The Annies Give Cars the checkered flag
Disney-Pixar's Cars raced away with the top prize Sunday evening at the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA-Hollywood) presentation of its 34th Annual Annie Awards, which honors the year's outstanding achievement in animation across film, television, short subjects, and video games. Leading the pack of nominations was DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., which included 17 nominations for Flushed Away and Over the Hedge. Along with Over the Hedge, other nominations for the top spot were Happy Feet fromWarner Bros. (a division of Time Warner Inc.), and Monster House and Open Season, both from Sony Pictures (a division of Sony Corp).
Lightning McQueen and the residents of Radiator Springs from Disney-Pixar's animated feature film Cars.
Image copyright © Disney-Pixar
Cars also won an award for Randy Newman, who skipped the event to attend the Grammy Awards where he is also nominated. The Academy Award-winning Newman was honored in the Music in an Animated Feature Production category. DisneyToons was also honored in the Best Home Entertainment Production for Bambi II. Eartha Kitt won the award for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production category for her work in The Emperor's New School "Kuzclone" for Walt Disney Television.
A complete list of nominations and winners can be found on the ASIFA-Hollywood web site: www.annieawards.com.
Happy Feet's got legs
Meanwhile, on another side of the globe, the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) awards gave top Animated Feature Film honors to Happy Feet, which stamped out competition from both Cars and Flushed Away.
But wait, there’s more…
While the Cars soundtrack lost to Walk the Line in the Grammy Award’s Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media, Randy Newman took home his fifth Grammy—Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media—for “Our Town,” from Cars. A complete list of nominations and winners can be found on the Grammys web site: www.grammys.com.
Along with the Grammy’s, the Visual Effects Society is also handing out awards this evening. Cars, Monster House, and Happy Feet are all nominated for Outstanding Animated Characters in an Animated Motion Picture (Mater, House, and Mumble, respectively). The Visual Effects Society is the industry’s only organization of visual effects professionals. This is their fifth awards ceremony. A complete list of nominations and winners can be found on the VES web site: www.visualeffectssociety.com.
