The nominees for the 2021 Irish Animation Awards have been announced by Animation Ireland, the trade association for Irish animation studios. The biennial awards ceremony will take place virtually for the first time on Friday, May 21, and will once again highlight the brilliance and talent of the Irish animation sector. The 2021 Awards feature four new categories, including Best Storyboarding, Best Editing, Best Student Film and Best New Irish IP.
Among the nominations in the 20 categories this year is Cartoon Saloon’s Oscar-nominated film Wolfwalkers, which was nominated in all seven available categories. Giant Animation’s Zog and the Flying Doctors, which aired on BBC One on Christmas Day, racked up four nominations. For their preschool series, Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Tool Belt, Brown Bag Films picked up three nominations, while Vampirina, Dorg Van Dango, Ballybraddan, Bug Diaries and Pablo also picked up multiple nods.
According to Animation Ireland’s Chief Executive, Ronan McCabe, the awards this year highlight the continued growth and creativity in the sector: ‘’It has been an unprecedented year for Irish animation, but the quality of the work produced here in Ireland has once again been world class. It’s really heartening to see that the sector has continued to produce outstanding work and that the future remains bright for Irish animation. As with every other year, the 2021 Irish Animation Awards is a time to celebrate the strength and vibrancy of the sector.’’
McCabe added, “We have four new award categories this year, and one which I am really looking forward to is Best Student Film. Animation Ireland has been working hard over the past five years to develop education opportunities in animation and to encourage more students to get involved in a great career choice. Given the current situation, this year’s event will be virtual, but we’re still going to be putting on a great show. It will be a half-day event, with two industry panels, in partnership with Animation Skillnet, Screen Skills Ireland and Women in Animation, followed by the awards ceremony in the evening.’’
The Irish Animation Awards are sponsored this year by Screen Ireland, RTÉ, Northern Ireland Screen, BAI, Enterprise Ireland, Gorilla Post, Toon Boom Animation, Philip Lee, Brophy Gillespie and Laztech. Winners of each category will receive a statuette designed by animator, film maker and teacher Eimhin McNamara. The statuette resembles a Phenakistoscope which was an early animation device used to create an illusion of motion.
Best Animated Preschool Series
Claude “Twinkle Toes Terry” | Sixteen South
Pins and Nettie – Season 1 | Daily Madness
Pablo | Paper Owl Films
Bug Diaries | Lighthouse Studios
Hungry Bear Tales | Treehouse Republic
Best Animated Kids Series 6+
Boy, Girl, Dog, Cat, Mouse, Cheese | Kavaleer
Dorg Van Dango | Cartoon Saloon
Sylvie Bloom “Corona Corona Corona” | Dog Day Media
Ballybraddan | Treehouse Republic
Chico Bon Bon: Monkey With a Toolbelt “Gigantic Glue Ball” | Brown Bag Films
Best Animated Short Film
Brother Ezekiel | Boulder Media; Leon Elliott
Her Song | Éabha Bortolozzo, Jack Kirwan
The Voyage | JAM Media; Jessica Patterson
The Dead Hands of Dublin | Pink Kong Studios; Leo Crowley
Greenpeace – There’s a Monster in My Kitchen | Cartoon Saloon; Tomm Moore, Fabian Erlinghauser
Best International Short Film
Right Now | Giant Ant
Santiago | Andrey Koulev
War Game | Blayne Fitzpatrick
Broken Candle | Felix Kiner
Something Borrowed | Micky Wozny
Best Writer for Preschool Animation
Pablo | Paper Owl Films
Jessy and Nessy | JAM Media
Mya Go “Slimey Zoo” | Piranha Bar
Vampirina “Vampire Chaperone” | Brown Bag Films
