OK, so they're not exactly the Oscars, but as a longtime animation aficionado, I thought it'd be fun to cover the 33rd Annie Awards, which celebrate excellence in (what else) the art of animation. "DreamWorks and Aardman garnered an amazing total of 25 nominations, more than any other studio, and with the two movies which received by far the most nominations..."

BURBANK, CA (December 5, 2005) – ASIFA-Hollywood, The International Animated Film Society, announced today nominations for the 33rd Annual Annie Awards recognizing the year’s finest animation across film, television, short subjects and gaming. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony and gala celebration on Saturday, February 4, 2006 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA (216 N. Brand Blvd.).

It was a tremendous showing for DreamWorks Animation as two of its features earned the most nominations for a total of 25 overall. “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (Aardman Animations Ltd./DreamWorks Animation) led the pack with a record-setting sixteen nominations including Best Animated Feature and a sweep in the voice acting category with Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Peter Sallis and Nicholas Smith all earning nominations. “Madagascar” (DreamWorks Animation) garnered nine nominations for Best Animated Feature as well as multiple nods in the Effects and Storyboarding categories.

Rounding out the Best Animated Feature category are “Chicken Little” (Walt Disney Feature Animation), “Corpse Bride” (Warner Bros. Presents A Tim Burton/Laika Entertainment Production) and “Howl’s Moving Castle” (Walt Disney Studios/Studio Ghibli).

Nominations for Best Animated Television Production are “AVATAR: The Last Airbender” (Nickelodeon), “Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends” (Cartoon Network Studios), “My Life As A Teenage Robot” (Nickelodeon/Frederator), “Star Wars: Clone Wars II” (Cartoon Network Studios) and “The Batman” (Warner Bros. Animation).

Annual prestigious juried awards will also be awarded. The 33rd Annual Annie Award recipients are:

June Foray Award (significant impact): Mark Kausler

Winsor McCay Awards (lifetime achievement): Cornelius Cole; Tyrus Wong; Fred Crippen

Ub Iwerks Award (technical achievement): “Corpse Bride”

Certificates of Merit: Larry Loc; “Dream on Silly Dreamer”

Below is the full list of nominees:

2005 ANNIE AWARD NOMINATIONS BY CATEGORY

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

Best Animated Feature

• Chicken Little - Walt Disney Feature Animation
• Corpse Bride - Warner Bros. Presents A Tim Burton/Laika Entertainment Production
• Howl's Moving Castle - Walt Disney Studios/Studio Ghibli
• Madagascar - DreamWorks Animation
• Wallace & Gromit - The Curse of the Were-Rabbit - Aardman Features

Best Home Entertainment Production

• Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows - Creative Capers Entertainment, Inc.
• Kronk's New Groove - DisneyToon Studios
• Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch - DisneyToon Studios
• Tarzan II - DisneyToon Studios
• The Batman vs Dracula - Warner Bros. Animation

Best Animated Short Subject

• The Fan and The Flower - Atomic Television/Plymptoons Productions
• Life in Transition - Stretch Films, Inc.
• Milch - Klasky Csupo
• Moongirl - Laika
• The Moon and The Sun: An Imagined Conversation - John Canemaker Productions

Best Animated Television Commercial

• Conoco '1975' - Ring of Fire
• Bastard Wants to Hit Me - Laika/House
• Coke "Futbol" - Laika/House
• GE "Tower"- Quiet Man Inc.
• United Airlines "Mr. Pants" - Acme Filmworks

Best Animated Television Production

• AVATAR: The Last Airbender - Nickelodeon
• Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends - Cartoon Network Studios
• My Life As A Teenage Robot - Nickelodeon/Frederator
• Star Wars: Clone Wars II Chapters 21-25 - Cartoon Network Studios
• The Batman - Warner Bros. Animation

Best Animated Video Game

• Psychonauts - Double Fine Productions, Inc.
• Resident Evil 4 - Capcom
• SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, PANTS! - THQ, Inc.
• Tak: The Great Juju Challenge - THQ, Inc.
• Ultimate Spider-Man - Activision

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

Animated Effects

• Matt Baer - "Madagascar" - DreamWorks Animation
• Rick Glumac - "Madagascar" - DreamWorks Animation
• Dale Mayeda - "Chicken Little" - Walt Disney Feature Animation
• Jason Wen - "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Aardman Features
• Martin Usiak - "Madagascar" - DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation

• Claire Billett - "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Aardman Features
• Spike Brandt - Tom & Jerry- "The Karate Guard" - Warner Bros. Animation
• Jay Grace - "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Aardman Features
• Christopher Sadler - "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Aardman Features
• Matt Shumway - "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe" - Rhythm and Hues

Character Design in an Animated Feature Production

• Carlos Grangel - "Corpse Bride" - Warner Bros. Presents A Tim Burton/Laika Entertainment Production
• William Joyce - "Robots" - 20th Century Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios
• Craig Kellman - "Madagascar" - DreamWorks Animation
• Joe Moshier - "Chicken Little" - Walt Disney Feature Animation
• Nick Park - "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Aardman Features

