Maltin, Paulsen & Lamarche To Share Hosting Honors At 40th Annie Awards -- Saturday, Feb. 2

BURBANK, Calif., Jan. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Why have just one when you can have four!  Former Annie Awards host and movie reviewer Leonard Maltin and voice actors Rob Paulsen & Maurice Lamarche will share hosting duties, along with a special appearance by long time Annies presenter-favorite, actor and animation industry professional Seth Green at this year's 40^th Annual Annie Awards set for Saturday, February 2 at UCLA's Royce Hall. Celebrating the best in animation, this annual black-tie evening will begin with a pre-reception at 5 p.m. followed by the Annie Awards ceremony at 7 p.m. and an after-party celebration immediately following the ceremony.  All events will be held at Royce Hall.

"We are very excited to have our hosts share in the 40^th celebration of the Annies and know they will bring great energy and excitement to this year's ceremony,'' says ASIFA-Hollywood President Frank Gladstone.  Joined on stage by a lively mix of animation luminaries, celebrity presenters and comedic talent including animation legend June Foray are Jessica Walter, James Patrick Stuart,  Kristen Schaal, Kevin Shinick, Mae Whitman, Sean Astin, Greg Cipes, Jason Biggs, Jessica DiCicco, Lucas Grabeel, Darren Criss, Joey Richter, Jim Cummings, Diedrich Bader, Atticus Shaffer, Tucker Albrizzi, Jamie Bolio, Kevin Michael Richardson, Loretta Devine, Alan Tudyk, Mo Collins, Max Charles, Jon Olsen, Fred Tatashiore, Sam Witmer, Matt Lanter and Tony Anselmo.

This year's Winsor McCay recipients are Terry Gilliam, Oscar Grillo and Mark Henn.  The Winsor McCay Award 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. The June Foray award will be presented to Howard Green and the Ub Iwerks Award will be presented to Toon Boom Animation. 

VIP Tickets are sold out for this event, but General Admission tickets ($30) for the ceremony only can be purchased directly through the UCLA Ticket Box office at 310.825.2101 or online at www.uclalive.org or www.ticketmaster.com. 

For up-to-the minute details on the 40th Annual Annie Awards, please visit www.annieawards.org.  For Media inquiries and credentials, please contact Gretchen Houser, Houser PR at [email protected].  The 40^th Annual Annie Awards will stream live again this year.  Follow us the evening of the event at: http://annieawards.org/watch-it-live/.

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 three 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