Each February for the past 52 years, animation enjoyers around the world have gathered to watch the Annie Awards– a ceremony dedicated to animation and film, highlighting the movies and shows that went above and beyond our expectations. The Annie Awards officially take place February 8th, 2025, so be sure to check into the stream or head over to UCLA’s Royce Hall to see who wins, and experience the wonders of the animation world.
The first category is the Best Feature and Independent Feature. Notable picks include Pixar’s Inside Out 2, Dreamworks’ The Wild Robot and Kung Fu Panda 4. Tsuburaya Production and Netflix also received a nomination for its film Ultraman: Rising, an interesting pick due to its very limited theatre release. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl also stands as a unique pick, as it isn’t viewed or nearly as talked about as the majority of Pixar or Dreamworks movies. As for independent movies, two in particular stand out for possible winners. Flow– by Sacrebleu productions, Take Five, and Dream Well Studio– has been one of the most talked about and hyped-up movies within the animation community because of its unique art style that is combined with techniques not used much in 3D animation. Flow has broken the way we view 3D animation in a way similar to Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. Memoir of a Snail, created by Snails Pace Films, has had similar praise due to its unique stop motion-esque style. Where Flow is more wholesome, more so created for a younger audience, Memoir of a Snail is much more gritty and dark. Each stands an amazing chance against one another as well as other, lesser-known, nominations such as Mars Express, Kensuke’s Kingdom, and Lookback.
Other categories focus especially on TV and other media, with awards such as Best Direction, Best Music, Best Character Design, and more. Notable picks are Arcane, nominated for all of the above as well as Best Character Animation, Best FX, Production Design, Storyboarding, and Editorial. While each of these nominations are for specific episodes– the majority of which come from the show’s second season, which debuted in November– it stands to show how impressive the show itself is. Other nominations within this category include Creature Commandos, Hazbin Hotel, Bob’s Burgers, Tabby McTat, and more. What’s interesting is that some of these nominations– including Arcane, Hazbin Hotel, Tabby McTat– were made by smaller, lesser-known studios.
There were also awards for Best Special Production and Best Student Film. The first one, Special Production, is focused on non-episodic animated production, typically focusing on animation quality. Nominees include A Bear Named Wojtek, Orion and the Dark, Yuck!, Mog’s Christmas, and Tabby McTat. These are all fantastic works that did something unique- from the experimental style of Orion and the Dark from DreamWorks to the wonderful story and visuals in A Bear Named Wojtek by The Illuminated Film Company.
Best Student Film, focuses on typically small group made animated projects. These films come from animation and film schools across the world, in this case being National Film and Television School, Gobelins, and Animationsinsitut. These nominees include Adiós, El Ombligo de la Luna, Pear Garden, Polliwog, and Turmspringer. Each of these films are hand drawn for the final project or thesis of the school year for these animation students. The films typically handle deeper, more sensitive topics, such as with Polliwog. It handles change and how one might feel about themselves, as do many current and past student films. These are almost always incredibly interesting, with unique styles used in incredible ways.
