Disney's megahit Zootopia led this morning's Annie Award nominations with 11 nods, cementing its frontrunner status in a very competitive year for animated feature in the Oscar race. The Annies are the industry awards for animation, so that's a good sign for it, and right behind it with 10 nods was Kubo and the Two Strings. Down the line, Moana and The Red Turtle came in with six each, while My Life as a Zucchini and Finding Dory both got three. I say it's a competitive year, and yet the Academy as a whole tends to just vote for the biggest hit of either Disney or Pixar, which to me reveals how little the members outside the animation branch really care about the category. I think Zootopia's probably got it, but there's two Disney hits this year with good reviews, so Moana still has a chance as well (especially because it's the most recent one and the box office is also huge for it). As for the other nominees in the Oscar race, I think it will be Kubo, Zucchini and Red Turtle, with Dory getting snubbed due to its sequel status. The animation branch prefers to recognize different kinds of animation and foreign films, so even getting two Disney movies in there is kind of a feat, but I think they'll do it, with Pixar as the one getting ousted this year.
2016 ANNIE AWARD NOMINATIONS
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Finding Dory,” Pixar Animation Studios
“Kubo and the Two Strings,” Laika
“Kung Fu Panda 3,” DreamWorks Animation
“Moana,” Walt Disney Animation
“Zootopia,” Walt Disney Animation
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE- INDEPENDENT
“Long Way North”
“Miss Hokusai”
“My Life as a Zucchini”
“The Red Turtle”
“Your Name”
ANIMATED EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
“Kubo and the Two Strings”
“Kung Fu Panda 3”
“Moana”
“The Red Turtle”
“Zootopia”
ANIMATED EFFECTS IN LIVE ACTION
“Deepwater Horizon,”
“Doctor Strange,”
“Ghostbusters,”
“The BFG,”
“Warcraft”
CHARACTER ANIMATION IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
“Finding Dory,” Characters: All Characters
“Kubo and the Two Strings” Characters: Multiple
“Kung Fu Panda 3,” Characters: Various
“Zootopia,” Charactes: Judy Hopps, Stu Hopps, Bonnie Hopps, Chief Bogo, Nick Wilde
“Zootopia,” Characters: Mr. Big, Koslov, Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, Flash
CHARACTER ANIMATION IN LIVE ACTION
“Captain America: Civil War”
“Games of Thrones”
“The Jungle Book”
“The Jungle Book”
“Warcraft”
CHARACTER DESIGN
“Kubo and the Two Strings,” Characters: Multiple
“Moana,” Characters: Moana, Maui, Pua, Heihei, Tamatoa, Kakamora, Lalotai Characters (Realm of Monsters)
“The Secret Life of Pets,” Character: All
“Trolls,” Characters: Trolls; Characters: Bergens
“Zootopia,” Characters: Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps, Flash, Chief Bogo, Clawhauser, Mr. Big, Fru Fru, Koslov, Bellwether, Yax, Finnick, Doug, Mr. and Mrs. Otterton, Duke Weaselton, Misc. Characters
DIRECTING
“Kubo and the Two Strings,” Director: Travis Knight
“My Life as a Zucchini,” Director: Claude Barras
“The Red Turtle,” Director: Michael Dudok de Wit
“Your Name.,” Director: Makoto Shinkai
“Zootopia,” Director: Byron Howard; Director: Rich Moore
MUSIC
“Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders,” Composer: Kristopher Carter; Composer: Lolita Ritmanis; Composer: Michael McCuistion
“Sing,” Composer: Joby Talbot
“The Little Prince,” Composer: Hans Zimmer; Composer: Richard Harvey; Composer/Lyricist: Camille
“The Red Turtle,” Composer: Laurent Perez del Mar
“The Secret Life of Pets,” Composer: Alexandre Desplat
PRODUCTION DESIGN
“Kubo and the Two Strings"
“Kung Fu Panda 3"
“The Little Prince"
“Trolls"
“Zootopia"
STORYBOARDING
“Finding Dory"
“Kubo and the Two Strings"
“Moana"
“Trolls"
“Zootopia"
VOICE ACTING
“Kubo and the Two Strings,” Art Parkinson as Kubo
“Moana,” Auli’i Cravalho as Moana
“Storks,” Katie Crown as Tulip
“Trolls,” Zooey Deschanel as Bridget
“Zootopia,” Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde
WRITING
“Kubo and the Two Strings”
“My Life as a Zucchini”
“The Red Turtle"
“Zootopia"
EDITORIAL
“April and the Extraordinary World"
“Kubo and the Two Strings"
“Moana"
“Sausage Party"
“Zootopia"
