BURBANK, Calif., Jan. 11, 2024 — (PRNewswire) —  ASIFA-Hollywood announced nominations today for its 51^st Annie Awards™ recognizing the year's best in the field of animation. For a complete list of nominations, please visit www.annieawards.org/nominations . 

The 51st Annie Awards™ will return to UCLA's Royce Hall on Saturday, February 17, 2024. Pre-reception and Red Carpet will begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by the ceremony at 7 p.m., and after party immediately following the ceremony.

This year's Best Animated Feature nominations include: Nimona - Annapurna Animation for Netflix; Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Sony Pictures Animation; Suzume - CoMix Wave Films Inc. and STORY inc.; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies; and The Boy and the Heron - Studio Ghibli / Distributed by GKIDS.

Best Animated Feature-Independent, spotlighting feature with a much smaller distribution footprint than major studio releases include : Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia - Folivari, Mélusine Productions, Studio Canal / Distributed by GKIDS; Four Souls of Coyote - Cinemon Entertainment; Robot Dreams - Arcadia Motion Pictures; The Inventor - Curiosity Studios; White Plastic Sky - SALTO Films & Artichoke.

The Annie Awards™ cover 36 categories and include Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Feature-Independent, Special Productions, Sponsored Films, Short Subjects, Student Films and Outstanding Individual Achievements, as well as the honorary Juried Awards.

Juried Awards will be presented during the ceremony, honoring unparalleled achievement and exceptional contributions to animation. The Winsor McCay Award in recognition of lifetime or career contributions are being presented to three recipients: Legendary animator and director Charlotte "Lotte" Reiniger (posthumous); prolific Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi and National Film Board animator and producer Marcy Page. The June Foray Award for significant and benevolent or charitable impact will be awarded to the BRIC Foundation, Alison Mann and Nicole Hendrix, co-founders.

The Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement affecting the animation industry will be presented to John Oxberry (posthumous). The Special Achievement Award recognizing unique and outstanding achievement not recognized within the existing award category structure will be presented to  The Artists of Walt Disney Animation.

Many thanks to the generous support from this year's sponsors and advertisers: Platinum – DreamWorks Animation, Netflix, Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Warner Bros. Animation; Gold – Disney TV Animation and Illumination Entertainment; Silver – Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation; Bronze – GKIDS and Industry – Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF).

ASIFA-Hollywood is the world's first and foremost professional organization dedicated to promoting the Art of Animation and celebrating the people who create it. Today, ASIFA-Hollywood, the largest chapter of the international organization ASIFA, supports a wide range of animation activities and preservation efforts through its membership. Current initiatives include the Animation Archive, Animation Aid Foundation, animated film preservation, open source software support, special events, classes and screenings.  

Created in 1972 by veteran voice talent June Foray, the Annie Awards™ have grown in scope and stature for five decades. For more information on the Annie Awards™, please visit  www.annieawards.org . For ticket information, please visit www.annieawards.org/tickets.                            

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SOURCE The Annie Awards