Kids and family content swept the 48th annual Annie Awards, with Pixar’s Soul (pictured) picking up seven film category wins for Best Feature, Best Character Animation, Best Music, Best Storyboarding, Best Writing, Best FX and Best Editorial.
Cartoon Saloon’s Wolfwalkers went home with five Annies of its own for Best Independent Feature, Best Character Design, Best Direction, Best Production Design and Best Voice Acting. And Silvergate Media’s Hilda was also a multi-winner in the TV/Media categories, coming out on top in Best TV/Media—Children, Best Character Animation and Best Editorial.
Epic Games won the Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement with its Unreal Engine, and documentary film Howard (Stone Circle Pictures) took home a Special Achievement Award. Juried prizes included the Winsor McCay Awards, which were presented to animator Willie Ito, designer Sue Nichols (posthumously) and animator/director Bruce Smith; and the June Foray Award, which went to animator/art director Daisuke Tsutsumi.
Last year, the Annie Awards adjusted its rules and deadlines to account for disruptions caused by COVID-19. Usually held in January, the event was rescheduled to take place this month, and the Best Feature and Best Feature—Independent categories accepted films released both theatrically and digitally. This year’s awards saw a record number of submissions.
Here is a complete list of the Annie Award 2021 winners:
Best Feature: Soul (Pixar Animation Studios)
Best Indie Feature: Wolfwalkers (Cartoon Saloon/Melusine Productions for Apple/GKIDS)
Best Special Production: The Snail and the Whale (Magic Light Pictures)
Best Short Subject: Souvenir Souvenir (Blast Production)
Best Sponsored: There’s a Monster in my Kitchen (Cartoon Saloon, Mother)
Best TV/Media—Preschool: The Adventures of Paddington (Blue-Zoo Animation Studio and Nickelodeon Animation Studio)
Best TV/Media—Children: Hilda (Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix and Mercury Filmworks)
Best TV/Media—General Audience: Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal (Cartoon Network Studios)
Best Student Film: La Bestia (Gobelins, l’école de l’image)
Best FX for TV/Media: Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (DreamWorks Animation and CGCG)
Best FX for Feature: Soul (Pixar Animation Studios)
Best Character Animation—TV/Media: Hilda (Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix and Mercury Filmworks)
Best Character Animation—Feature: Soul (Pixar Animation Studios)
Best Character Animation—Live Action: The Mandalorian (Lucasfilm and Image Engine)
Best Character Animation—Video Game: Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games)
Best Character Design—TV/Media: Amphibia (Disney TV Animation)
Best Character Design—Feature: Wolfwalkers (Cartoon Saloon/Melusine Productions for Apple/GKIDS)
Best Direction—TV/Media: Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal (Cartoon Network Studios)
Best Direction—Feature: Wolfwalkers (Cartoon Saloon/Melusine Productions for Apple/GKIDS)
Best Music—TV/Media: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Lucasfilm Animation)
Best Music—Feature: Soul (Pixar Animation Studios)
Best Production Design—TV/Media: Shooom’s Odyssey (Picolo Pictures)
Best Production Design—Feature: Wolfwalkers (Cartoon Saloon/Melusine Productions for Apple/GKIDS)
Best Storyboarding—TV/Media: Looney Tunes Cartoons (Warner Bros. Animation)
Best Storyboarding—Feature: Soul (Pixar Animation Studios)
Best Voice Acting—TV/Media: Tales of Arcadia: Wizards (DreamWorks Animation)
Best Voice Acting—Feature: Wolfwalkers (Cartoon Saloon/Melusine Productions for Apple/GKIDS)
Best Writing—TV/Media: Big Mouth (Netflix)
Best Writing—Feature: Soul (Pixar Animation Studios)
Best Editorial—TV/Media: Hilda (Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix and Mercury Filmworks)
Best Editorial—Feature: Soul (Pixar Animation Studios)