
A Celebration of Excellence: Animation Magazine’s 2021 Awards
The 2021 Honor Roll

Gaumont Animation
International Studio of the Year Award
Formed in France in 1895, Gaumont is the first film company in the world, celebrating 125 years of history and innovation. With offices in Paris, Los Angeles, London, Köln and Berlin, Gaumont remains an industry leader, producing and distributing high-quality TV programming and films. Specializing in producing local stories with global appeal, Gaumont’s current slate includes talent-driven, diverse, and distinctive titles across multiple languages for the world’s leading global streaming platforms and channels.
Phil Lord & Chris Miller - Executive Producers/Writers/Directors
Hall of Fame Game-Changer Award
Academy Award winning filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller are the Academy Award winning, multi-hyphenate duo behind some of today’s most successful films including Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Lego Movie, Mitchells vs. The Machines, 21 & 22 Jump Street, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.


Tom McGrath - Director
Hall of Fame Billion Dollar Director Award
Academy Award © nominee Tom McGrath has been working in the entertainment industry for more than 30 years. He most recently directed “The Boss Baby: Family Business,” the highly anticipated sequel to the Academy Award© and Golden Globe nominated film “The Boss Baby,” from DreamWorks Animation.
Chris Meledandri - Founder/CEO/Executive Producer [Illumination Entertainment]
Hall of Fame Vanguard Award
Chris Meledandri, p.g.a. (Produced by) founder and CEO of Illumination Entertainment, is one of the entertainment industry’s leading producers of event-animated films.


Chris Nee - Executive Producer/Creator/Writer
Hall of Fame Game-Changer Award
Peabody, Humanitas, NAACP and Emmy Award-winner Chris Nee is the creator and executive producer of the acclaimed series, “Doc McStuffins,” an imaginative animated series about a six-year-old girl who is a doctor to her stuffed animals and toys. She also developed for television and executive produced the hit animated series “Vampirina,” about a young vampire girl who faces being the new kid in town when her family moves from Transylvania to Pennsylvania.
Jennifer Yuh Nelson - Supervising Director, "Love, Death + Robots"
Hall of Fame Game Changer Award
Jennifer Yuh Nelson is the supervising director of the Netflix animated anthology series “Love, Death + Robots” Volumes 2 & 3.
Jennifer is the first woman to solo direct a major animated feature with DreamWorks “Kung Fu Panda 2” for which she received an Oscar nomination. She also directed “Kung Fu Panda 3” and the live-action feature “The Darkest Minds,” among many other credits spanning her career that started in design and storyboarding.


Bruce W. Smith - Creator/Executive Producer
Hall of Fame Game Changer Award
Bruce W. Smith is creator and executive producer of Disney+’s “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,”the long-anticipated revival of the groundbreaking animated series “The Proud Family.”
Cree Summer - Actress/Voice Over Actress
Hall of Fame Game Changer Award
Known for her charming and unique voice, Cree Summer Francks is one of the most in-demand voice actresses working in animation today. With over 340 roles on her IMDB profile, she has been working continuously since she landed the role of Penny in the 1980s’ Inspector Gadget show when she was only 13.

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