‘Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio’ Wins Five Trophies Including the Top Prize at the 50th Annie Awards

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio topped the 50th Annie Awards for animation, collecting five prizes including best animation feature, direction (del Toro and Mark Gustafson), character animation, music and production design.

“Fuck,” said del Toro as he and Gustafson took the stage to accept the directing award. “I hope to stay with you as peers with this beautiful, beautiful craft we have.” He noted that he’s been directing for 30 years and “the most creative ideas-filled group I worked with is animation.” Del Toro added his hope is that the community pushes the medium for future generations and “change the way we are perceived as a medium, not for us, but for the people coming up.” He got laughs and cheers as he wrapped by exclaiming, “Can I say, I wanted an Annie so much!”

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Also Saturday at UCLA’s Royce Hall, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On won three awards, including best independent animated feature, voice acting (for Jenny Slate’s Marcel) and writing (for director Dean Fleischer Camp, Slate, Nick Paley and Elisabeth Holm). “It means so much to be accepted by this community,” said Slate as the team accepted the best independent animated film. She quipped, “And I agree with Guillermo del Toro, I also wanted an Annie really fucking bad.”

Dreamworks Animation’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish collected a pair of Annies, for storyboarding and editing.

The close-knit animation community marked the Annie Awards’ 50th year with in-person presenters including Scott Weinger and Linda Larkin, who voiced Aladdin and Jasmine in Disney’s 1992 Aladdin; and Bob Iger was a highlight, appearing onstage to present Pete Docter with a career award. Additionally, members of the community such as Glen Keane, Jodi Benson, Josh Gad and William Shatner sent congratulations via video to the awards show for its major milestone.

Pinocchio, Marcel the Shell and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish are all Oscar-nominated for best animated feature, along with Turning Red and The Sea Beast. In six of the last 10 years, the winner of the Annie for best animated feature went on to win the animated feature Oscar.

Academy-Award-nominated animated short The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse had a big night, collecting four Annies, for best special production, character animation, direction and editing.

VFX Oscar-nominated juggernaut Avatar: The Way of Water won a pair of Annie Awards, for best FX in a feature and character animation in a live-action feature.

During the ceremony, Winsor McCay Awards for career contributions to animation were presented to three-time Oscar winner and Pixar CCO Docter, TV series creator Craig McCracken and Evelyn Lambart (posthumously) from the National Film Board of Canada.

Presenting the award to Docter, Iger remembered when Disney decided to explore buying Pixar. They visited the studio and heard Docter’s pitch for Up — an old man, balloons. “I cannot say that pitch is what convinced us to buy Pixar,” he quipped, adding “but when Pete showed us his film, I was convinced that buying Pixar was so right [because of the] courage of young directors like Pete.”

Iger added that having Docter as Pixar’s chief creative was “a boon for Disney and fans all over the world.”

Accepting his award, Docter admitted that a career achievement award could be viewed as a career was coming to an end and quipped, “I can see why you’d think that, given that I’m now an executive.”

He thanked a list of collaborators at Disney and Pixar, such as Iger, Jim Morris, Jonas Rivera and John Lasseter.

To the animation community, Docter said, “If my work has inspired any of you in this room, I’m very glad and look forward to seeing what you do with this amazing medium.”

The June Foray Award for charitable impact was awarded to historian and educator Mindy Johnson. She urged inclusion, saying, “We have an opportunity to change, [by] giving not only women but [all] underrepresented artists [an opportunity to] get out of the shadows and get our voices heard.”

The Ub Iwerks Award for technical achievement went to the Visual Effects Reference Platform, initially developed by a team led by Nick Cannon and Francois Chardavoine to eliminate incompatibilities between digital content creation software. John Omohundro received a Certificate of Merit Award for service to the industry.

The Annie Awards are presented annually by ASIFA-Hollywood.

