The 2024 edition of The World Animation Summit is just around the corner, and organizers are busily preparing to welcome industry experts and leading creatives from the global industry to North Hollywood’s The Garland hotel from November 3-6. Adding to the final touches, the Summit has announced more prestigious guests who will serve as presenters at the Hall of Fame Awards opening night gala.
The presenters are:
- Kelsey Mann, director of Inside Out 2, presenting the Hall of Fame Award to Pixar Animation Studios’ Chief Creative Officer / Oscar-winning director, Pete Docter.
- Craig Bartlett, creator of Hey Arnold!, presenting the Hall of Fame Award to The Jim Henson Company’s CEO Lisa Henson.
- Rich Moore, director of Wreck-It Ralph, presenting the Hall of Fame Award to Rough Draft Studios’ Executive Producer, Claudia Katz.
- Merlin Crossingham, co-director of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, presenting the Hall of Fame Award to Wallace & Gromit creator and the new film’s co-director, Nick Park.
- Tom Ruegger, animated series creator, producer, writer & showrunner (Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs), presenting the Hall of Fame Award to voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson (Invincible, The Simpsons, The Super Mario Bros. Movie).
- Teri Weiss, Executive Vice President of Television Development for DreamWorks Animation, presenting the Hall of Fame Award to Sesame Workshop’s EVP / Chief Creative Development & Production Officer, Kay Wilson Stallings.
- Jeff Hermann, producer of The Wild Robot, presenting the Hall of Fame Award to the film’s production designer, Raymond Zibach.
- Lizzie Molyneux & Wendy Molyneux, creators, writers, showrunners and executive producers of The Great North, presenting the Studio of the Year Award to Bento Box Entertainment‘s Co-Founder & Head of Production, Joel Kuwahara.
The awards ceremony will be hosted by Emmy-winning Looney Tunes star Eric Bauza (The Day the Earth Blew Up), the voice of iconic characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird and Marvin the Martian.
Following the opening night gala, Summit attendees will take in panels, keynotes and fireside chats with the celebrated creative talents behind the year’s buzziest titles, including Inside Out 2, The Wild Robot, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Transformers One, Moana 2, Arcane, Secret Level, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, An Almost Christmas Story, Self and In the Shadow of the Cypress, among many others. Hot topics will also be the focus of sessions on the state of the industry (presented by ASIFA-Hollywood), preschool- and adult-targeted animation trends, the interplay of toys and toons, and much more.
Tickets are available at animationmagazine.net/summit, where you can find more information and the full program schedule for The World Animation Summit 2024.
