Kung Fu Panda was the unexpected winner last Friday night at the 36th annual Annie Awards. The animated feature length comedy took home the prize for best animation plus fourteen other awards including best direction and character design.

Dustin Hoffman was named best voice actor for his vocal portrayal of Shifu, a surly martial arts guru in the winning movie.

Kung Fu Panda was directed by Mark Osborne & John Stevenson; produced by DreamWorks Animation’s studio and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Another big surprise of the evening was that Wall-E went home empty-handed despite being nominated in eight categories. The latest work from the Pixar stable had previously even been touted as a Best Picture’s nominee at the 2009 Academy Awards, and so was considered a sure bet to win all the big animation awards this year.

In previous years the Annie winner has always gone on to win the Oscar, except in 2007 when the Annies opted for Cars but the Academy chose Happy Feet.

36th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (2008)
(winners in bold *)

Best Animated Feature
Bolt – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation*
$9.99 – Sherman Pictures/Lama Films
WallE – Pixar Animation Studios
Waltz With Bashir – Sony Pictures Classics, Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films

Best Animated Home Entertainment Production
Batman: Gotham Knight – Warner Bros. Animation
Christmas Is Here Again – Easy To Dream Entertainment in association with Renegade Animation
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs – The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment*
Justice League: The New Frontier – Warner Bros. Animation
The Little Mermaid: Ariel Beginning – DisneyToon Studios

Best Animated Short Subject
Glago Guest – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Hot Dog- Bill Plympton Studio
Presto – Pixar Animation Studios
Sebastian Voodoo – Joaquin Baldwin
Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death – Aardman Animations Ltd.*

Best Animated Television Commercial
Giant Monster – Curious Pictures
Long Legs Mr. Hyde – Curious Pictures
Rotofugi: The Collectors – Screen Novelties/RSA Films
Sarah – Z Animation
United Airlines ‘Heart’ – Duck Studios*

Best Animated Television Production
King of the Hill – 20th Century Fox TV
Moral Orel – ShadowMachine
Phineas and Ferb – Disney Television Animation
Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II – ShadowMachine*
The Simpsons – Gracie Films/Fox TV

Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children
A Miser Brothers Christmas – Warner Bros. Animation in association with ABC Family & Cuppa Coffee Studios
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Nickelodeon*
Foster Home for Imaginary Friends ‘Destination Imagination’ – Cartoon Network Studios
The Mighty B! – Nickelodeon
Underfist: Halloween Bash- Cartoon Network Studios

Best Animated Video Game
Dead Space – Electronic Arts
Kung Fu Panda – Activision*
WallE – Heavy Iron Studios, a division of THQ, Inc.

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

Animated Effects
Alen Lai ‘Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears A Who’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Blue Sky Studios
Li-Ming Lawrence Lee ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation*
Fangwei Lee ‘Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation
Kevin Lee ‘Bolt’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Walt Disney Animation Studios
Enrique Vila ‘Wall?‚àö√묨¬¢E’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Pixar Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Feature Production
James Baxter ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation*
Jeff Gabor ‘Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears A Who’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Blue Sky Studios
Philippe Le Brun ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation
Victor Navone ‘Wall?‚àö√묨¬¢E’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Pixar Animation Studios
Dan Wagner ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Television Production or Short Form
Sandro Cleuzo ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation
Joshua A. Jennings ‘Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II’ – ShadowMachine
Pierre Perifel ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation*

Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Valerie Hadida ‘Igor’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Exodus Film Group
Sang Jun Lee ‘Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears A Who’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Blue Sky Studios
Nico Marlet ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation*

Character Design in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Bryan Arnett ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Mighty B! ‘Bat Mitzah Crashers’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Nickelodeon
Ben Balistreri – Foster Home for Imaginary Friends ‘Mondo Coco’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Cartoon Network Studios
Sean Galloway ‘The Spectacular Spider-Man’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Sony Pictures Television
Jorge Gutierrez ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera ‘The Good, The Bad, The Tigre’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Nickelodeon
Nico Marlet ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation*

Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Sam Fell, Rob Stevenhagen ‘The Tale Of Despereaux’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Universal Pictures
Ari Folman ‘Waltz With Bashir’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Sony Pictures Classics, Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films
Tatia Rosenthal ‘9.99’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Sherman Pictures/ Lama Films
John Stevenson & Mark Osborne ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation*
Andrew Stanton ‘Wall?‚àö√묨¬¢E’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Pixar Animation Studios

Directing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Bob Anderson – The Simpsons ‘Treehouse of Horror XIX’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Gracie Films/Fox TV
Joaquim Dos Santos ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Avatar: The Last Airbender ‘Sozin Comet Pt. 3’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Nickelodeon*
Craig McCracken, Rob Renzetti – Foster Home for Imaginary Friends ‘Destination Imagination’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Cartoon Network Studios
Chris McKay ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Moral Orel ‘Passing’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ShadowMachine
Alan Smart – SpongeBob SquarePants ‘Penny Foolish’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Nickelodeon

