This article was written for the March '24 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 338).

With several months of award-season hype and daily prognostication from experts, the actual arrival of the Annie Awards evening comes as a welcome event. Conceived by the late, great actress June Foray, the Annies have been a part of animation life in Los Angeles since the first edition took place at the banquet room of the Sportsmen’s Lodge (which has now been converted to a shopping center) in Studio City.

This year, the 51st edition of the Annie Awards will take place on Saturday, February 17 at UCLA’s Royce Hall and will honor the best of the industry in 37 categories. As always, the event promises to be a festive, entertaining and celebratory affair.

ASIFA-Hollywood president Sue Shakespeare says she’s looking forward to celebrating the best of the animation world at the popular event. “It is so exciting to look back on this year and see how animation has flourished at the box office,” she notes. “Finally, we are back in the theaters, experiencing the amazing films on the big screen! It’s so impactful! The state of the animation industry has never been better. More films are being produced each year, and the variety of subjects being explored is fabulous.”

Global Champions

Shakespeare adds, “We’re seeing the ‘value’ of animation in film. Animated films are among the highest earners at the box office. Of course, this is not surprising to many of us, for we recognize that animation can tell stories and create memorable movie experiences that communicate across boundaries and barriers of all kinds. When I look at the cross section of domestic and international, studio-backed and independent films released in 2023, I marvel at the amazing sophistication in them. So many styles are now being produced, and there is a greater prevalence of hybrid styles this year than ever before.”

Shakespeare is also optimistic about the future of the industry. “Technology keeps moving forward, and I see more applications of technology forthcoming,” she says. “I expect the importance of animation to continue growing in the years to come. I’m also excited that animation has proven yet again its resilience. While much of the industry was impacted due to the strikes, animated projects in film and television were able to continue moving forward and keeping people employed if their scripts and voice recordings had been finalized. Much like how we were able to adapt and set up remote working processes during COVID, we were able to continue working through these challenging times. I’m excited to be a part of this amazing industry.”

‘Because we champion everyone in the animation community, in some ways we are the proverbial melting pot. All are welcome, treated equitably, listened to, celebrated.’

— ASIFA exec director Frank Gladstone

Frank Gladstone, the executive director of ASIFA-Hollywood and the executive producer of the Annie Awards, tells us that he has bought a new tuxedo jacket and is ready for the show. This year, the awards ceremony is a particularly special one for Gladstone: The much-respected animation veteran will be stepping down from his job at ASIFA in March after spending 12 years at the helm, but he says he will continue to be active as an ASIFA board member.

When asked about how it feels to be retiring from the job after so many years, he says, “I don’t know yet! I am still the exec producer for this year and haven’t had any time to think about anything else. I suppose that any sort of change always has its bittersweet moments, but I have had a great run. Also, the ASIFA executive committee has asked me to stay on as a board member, so I’ll still have a chance to put in my two cents now and then!”

Looking back at his tenure with the animation organization, Gladstone says he is quite happy with what ASIFA has achieved over the year. “We worked diligently to stabilize and then grow ASIFA-Hollywood and that, at least most of the time, was fun. I am also convinced that it’s the right time for other folks to take things even further.”

Making an Impact

Gladstone adds, “The first two or three years were all about just trying to save the organization. At some point, maybe during the third year, I was looking around the table during a board meeting, and it dawned on me that whatever we were doing was working. We were actually growing again. That was a very gratifying moment.”

Regarding the importance of ASIFA as a vital organization, Gladstone says, “Because we champion everyone in the animation community, in some ways we are the proverbial melting pot. All are welcome, treated equitably, listened to, celebrated. That is our mission and our primary agenda. I think that every community needs a space like ours, maybe now more than ever.”

And what is his take on the state of animation? Gladstone responds, “This is one of the most consistent questions I’ve been asked over more than 50 years in the business … and, being in the business so long and seeing what I have been able to see, it’s a question I never know how to answer. It’s like what Chicagoans say about their city’s weather, ‘Don’t like it? Wait five minutes and it’ll change!’”

He also has some profound advice for whomever succeeds him as the executive director. “Make sure to eat healthy, exercise and get enough sleep!” he says with a smile.

The Annie Awards take place on Saturday, February 17, at UCLA’s Royce Hall. To purchase tickets and learn more, visit annieawards.org.

