Today, The International Animated Film Society, announced three new nominees for its 44th Annual Annie Awards. The first two previously known nominations include Long Way North and My Life As A Zucchini. Today Production I.G's Miss Hokusai, Studio Ghibli's The Red Turtle, and Makoto Shinkai's Your Name joined the the other nominated feature films.
Those feature animated film's won't stop there either. Shinkai (Your Name) and Michael Dudok de Wit (The Red Turtle) are both nominated for Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated Feature Production. The Red Turtle is also nominated for Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in an Animated Production. Composer Laurent Perez del Mar was nominated for Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated Feature Production, while writer Pascale Ferran was nominated for Outstanding Achievement, Writing in an Animated Feature Production.
Sadly, none of the independant animated feature films are included in the Annie Awards main Best Animated Feature category. It is noteworthy however, that Studio Laika's Japanese-themed Kubo and the Two Strings was nominated for the prestigous award. It will battle Finding Dory, Kung Fu Panda 3, Moana, and Zootopia for the top honor.
The Annie Awards will be held on February 7th, 2017.