The complete list of winners follows:

BEST FEATURE 

Turning Red – Pixar Animation Studios

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company (WINNER)

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – DreamWorks Animation

The Sea Beast – Netflix

Wendell & Wild – Netflix Presents A Monkeypaw Production / A Gotham Group Production

BEST INDIE FEATURE 

Charlotte – January Films, Ltd., Balthazar Productions, and Walking the Dog

Inu-Oh – Science SARU

Little Nicholas, Happy As Can Be – On Classics (Mediawan) / Bidibul Productions

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On – Marcel the Movie LLC (WINNER)

My Father’s Dragon – Cartoon Saloon for Netflix

BEST SPECIAL PRODUCTION

Prehistoric Planet – BBC Studios in association with Apple

Superworm– Magic Light Pictures

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions (WINNER)

The House – Nexus Studios for Netflix

The Sandman – A Netflix Original Series / A Warner Bros. Television Production

BEST SHORT SUBJECT 

Amok – Boddah

Black Slide – The Hive Studio, in co-production with FlipBook Studio

Ice Merchants – COLA Animation production & Wild Stream (WINNER)

Love, Dad – 13ka, in co-production with FAMU & nutprodukcia

The Flying Sailor – National Film Board of Canada

BEST SPONSORED
Can’t Negotiate the Melting Point of Ice – NOMINT

Minions: The Rise of Gru / The Office – Illumination

Save Ralph – Arch Model Studio (WINNER)

Ted Lasso: The Missing Christmas Mustache – Apple presents a Doozer Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television

Today’s Holiday Moments are Tomorrow’s Memories – Hornet

BEST TV/MEDIA – PRESCHOOL
Elinor Wonders Why “Rest is Best” – SHOE Ink. LLC

Gabby’s Dollhouse “Cakey’s Cupcake Cousins” – DreamWorks Animation

Rise Up, Sing Out “Name Tag” – Disney TV Animation

Spirit Rangers “Thunder Mountain” – Laughing Wild / Netflix

The Tiny Chef Show “Pancakes” – Tiny Chef Productions LLC / Imagine Entertainment  (WINNER)

BEST TV/MEDIA – CHILDREN
Abominable and the Invisible City “Everest Returns” – DreamWorks Animation (WINNER)

Big Nate “The Legend of the Gunting” – Nickelodeon Animation

Moominvalley “Lonely Mountain” – Gutsy Animations

The Owl House “King’s Tide” – Disney TV Animation

We Baby Bears“The Real Crayon” – Cartoon Network Studios

BEST TV/MEDIA – MATURE 

Bob’s Burgers “Some Like it Bot Part 1: Eighth Grade Runner” – 20th Television/Bento Box Entertainment (WINNER)

Harley Quinn “Batman Begins Forever” – Warner Bros. Animation

Rick and Morty “Night Family” – Rick and Morty LLC

The Simpsons – Treehouse of Horror XXXIII – A Gracie Films Production in Association with 20th Television Animation

Tuca & Bertie “The Pain Garden” – The Tornante Company

BEST TV/MEDIA – LIMITED SERIES
BAYMAX! “Sofia” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

El Deafo “Everybody Sounds So Weird” – Lighthouse Studios in association with Apple

HouseBroken “Who’s Having A Merry Trashmas?” – Kapital Entertainment and FOX Entertainment

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale “The Demon Moon Rises” – A Netflix Series / A Tonko House Production (WINNER)

Undone “Rectify” – Tornante Company and Amazon Studios

BEST STUDENT FILM 

Au revoir Jérôme ! 

Student director: Adam Sillard, Gabrielle Selnet & Chloé Farr
School: Gobelins, l’école de l’image

Birdsong
Student director: Michelle Cheng
Student producer: Michelle Cheng
School: California Institute of the Arts

Synchronie Passagère

Student director: Julia Le Bras-Juarez
School: Supinfocom Rubika

The Most Boring Granny in the Whole World

Student director: Damaris Zielke

Student producer: Jiayan Chen
School: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH

The Soloists (WINNER)

Student director: Mehrnaz Abdollahinia, Feben Elias Woldehawariat, Razahk
Issaka, Celeste Jamneck & Yi Liu
School: Gobelins, l’école de l’image