Doc McStuffins “Bedazzled” | Brown Bag Films
Best Writer for an Animated Series
Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese “Neighbourhood Watchdog” | Kavaleer
Dorg Van Dango “Dorg Needs a Shot” | Cartoon Saloon
Ballybraddan “Affection & Rejection” | Treehouse Republic
Fantasy Ireland | Igloo Animations
Dorg Van Dango “Dorg Has a Pimple” | Cartoon Saloon
Best Animation for Apps, Games and Interactive
TOT COP | Mooshku
Empire Of Sin | Romero Games
Lego, Duplo, World | Touch Press
Best Art Direction and Design
Sunburn | Studio Meala
Chico Bon Bon: Monkey With a Toolbelt “Gigantic Glue Ball” | Brown Bag Films
Zog & the Flying Doctors | Giant Animation
GreenPeace – There’s a Monster in My Kitchen | Cartoon Saloon
Wolfwalkers | Cartoon Saloon
Best Director of an Animated Series
Dorg Van Dango | Cartoon Saloon; Fabian Erlinghauser, Matt Ferguson
My Little Pony: Pony Life | Boulder Media; Adrian Ignat
Bug Diaries | Lighthouse Studios; Gilly Fogg
Pins & Nettie – Season 1 | Daily Madness; Lindsey Adams
Pinkalicious & Peterific | Sixteen South; Jamie Teehan
Best Animation Sequence
Wolfwalkers | Cartoon Saloon
Greenpeace – There’s a Monster in My Kitchen | Cartoon Saloon
Sunburn | Studio Meala
Zog and the Flying Doctors | Giant Animation
Dorg Van Dango | Cartoon Saloon
Best Music
Dorg Van Dango | Cartoon Saloon
Pins & Nettie – Season 1 | Daily Madness
Claude “Twinkle Toes Terry” | Sixteen South
Wolfwalkers | Cartoon Saloon
Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese | Kavaleer
Best Sound Design
Dead Hands of Dublin | Pink Kong Studios
Wolfwalkers | Cartoon Saloon
Angela’s Christmas Wish | Brown Bag Films
Dorg Van Dango | Cartoon Saloon/Gorilla Post
Danger Mouse “The Last Giraffe Warrior” | Boulder Media/Windmill Lane
Best Irish Feature or Special
Wolfwalkers | Cartoon Saloon; Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart
Angela’s Christmas Gift | Brown Bag Films; Damien O’ Connor
Zog and the Flying Doctors | Giant Animation; Sean Mullen
The Christmas Letter | Dream Logic; Kealan O’ Rourke
Sol | Paper Owl Films; Gráinne Mc Guinness
Best Storyboarding
Zog and the Flying Doctors | Giant Animation
Greenpeace – There’s a Monster in My Kitchen | Cartoon Saloon
Sunburn | Studio Meala
Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy | Boulder Media
Wolfwalkers | Cartoon Saloon
Best Editing
Wolfwalkers | Cartoon Saloon
Greenpeace – There’s a Monster in My Kitchen | Cartoon Saloon
Dorg Van Dango | Cartoon Saloon
Vampirina “Bora and the Banshee/A Tale of Two Hollows” Brown Bag Films
Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Toolbelt “Runaway Robot” | Brown Bag Films
Best Student Film
Husky | Darragh Scott
Tuna | Cliona Noonan
CTRL + ALT + Z | Holly Keating
Shergar | Cora McKenna
Tenant | Sarah Benson
Best Irish IP
TOT Cops “The Cake Caper” | Mooshku
Pins and Nettie – Season 1 | Daily Madness
Claude “Twinkle Toes Terry” | Sixteen South
Critters TV – Series 1 | Turnip & Duck
Jessy and Nessy “Where Else Can We Find Echoes?” | JAM Media
Best Newcomer
Studio Meala
Alt Animation
Little Moon Animation
Taunt Studio
Turnip & Duck
Kids Choice Awards for Best Preschool Series (up to 6 years old) Will be announced in early May.
Kids Choice Award for Best Animated Kids Series (over 6 years old) Will be announced in early May.
Animation Ireland is the trade association for Ireland’s animation studios, representing 32 member studios, who employ more than 2,000 people nationwide. The sector has seen meteoric growth in recent years, with the sector now generating almost €200 million for the economy annually, as Irish animation projects are viewed in over 120 countries worldwide.
