and "Cloudbread" (GIMC).

"This has been an unprecedented year for animation, as the high quality of work represented by our nominees will attest," says ASIFA-Hollywood President Antran Manoogian.  "On behalf of ASIFA-Hollywood, we congratulate all of the nominees and their respective studios."  

For a complete listing of Annie Award nominations, tickets and event information, visit www.annieawards.org. Winners will be announced at the 38th Annual Annie Awards ceremony on Saturday, February 5, 2011, at UCLA's Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, CA.

Special juried awards honoring career achievement and exceptional contributions to animation will also be awarded: Winsor McCay Award – Brad Bird, Eric Goldberg and Matt Groening for career contributions to the art of animation; June Foray Award – Ross Iwamoto for significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation; Ub Iwerks Award – Autodesk for the development of digital entertainment creation tools that play an essential role in animated productions, films, video games and commercials worldwide; Special Achievement Annie Award – "Waking Sleeping Beauty" for the documentary about the turbulent and fruitful years of Disney Animation (1984-1994) when the studio went from outworn anachronism to Hollywood juggernaut, creating a string of influential films and ushering in a 'second golden age' of animation.

The Annie Awards' black-tie ceremony will feature a lively mix of animation luminaries, celebrity presenters and comedic talent to celebrate this year's best of the best.  A pre-reception begins at 5:00 pm with the awards ceremony following 7:00 pm.  A post-show celebration immediately follows at UCLA's Royce Hall.  More than 1,500 entertainment industry insiders are expected to attend the annual Annie Awards.

ASIFA-Hollywood is the largest of an international network of chapters and supports a range of animation initiatives through its membership. Current projects include an animation archive, library and museum, classes and screenings, and animated film preservation efforts.  The Industry's oldest and most prestigious award, The Annie Award is considered an important industry benchmark and an annual predictor of the Academy Award for best animated feature.  

SOURCE ASIFA-Hollywood