Character Design in an Animated Television Production

• Bryan Arnett - My Life As A Teenage Robot "Escape From Cluster Prime" - Nickelodeon
• Ernie Gilbert - The Fairly OddParent "The Good Old Days" - Nickelodeon
• Jorge Guiterrez - The Buzz on Maggie "Bella Con Carny" - Walt Disney Television Animation
• Luther McLaurin - "Catscratch" - Nickelodeon
• Shannon Tindle - Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends "Go Goo Go" - Cartoon Network Studios

Directing in an Animated Feature Production

• Mike Johnson, Tim Burton "Corpse Bride" - Warner Bros. Presents A Tim Burton/Laika Entertainment Production
• Hayao Miyazaki "Howl's Moving Castle" - Walt Disney Studios/Studio Ghibli
• Nick Park, Steve Box - "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Aardman Features

Directing in an Animated Television Production

• Gary Conrad - The Fairly OddParents "The Good Old Days" - Nickelodeon
• Craig McCracken - Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends "Duchess of Wails" - Cartoon Network Studios
• Dan Povenmire - Family Guy "PTV" - Fox TV Animation
• Dan Riba - Justice League Unlimited "Clash" - Warner Bros. Animation
• Peter Shin - Family Guy "North by North Quahog" - Fox TV Animation

Music in an Animated Feature Production

• Julian Nott - "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit"- Aardman Features
• Hans Zimmer - "Madagascar" - DreamWorks Animation

Music in an Animated Television Production

• Jeff Dana - Zula Patrol "Case of the Missing Rings" - Zula USA LLC
• Thomas Chase Jones - The Batman "The Laughing Bat" - Warner Bros. Animation
• James L. Venable - Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends "Duchess of Wails" - Cartoon Network Studios

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production

• Ian Gooding, Dan Cooper, David Womersley, Mac George - "Chicken Little" - Walt Disney Feature Animation
• Dennis A. Greco "Lilo & Stitch 2" - DisneyToon Studios
• Yoriko Ito "Madagascar" - DreamWorks Animation
• William Joyce & Steve Martino "Robots" - 20th Century Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios
• Phil Lewis "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit"- Aardman Features

Production Design in an Animated Television Production

• Alan Bodner - The Life and Times of Juniper Lee "Enter Sandman" - Cartoon Network Studios
• Michael Giaimo "Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi" - Renegade Animation
• Alex Kirwan "My Life as a Teenage Robot" - Nickelodeon
• Mike Moon, Craig McCracken, Dave Dunnet, Martin Ansolabehere - Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends "A Lost Claus" - Cartoon Network Studios
• Nadia Vurbenova - Kim Possible "So The Drama" - Walt Disney Television Animation

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production

• Tom McGrath - "Madagascar" - DreamWorks Animation
• Chris Otsuki - "Kronk's New Groove" - DisneyToon Studios
• Bob Persichetti - "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Aardman Features
• Catherine Yuh Rader - "Madagascar" - DreamWorks Animation
• Michael Salter - "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Aardman Features

Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production

• Troy Adomitis - Kim Possible "So The Drama" - Walt Disney Television Animation
• Ben Balistreri - Danny Phantom "Identity Crisis" - Nickelodeon
• Dave Bullock - Kim Possible "So The Drama" - Walt Disney Television Animation
• Lauren MacMullan - AVATAR:The Last Airbender "The Deserter" - Nickelodeon
• Andrew Tan - Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends "A Froggy Day in Sunny Patch" - Nelvana Ltd.

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production

• Helena Bonham Carter - Voice of Lady Campanula Tottington "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Aardman Features
• Ralph Fiennes - Voice of Victor Quartermaine "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Aardman Features
• Peter Sallis - Voice of Wallace "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Aardman Features
• Nicholas Smith - Voice of Reverend Clement Hedges "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Aardman Features

Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production

• Grey Delisle - Voice of Kitty - Danger Rangers "Fires & Liars" - Educational Adventures
• Johnny Hardwick - Voice of Dale Gribble - King of the Hill "Smoking and the Bandit" - 20th Century Fox Television
• Tony Jay - Voice of Spiderus - Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends "A Froggy Day in Sunny Patch" - Nelvana Ltd.
• Seth MacFarlane - Voice of Stewie - Family Guy "Brian the Bachelor" - Fox TV Animation
• Rob Paulsen - Voice of Eubie "The Happy Elf" - Film Roman

Writing in an Animated Feature Production

• Steve Box, Nick Park, Mark Burton "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - Aardman Features
• Tony Leondis, Michael LaBash, Tom Rogers "Kronk's New Groove" - DisneyToon Studios
• Hayao Miyazaki, Donald H. Hewitt, Cindy Davis Hewitt "Howl's Moving Castle" - Walt Disney Studios/Studio Ghibli

Writing in an Animated Television Production

• Aaron Ehasz, John O'Bryan - AVATAR: The Last Airbender "The Fortune Teller" - Nickelodeon
• C.H. Greenblatt, Paul Tibbitt, Mike Bell, Tim Hill - SpongeBob "Fear of a Krabby Patty" - Nickelodeon
• Christopher Painter - The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius "The Tomorrow Boys" - DNA Productions
• Johanna Stein, Jack Ferraiolo - O'Grady III "Old Cold" - Soup 2 Nuts
• Larry Swerdlove - Jakers! "Wish Upon A Story Part 1" - Mike Young Productions