Awards in Animation

By Sarah Clark
Animation School Directory Columnist

A career in animation can lead to great things, including the Annie Awards, an annual ceremony held to honor individual and collective efforts that advance the field of animation.

The Annie Awards were founded in 1972 by June Foray, who conceived the event dedicated exclusively to acknowledging those who have demonstrated excellence in their animation careers. Before the establishment of the Annie Awards, no such awards existed for animators, despite cartoon animation's widespread popularity.

Prior to 1992, the Annie Awards focused on honoring the careers of individual animators. Artists such as Max Fleischer, creator of Betty Boop and Olive Oyl, and famed Disney animator Kendall O'Connor, were honored during some of the early Annie Awards ceremonies. That change in the early 1990s, when a new category was added to recognize the best animated feature.

Best Animated Feature Film

The first animated feature film to receive the prestigious Annie Award for best feature was Beauty and the Beast. Other animated feature films that claimed the award were Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Toy Story. Last year, The Incredibles took home the 2004 Annie Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

Other Categories

Annie Awards are divided into three categories: production categories, individual achievement categories, and juried awards. The production category includes awards for best animated feature, television production, and television commercial. The individual achievement category recognizes talent in the area of effects, music, character design, voice acting, and storyboarding. Awards that do not neatly fall into one of these categories are grouped in the Juried Awards, which recognizes a variety of achievements by people with careers and interests in animation that are making a noteworthy contribution to the field.

Sources:

• Annie Awards

About the Author

Sarah Clark is a freelance writer based in Arlington, Virginia.