Studio Bs animated childrens series, Being Ian, took top honors in the animation category as the winners of the 2005 Leo Awards for film and television in British Columbia were announced over the weekend. Being Ian beat out the CG-animated special, Popeyes Voyage: The Quest for Pappy, for the title of Best Animated Program or Series.
Being Ian, a show about a young boy who dreams of being a filmmaker and uses his imagination to put himself in his favorite movies, also picked up Leos for Best Direction/Storyboarding in an Animation Program or Series (dir. Andy Bartlett, "Links for Love") and Best Screenwriting in an Animation Program or Series (Dennis Heaton, "The Greatest Story Never Told").
Popeye’s Voyage: The Quest for Pappy didnt go home empty handed, however. The special, produced by King Features Syndicate and Canadian computer animation house Mainframe, took Best Overall Sound in an Animation Program or Series. The team of Marcel Duperreault, Todd Araki, Jason Fredrickson and Kirk Furniss beat themselves, as they were also nominated for their work on the Being Ian episode "The Greatest Story Never Told."
Aka Cartoons Ed Edd’n Eddy also picked up a trophy for Best Musical Score in an Animation Program or Series. Show composer Patric Caird beat out competitor Michael Richard Plowman, nominated for Reader Rabbit.
Breakthroughs Atomic Betty, produced by Atomic Cartoons, was nominated for Best Direction/Storyboarding (Glen Lovette, "Atomic Roger") and Best Screenwriting (Jono Howard for "Atomic Roger" and Mike Kubat for "Spindly Tam Kanushu").
The vfx-laden fantasy miniseries, Earthsea, which aired on SCI-FI Channel in the U.S., was a big winner in the Feature Length Drama category, garnering awards for Best Production Design (Michael Joy, Shirley Inget, Ross Dempster), Best Costume Design (Nancy Bryant), Best Make-Up (Dana Hamel), Best Supporting Performance by a Male (Chris Gauthier), and Best Visual Effects (Chris Lasko, Lee Wilson, Sebastien Bergeron, Eric Grenandier, Earl Paraszczynec.)