ANNIE AWARD NOMINATIONS - LAIKA'S THE BOXTROLLS LEADS

Gradually redeeming themselves following their Kung Fu Panda / WALL-E misstep a few years back, the Annie nominations have been revealed. It's a strong lineup, with a variety of acclaimed titles up for major awards, and 13 of the Academy's 20 eligible titles featured. Leading the field is Laika's The Boxtrolls, with thirteen mentions, followed by How to Train Your Dragon 2 with ten, Big Hero 6 and Song of the Sea (now who ever said that it wasn't an Oscar contender?) with seven, The LEGO Movie with six and The Book of Life with five. Awards will be announced on the 31st of January.

Best Animated Feature

• Big Hero 6 (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
• The Book of Life (Reel FX)
• The Boxtrolls (Focus Features / Laika)
• Cheatin' (Plymptoons Studio)
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 (DreamWorks Animation)
• The LEGO Movie (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• Song of the Sea (Cartoon Saloon / GKIDS)
• The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (GKIDS /Studio Ghibli)

Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature

• Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi (The Boxtrolls)
• Dean DeBlois (How to Train Your Dragon 2)
• Jorge R. Gutierrez (The Book of Life)
• Don Hall and Chris Williams (Big Hero 6)
• Phil Lord, Chris McKay and Christopher Miller (The LEGO Movie)
• Tomm Moore (Song of the Sea)
• Bill Plympton (Cheatin')
• Takahata Isao (The Tale of the Princess Kaguya)

Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production

• Dee Bradley Baker as the voice of Fish (The Boxtrolls)
• Andy Garcia as the voice of Eduardo (Rio 2)
• Ben Kingsley as the voice of Archibald Snatcher (The Boxtrolls)
• Cyndi Lauper as the voice of Nurse Cyndi (Henry & Me)

Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production

• Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson and Jordan Roberts (Big Hero 6)
• Irena Brignull and Adam Pava (The Boxtrolls)
• Will Collins (Song of the Sea)
• Dean DeBlois (How to Train Your Dragon 2)
• Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The LEGO Movie)

Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production

• Rodrigo Castro (Rio 2)
• Emanuela Cozzi (The Boxtrolls)
• John Hurst (Rio 2)
• Mai Truong Son (How to Train Your Dragon 2)
• Julian Narino (The Boxtrolls)
• Piero Peluso (Planes: Fire and Rescue)
• Marc E. Smith (Big Hero 6)

Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in an Animated Feature Production

• David Burrows, Todd Hansen, Courtney O'Brien-Brown, Doug Nicholas and Jonathan Tappin (The LEGO Movie)
• Darragh Byrne (Song of the Sea)
• John K. Carr (How to Train Your Dragon 2)
• Karen Hathaway, Mark Keefer and Dan Molina (Planes: Fire and Rescue)
• Tim Mertens (Big Hero 6)

Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production

• Grant Freckelton (The LEGO Movie)
• August Hall, Paul Lasaine and Tom McClure (The Boxtrolls)
• David James, Timothy Lamb, Ruben Perez, Alexandre Puvilland and Priscilla Wong (Mr. Peabody & Sherman)
• Adrien Merigeau (Song of the Sea)
• Paul Sullivan and Simon Varela (The Book of Life)

Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in a Live Action Production

• Steve Avoujageli, Pawel Grochola, Ikarashi Atsushi, Viktor Lundqvist and Paul Waggoner (Edge of Tomorrow)
• Michael Balog, Rick Hankins, John Hansen and Jim van Allen (Transformers: Age of Extinction)
• Owen Calouro, Karin Cooper, Raul Essig and Rick Hankins (Noah)
• Charles-Felix Chabert, Daniel La Chapelle, Spencer Lueders, Chris Messineo and Klaus Seitschek (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)
• Areito Echevarria, Ronnie Menahem, Kevin Romond, Andreas Soderstrom and Christoph Sprenger (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)
• Jeremy Hampton, Daniel Jenkins, Edmond Smith III, Daniel Stern and Tsubokawa Hiroshi (X-Men: Days of Future Past)

Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Production

• Yash Argawal, Nicolas Delbecq, Santosh Khedkar and Mitul Patel (Penguins of Madagascar)
• Danielle Brooks, Jayandera Danappal, Matt Ebb, Christian Epunan Hernandez and Raphael Gadot (The LEGO Movie)
• Joseph Burnette, Bill Konersman, Chris Rasch, Augusto Schillaci and Erich Turner (The Book of Life)
• Robert Chen, Lee Fang Wei, Krzysztof Rost and Yoon Ji Hyun (Mr. Peabody & Sherman)
• Peter DeMund, Henrik Falt, David Hutchins, Michael Kaschalk and John Kosnik (Big Hero 6)
• Kent Estep, Ralph Procida, Rick Sevy, Peter Stuart and Peter Vickery (The Boxtrolls)
• James Jackson, Lucas Janin, Tobin Jones, Jason Mayer and Baptiste van Opstal (How to Train Your Dragon 2)

Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production

• Bruno Coulais and Kila (Song of the Sea)
• Danny Elfman (Mr. Peabody & Sherman)
• Hisaishi Jo (The Tale of the Princess Kaguya)
• Jonsi and John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon 2)
• Nicole Renaud (Cheatin')

Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Live Action Production

• Daniel Barrett, Alessandro Bonora, Dejan Momcilovic, Paul Story and Eteuati Tema (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)
• David Clayton, Guillaume Francois, Gios Johnston, Eric Reynolds and Andreja Vuckovic (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)
• Sidney Kombo, Chris Mullins, Dale Newton, Brad Silby and Kevin Spruce (Guardians of the Galaxy)

Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Feature Production

• Thomas Grummt (How to Train Your Dragon 2)
• Steven Hornby (How to Train Your Dragon 2)
• Ravi Kamble (Penguins of Madagascar)
• Travis Knight (The Boxtrolls)
• Malcolm Lamont (The Boxtrolls)
• Fabio Lignini (How to Train Your Dragon 2)
• Jason Stalman (The Boxtrolls)

Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Feature Production

• Sandra Anderson, Rosa Ballester Cabo, Tomm Moore and Marie Thorhauge (Song of the Sea)
• Sandra Equihua, Jorse R. Gutierrez and Paul Sullivan (The Book of Life)
• Jose Manuel Fernandez Oli, Lee Sang Jun and Jason Sadler (Rio 2)
• Craig Kellman, Todd Kurosawa, Stevie Lewis and Joe Moshier (Penguins of Madagascar)
• Kim Jin and Kim Shi Yoon (Big Hero 6)
• Timothy Lamb and Joe Moshier (Mr. Peabody & Sherman)
• Mike Smith (The Boxtrolls)

Best Student Film

• After School (Xiao Jun Yi)
• El Coyote (Javier Barboza)
• Dead Over Heels (Jose Matheu)
• Frog's Legs (Katie Tamboer)
• My Big Brother (Jason Rayner)
• Tiny Nomad (Toniko Pantoja)

Best Animated Short Subject

• Coda (62 George Street)
• The Dam Keeper (Tonko House LLC)
• Duet (Glen Keane Productions)
• Feast (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
• Inside Homer - The Simpsons Couch Gag (Episode #549) (Acme Filmworks)
• Me and My Moulton (National Film Board of Canada)
• The Raven (Moonbot Studios)
• Silent (Creative Artists Agency)