'Up' named best pic at Annies, which are not without intrigue (THR, CB)
By R. Kinsey Lowe
Pixar's "Up" was named best animated feature, and the movie's Pete Docter was honored as best director Saturday at the 37th annual Annie Awards at UCLA's Royce Hall.
Even though Pixar has long complained that Jeffrey Katzenberg's DreamWorks Animation has had an unfair advantage at the awards because more voting members work for DreamWorks, Pixar and its corporate sibling Disney (and DreamWorks arch-rival) managed to walk away Saturday with eight awards altogether compared with DreamWorks' five.
�Up� lost in the score and screenplay categories despite the fact that both are nominated for Oscars and, the New York Times' Carpetbagger blog noted, while DreamWorks, which did not have a best feature nominee, walked away with five Annies, including a win for best TV production for children (�The Penguins of Madagascar�) and feature storyboarding (�Monsters vs. Aliens�).
Disney's non-Pixar awards were three for �The Princess and the Frog� and three for its TV special �Prep and Landing.� Other winners included �Coraline� (Focus Features), which took home three awards, including character design. That would make eight total versus five for DreamWorks, but hey, who but the two rivals are counting?
Other big Annie feature winners were Laika's remarkable 3-D stop-motion animated "Coraline" and Disney's hand-drawn "The Princess and the Frog," which won three trophies each.
"Coraline" won the categories for character design, music and production design. "The Princess and the Frog" was recognized for animated effects, character animation and voice acting.
"Up" is the favorite to win the Oscar for animated feature, and is only the second animated film to earn a nomination in the best picture category. It is also nominated for best screenplay, music and sound editing Oscars.
"We always look at these as films; we take them as seriously as anyone else does in this industry," Docter � wearing an Ellie badge on his lapel � said of the best picture nod, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "The fact that our peers are looking at this film in the same way is just fantastic."
"Up" bested fellow annie nominees "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" from Sony Pictures Animation, "Coraline," 20th Century Fox's "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "The Princess and the Frog" and "The Secret of Kells" from Cartoon Saloon.
Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach won the writing category for "Fantastic Mr. Fox." DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens" collected the award for storyboarding. Disney's "Prep and Landing" won three trophies in the television category, including best animated TV program.
In all, awards were presented in 23 Annie categories in features, TV and commercials.
The Annie for best animated feature has matched the Oscar winner each year (except twice) since the Academy Awards first awarded the category in 2002. A year ago, the Annie Awards received some scrutiny after DreamWorks' "Kung Fu Panda" dominated the Annies and won the top prize, shutting out eventual Oscar winner "Wall-E" from Pixar.
But the Annies didn't let its show pass without slapping DreamWorks Animationn CEO Katzenberg on the back with this year's Winsor McCay Award for career achievement.
"Coraline" director Henry Selick enthused, meanwhile, "This is the golden age of animation. It is no longer one technique that everyone is getting behind. Hand-drawn, 3D, CG, stop-motion -- I'm sure someone could move sand on glass, and if it were funny or clever, people would go to see it. It is the best time I've ever experienced."