The Annies: Major Categories at a Glance

Best Studio Feature
Nimona (Annapurna Animation for Netflix)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures Animation)
Suzume (CoMix Wave Films, STORY Inc.)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount, Nickelodeon)
The Boy and the Heron (Studio Ghibli, GKIDS)

Best Indie Feature
Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia (Folivari, Mélusine, StudioCanal, GKIDS)
Four Souls of Coyote (Cinemon Ent.)
Robot Dreams (Arcadia Motion Pictures)
The Inventor (Curiosity Studios)
White Plastic Sky (SALTO Films, Artichoke)

Best Special Production
Invincible: Atom Eve (Amazon MGM Studios, Skybound)
Shape Island: The Winter Blues (Bix Pix Ent., Apple)
Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie (WildBrain Studios, Apple)
The Smeds and the Smoos (Magic Light Pictures)
The Velveteen Rabbit (Magic Light Pictures, Apple)

Best Short Subject
Carne de Dios (Ojo Raro, Fedora Productions)
Daffy in Wackyland (Warner Bros. Animation)
Humo (Outik Animation, 3rd Street Video, Mindsoup Ent., IMCINE)
Pina (Punchline Cinema, Next Days Films)
War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko (ElectroLeague)

Best Sponsored
“Video Games” by Tenacious D (Pinreel Inc.)
Alzheimer’s Research UK “Change The Ending” (Passion Pictures)
“Laugh Track” by The National (featuring Phoebe Bridgers) (Bernard Derriman)
WWF “Up in Smoke” (NOMINT)

Best TV/Media, Preschool
Batwheels “To the Batmobile!” (Warner Bros. Animation)
Ghee Happy “Navagraha” (Ghee Happy Studio)
Playdate with Winnie the Pooh “Piglet, Tigger and the Cardboard Box”  (Oddbot)
StoryBots: Answer Time “Fractions” (JibJab Bros. Studios for Netflix)
The Creature Cases “The Forest Food Bandit” (Silvergate Media, TeamTO, Choice, Provisions, Netflix)

Best TV/Media, Children
Curses! “The Baboon Temple” (DreamWorks Animation)
Hilda “Chapter 8: The Fairy Isle” (Hilda Productions, Silvergate, Netflix, Mercury Filmworks)
Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur “The Beyonder” (Flying Bark Productions, Disney TV Animation)
My Dad the Bounty Hunter “Bizarre Ride” (Netflix)
Shape Island “Square’s Special Place” (Bix Pix Ent., Apple)

Best TV/Media, Mature
Big Mouth “The International Show” (Netflix)
Blue Eye Samurai “Pilot: Hammerscale” (Netflix, 3 Arts Ent., Blue Spirit)
Bob’s Burgers “Amelia” (20th Television Animation)
Scavengers Reign “The Signal” (Max, Titmouse Animation, Green Street)
Tomato Kitchen (Bilibili, Studio Reflection)

Best Student Film
From The Top. Rich Farris, Martina Buendia Silva (National Film and Television School)
Kolaj. Besen Dilek (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH)
La quête de l’humain. Mélina Ienco, Lucie Juric, Caroline Leibel, Faustine Merle, Claire Pellet (Gobelins, l’école de l’image)
Quem Salva. Laure Devin, Maxime Bourstin, Nathan Medam, Charles Hechinger, Titouan Jaouen –(Supinfocom Rubika)
The Little Poet. Justine King (California Institute of the Arts)

Best Director, TV/Media
Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire “Moremi.” Shofela Coker, Andrew McNally
My Dad the Bounty Hunter “Bizarre Ride.” Kenji Ono, Kai Akira, Patrick Harpin
Pokémon Concierge “What’s on Your Mind, Psyduck?” Iku Ogawa
Scavengers Reign “The Fall.” Diego Porral
Star Wars: Visions “Screecher’s Reach.” Paul Young

Best Direction, Feature
Nimona. Nick Bruno, Troy Quane
Robot Dreams. Pablo Berger, Benoît Feroumont
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Jeff Rowe, Kyler Spears
The Boy and the Heron. Hayao Miyazaki

Juried Awards

The Winsor McCay Award in recognition of lifetime or career contributions:

• Legendary animator and director Charlotte “Lotte” Reiniger (posthumous)
• Prolific Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi
• National Film Board animator and producer Marcy Page

The June Foray Award: The BRIC Foundation, Alison Mann and Nicole Hendrix, co-founders.

The Ub lwerks Award: John Oxberry (posthumous).

The Special Achievement Award: The Artists of Walt Disney Animation.

See the full list of nominees here.