BEST FX – TV/MEDIA
Cars on the Road “Road Rumblers” – Pixar Animation Studios

Love Death + Robots “Bad Traveling” – Blur Studio for Netflix (WINNER)

Prehistoric Planet “Coasts” – BBC Studios in association with Apple, MPC

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Episode: [special production] – NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions

The House Episode: [special production] – Nexus Studios for Netflix

BEST FX – FEATURE 

Avatar: The Way of Water – 20th Century Studios / Disney Studios, Wētā FX (WINNER)

Lightyear – Pixar Animation Studios

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company, MPC

Minions: The Rise of Gru – Illumination

The Sea Beast – Netflix, Sony Pictures Imageworks

BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – TV/MEDIA

Entergalactic Episode: [special production] – Netflix / Mad Solar / Khalabo Ink Society / Edelgang

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale Episode: [The Mighty Storm Gods] – A Netflix Series / A Tonko House Production

StoryBots: Answer Time Episode: [Taste] – JibJab Bros. Studios for Netflix

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Episode: [special production] -Tim Watts. NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions (WINNER)

The House Episode: [special production] – Nexus Studios for Netflix

BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – FEATURE 

Turning Red – Pixar Animation Studios: Teresa Falcone

Turning Red – Pixar Animation Studios: Eric Anderson

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company: Tucker Barrie (WINNER)

The Bad Guys – DreamWorks Animation: Jorge Capote

The Bad Guys – DreamWorks Animation: Min Hong

BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – LIVE ACTION 

Avatar: The Way of Water – 20th Century Studios / Disney Studios, Wētā FX: Daniel Barrett, Stuart Adcock, Todd Labonte, Douglas McHale, Stephen Cullingford (WINNER)

Beast – Universal Pictures, RVK Studios, Will Packer Productions, Framestore: Alvise Avati, Chris McGaw, Bora Şahin, Krzysztof Boyoko, Laurent Benhamo

Finch – Amblin Partners Apple Original Films, MPC:  Simon Allen, Harinarayan Rajeev, Paul Nelson, Matthias Schoenegger

Jurassic World Dominion – Amblin Entertainment & Universal Pictures, Industrial Light & Magic: Jance Rubinchik, Alexander Lee, Rich Bentley, Antoine Verney Carron, Sally
Wilson
Peacemaker -HBO Max, Wētā FX: Michael Cozens, Mark Smith, Kai-Hua Lan, Selene McLean, Richard John Moore

BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – VIDEO GAME
Cuphead – The Delicious Last Course – Studio MDHR: Chad Moldenhauer, Hanna Abi-Hanna (WINNER)

God of War Ragnarök – Santa Monica Studio

Horizon Forbidden West – Guerrilla: Richard Oud, Jan-Erik Sjovall, Guerrilla Animation Team

Moss: Book II – Polyarc: Richard Lico

Potionomics – Voracious Games: Emily Lattanavong , Anguel Bogoev

BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – TV/MEDIA 

Amphibia “The Hardest Thing” – Disney TV Animation: Joe Sparrow

Entergalactic Episode: [special production] – Netflix / Mad Solar / Khalabo Ink Society / Edelgang: Meybis Ruiz Cruz

Love Death + Robots “Jibaro” – Blur Studio for Netflix: Alberto Mielgo (WINNER)

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale “The Demon Moon Rises” – A Netflix Series / A Tonko House Production: Rebecca Chan

Spirit Rangers “Belly of the Beast” – Laughing Wild / Netflix: Marie Delmas

BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – FEATURE 

Luck – Skydance LLC: Massimiliano Narciso

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – DreamWorks Animation: Jesús Alonso Iglesias

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie – Nickelodeon Animation Studio: Ida Hem

The Bad Guys – DreamWorks Animation: Taylor Krahenbuhl (WINNER)

Wendell & Wild – Netflix Presents A Monkey Paw Production / A Gotham Group Production: Pablo Lobato

BEST DIRECTION – TV/MEDIA 

BAYMAX! “Sofia” – Walt Disney Animation Studios: Lissa Treiman

exception / エクセプション “Misprint” – Studio 5 / Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. for Netflix: Yûzô Satô | サトウユーゾー

