Disney's 'Wreck-It Ralph' Wins Best Animated Feature At 40th Annual Annie Awards

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Disney's 'Wreck-It Ralph' won the Best Animated Feature honor at the 40^th Annual Annie Awards held Saturday, February 2 at UCLA's Royce Hall. This year's expanded list of categories topped 30, honoring many more nominees and team entries as in years past. New to the awards this year was the addition of the Best Student Film. A live streaming of the ceremony was made available again to animation enthusiasts as well as those who were unable to attend the event at www.annieawards.org/watch-it-live. A complete list of winners can be viewed at www.annieawards.org.

The Best Animated Special Production was awarded to "Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem" (Illumination Entertainment); Best Animated Short Subject to "Paperman" (Walt Disney Animation Studios); Best General Audience Animated TV Production for Preschool Children "Bubble Guppies 'A Tooth on the Looth'" (Nickelodeon Animation Studios); Best Animated Television Production for Children "Dragons: Riders of Berk 'How to Pick Your Dragon'" (DreamWorks Animation); Best General Audience Animated Television Production "Robot Chicken 'DC Comics Special'" (Stoopid Buddy Studios); Best Animated Video Game "Journey" (Sony Computer Entertainment America); and Best Student Film "Head Over Heels" (Timothy Reckart).

"What a great evening filled with a lot of fun and surprises," said ASIFA-Hollywood President Frank Gladstone. "A variety of individuals and studios participated and joined in celebrating the best in animation across project, studio and geographic boundaries."

Former Annie Awards host and movie reviewer Leonard Maltin and voice actors Rob Paulsen and Maurice Lamarche shared hosting duties, along with a special appearance by long time Annies presenter-favorite, actor and animation industry professional, Seth Green.

Honored with the Winsor McCay award were Terry Gilliam, Oscar Grillo and Mark Henn. The Winsor McCay stands as one of the highest honors given to an individual in the animation industry in recognition for career contributions to the art of animation.

Howard Green was honored with the June Foray award which is presented to an individual who has given significant and benevolent contributions to the art and industry of animation, and Toon Boom Animation was honor with the Ub Iwerks award created and given to individuals or companies for technical advancements that make a significant impact on the art or industry of animation.

Often a predictor of the annual Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, the Annie Awards honor overall excellence as well as individual achievement in a total of 30 categories ranging from best feature, production design, character animation, and effects animation to storyboarding, writing, music, editing and voice acting.  Entries submitted for consideration were from productions that originally aired, were exhibited in an animation festival or commercially released between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012.

ASIFA-Hollywood is the world's first and foremost professional organization dedicated to promoting the Art of Animation and celebrating the people who create it.

Today, ASIFA-Hollywood, the largest chapter of the international organization ASIFA, supports a range of animation activities and preservation efforts through its membership. Current initiatives include the Animation Archive, animation film preservation, special events, classes and screenings.

Created in 1972 by veteran voice talent June Foray, the Annie Awards have grown in scope and stature for the past four decades.  For information on ASIFA-Hollywood, please visit www.asifa-hollywood.org.  For information on the Annie Awards, please visit www.annieawards.org.

SOURCE ASIFA-Hollywood