More Than I Want To Remember Episode: [short subject] – Mugeni Film LLC, MTV Entertainment Studios: Amy Bench, Maya Edelman

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale “The Demon Moon Rises” – A Netflix Series / A Tonko House Production: Daisuke ” Dice” Tsutsumi

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Episode: [special production] – NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions: Peter Baynton, Charlie Mackesy (WINNER)

BEST DIRECTION – FEATURE 

Turning Red – Pixar Animation Studios: Domee Shi

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company: Guillermo Del Toro, Mark Gustafson (WINNER)

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On – Marcel the Movie LLC: Dean Fleischer Camp, Kirsten Lepore, Stephen Chiodo

My Father’s Dragon – Cartoon Saloon for Netflix: Nora Twomey

Wendell & Wild – Netflix Presents A Monkey Paw Production / A Gotham Group Production: Henry Selick

BEST MUSIC – TV/MEDIA 

Love Death + Robots “The Very Pulse of the Machine” – Blur Studio for Netflix: Rob Cairns

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale “Onari’s Kushi Power” – A Netflix Series / A Tonko House Production: Zach Johnston, Matteo Roberts

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Episode: [special production] – NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions: Isobel Waller-Bridge, Charlie Mackesy

The Cuphead Show! “Carn-Evil” – Netflix Animation: Ego Plum (WINNER)

The House Episode: [special production] – Nexus Studios for Netflix: Gustavo Santaolalla

BEST MUSIC – FEATURE 

Turning Red – Pixar Animation Studios: Ludwig Göransson, Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company: Alexandre Desplat, Roeban Katz, Guillermo del Toro, Patrick McHale (WINNER)

Mad God – Tippett Studio: Dan Wool

The Bad Guys – DreamWorks Animation: Daniel Pemberton

The Sea Beast – Netflix: Mark Mancia, Nell Benjamin, Laurence O’Keefe

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – TV/MEDIA 

Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal “Echoes of Eternity” – Adult Swim: Scott Wills

Mall Stories – Atilla the Grilla Episode: [short subject] – Chromosphere / Kikutowne: Jasmin Lai, Lauren Zurcher, Junyi Wu

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale “The Demon Moon Rises” – A Netflix Series / A Tonko House Production: Robert Kondo, Rachel Tiep-Daniels, Lia Tin, Yohei Hashizume, Masa Inada (WINNER)

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Episode: [special production] – NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions: Mike McCain

The House Episode: [special production] – Nexus Studios for Netflix: Niklas Nilsson, Alexandra Walker

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – FEATURE 

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company: Curt Enderle, Guy Davis (WINNER)

Mad God – Tippett Studio: Phil Tippett

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – DreamWorks Animation: Nate Wragg, Joseph Feinsilver, Claire Keane, Wayne Tsay, Naveen Selvanathan

The Bad Guys – DreamWorks Animation: Luc Desmarchelier, Floriane Marchix

The Sea Beast – Netflix: Matthias Lechner, Jung Woonyoung

BEST STORYBOARDING – TV/MEDIA 

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Episode: [Let You Down] – CD Projekt Red in association with Netflix: Kaneko Yoshiyuk

Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight Episode: [The Knight’s Code] – DreamWorks Animation: Grace Liu

Looney Tunes Cartoons Episode: [Hex Appeal] – Warner Bros. Animation: Mike Ruocco

Love Death + Robots Episode: [The Very Pulse of the Machine] – Blur Studio for Netflix: Emily Dean (WINNER)

The Cuphead Show! Episode: [A Very Devil Christmas] – Netflix Animation: Karl Hadrika

BEST STORYBOARDING – FEATURE 

Minions: The Rise of Gru – Illumination: Nima Azarba

Minions: The Rise of Gru  – Illumination: Dave Feiss

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – DreamWorks Animation: Anthony Holden (WINNER)

Strange World – Walt Disney Animation Studios: Jeff Snow

Strange World – Walt Disney Animation Studios: Javier Ledesma Barboll

BEST VOICE ACTING – TV/MEDIA 

Looney Tunes Cartoons Episode: [Hex Appeal] – Warner Bros. Animation: Candi Milo (character: Witch Hazel)

StoryBots: Answer Time Episode: [Glue] – JibJab Bros. Studios for Netflix:Fred Tatsciore (character: Bang)

Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls Mayhem in the Multiverse Episode: [special production] – Warner Bros Animation: Tara Strong (character: Harley Quinn)

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Episode: [New Kids On The Block]
– Disney TV Animation: Karen Malina White (character: Dijonay Jones)

Zootopia+ Episode: [The Godfather of the Bride] – Walt Disney Animation Studios: Maurice LaMarche (Character: Mr.Big) (WINNER)

BEST VOICE ACTING – FEATURE 

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company: David Bradley (character: Geppetto)

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company: Gregory Mann (character: Pinocchio)

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On – Marcel the Movie LLC: Jenny Slate (character: Marcel) (WINNER)

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – DreamWorks Animation: Wagner Moura (character: Wolf)

The Sea Beast – Netflix: Zaris-Angel Hator (character: Maisie Brumble)

BEST WRITING – TV/MEDIA 

BAYMAX! Episode: [Sofia] – Walt Disney Animation Studios: Cirocco Dunlap

Big Nate Episode: [The Legend of the Gunting] – Nickelodeon Animation Studio: Mitch Watson, Emily Brundige, Ben Lapides, Sarah Allan

Love Death + Robots Episode: [Bad Traveling] – Blur Studio for Netflix: Andrew Kevin Walker (WINNER)

The House Episode: [special production] – Nexus Studios for Netflix: Enda Walsh

Tuca & Bertie Episode: [The Pain Garden] – The Tornante Company: Lisa Hanawalt

BEST WRITING – FEATURE 

Turning Red – Pixar Animation Studios: Domee Shi, Julia Cho

ETERNAL SPRING (長春) – Lofty Sky Entertainment Inc. : Jason Loftus

Inu-Oh – Science SARU: Akiko Nogi

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On – Marcel the Movie LLC: Dean Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate, Nick Paley, Elisabeth Holm  (WINNER)

BEST EDITORIAL – TV/MEDIA 

Amphibia Episode: [All In] – Disney TV Animation: Andrew Sorcini, Yoonah Yim, Jennifer Calbi, Julie Anne Lau, Louis Russell

Green Eggs and Ham Episode: [The Sam Who Came In From The Cold] – Gulfstream Pictures/ A Stern Talking To/ A Very Good Production in association with Warner Bros. Animation for Netflix: Margaret Hou

Karma’s World Episode: [Keys, The Inventor] – 9 Story Media Group, Brown Bag Films and Karma’s World Entertainment for Netflix: Damien Dunne, Ultan Murphy, Emma O’Brien, Fred O’Connor, Aiden McKenna

Star Trek: Lower Decks Episode: [The Stars At Night] – CBS’s Eye Animation Productions, Titmouse; Secret Hideout; and Roddenberry Entertainment: Andy Maxwell, Zach Lamplugh, Brandon Brocker, Paul Mazzotta

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Episode: [special production] – NoneMore Productions and Bad Robot Productions: Daniel Budin (WINNER)

BEST EDITORIAL – FEATURE 

Lightyear – Pixar: Tony Greenberg, Katie Bishop, Chloe Kloezeman, Axel Geddes, Tim Fox

Turning Red – Pixar Animation Studios: Nicholas Smith, Steve Bloom, David Suther, Anna Wolitzky, Christopher Zuber

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Netflix Presents A Double Dare You! Film / A Shadowmachine Production in association with The Jim Henson Company: Ken Schretzmann, Holly Klein, Emily Chiu, Hamilton Barrett

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – Dreamworks Animation: James Ryan, ACE, Jacquelyn Karambelas, Natalla Cronembold, Joe Butler, Katie Parody (WINNER)

The Sea Beast – Netflix: Joyce Arrastica, ACE, Will Erokan, Vivek Sharma, Michael Hugh O’Donnell, Daniel Ortiz

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