Music in an Animated Feature Production
Kevin Manthei ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Batman: Gotham Knight’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Warner Bros. Animation
John Powell ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears A Who’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Blue Sky Studios
Max Richter ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Waltz With Bashir’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Sony Pictures Classics, Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films
William Ross ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘The Tale Of Despereaux’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Universal Pictures
Hans Zimmer & John Powell ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation*

Music in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Carl Finch & Brave Combo – Click and Clack ‘As the Wrench Turns’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® CTTV Productions
Henry Jackman, Hans Zimmer & John Powell ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation*
Kevin Kiner ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Star Wars The Clone Wars: Rising Malevolence’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.
Guy Moon ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Back at the Barnyard ‘Cowman: The Uddered Avenger’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Nickelodeon/Omation
Guy Michelmore ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Growing Up Creepie: Rockabye Freakie’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Taffy Entertainment LLC

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Ralph Eggleston ‘Wall?‚àö√묨¬¢E’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Pixar Animation Studios
Paul Felix ‘Bolt’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Walt Disney Animation Studios k
Tang Heng ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation*
Evgeni Tomov ‘The Tale Of Despereaux’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Universal Pictures
Raymond Zibach ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation

Production Design in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Andy Harkness ‘Glago Guest’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Walt Disney Animation Studios
Tang Heng ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation*
Seonna Hong ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® The Mighty B! ‘Bee Patients’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Nickelodeon
Dan Krall ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Chowder ‘The Heavy Sleeper’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Cartoon Network Studios
Raymond Zibach ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Alessandro Carloni ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation
Ronnie Del Carmen ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Wall?‚àö√묨¬¢E’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Pixar Animation Studios
Joe Mateo ‘Bolt’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Walt Disney Animation Studios
Jen Yuh Nelson ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation*
Rob Stevenhagen ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘The Tale Of Despereaux’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Universal Pictures

Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Butch Hartman ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Fairly OddParents ‘Mission: Responsible’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Nickelodeon
Andy Kelly ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Ni Hao, Kai-Lan ‘Twirly Whirly Flyers’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Nickelodeon Productions/Nelvana
Andy Schuhler ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Secret of the Furious Five’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation
Eddie Trigueros ‘The Mighty B! ‘Name Shame’?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Nickelodeon
Chris Williams ‘Glago Guest’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Walt Disney Animation Studios*

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Ben Burtt ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Voice of Wall?‚àö√묨¬¢E ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Wall?‚àö√묨¬¢E’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Pixar Animation Studios
Dustin Hoffman ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Voice of Shifu ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation*
James Hong ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Voice of Mr. Ping ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation
Ian McShane ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Voice of Tai Lung ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation
Mark Walton ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Voice of Rhino ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Bolt’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Walt Disney Animation Studios

Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Ahmed Best ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Voice of Jar Jar Binks ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II’ – ShadowMachine*
Seth MacFarlane ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Voice of Peter Griffin ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Family Guy ‘I Dream of Jesus’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Fox TV Animation/Fuzzy Door Productions
Dwight Schultz ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Voice of Mung Daal ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Chowder ‘Apprentice Games’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Cartoon Network Studios

Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Jon Aibel & Glenn Berger ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Kung Fu Panda’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation*
Etan Cohen and Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation
Ari Folman ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Waltz With Bashir’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Sony Pictures Classics, Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici, Razor Films
Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears A Who’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Blue Sky Studios

Writing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Joel H. Cohen ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® The Simpsons ‘The Debarted’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Gracie Films/Fox TV
Scott Kreamer ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera ‘Mustache Love’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Nickelodeon
Paul McEvoy and Todd Berger ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Secrets of the Furious Five’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® DreamWorks Animation
Tom Root, Douglas Goldstein, Hugh Davidson, Mike Fasolo, Seth Green, Dan Milano, Matthew Senreich, Kevin Shinick, Zeb Wells, Breckin Meyer ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ShadowMachine*
Chris Williams ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® ‘Glago Guest’ ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® Walt Disney Animation Studios

JURIED AWARDS
Winsor McCay recipients – Mike Judge, John Lasseter and Nick Park for career contributions to the art of animation
June Foray award – Bill Turner for significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation
Certificate of Merit award – Amir Avni, Mike Fontanelli, Kathy Turner, Alex Vassilev

ASIFA-Hollywood: An Organization With A Purpose
ASIFA-Hollywood is the Los Angeles chapter of the international organization, ASIFA: The International Animated Film Society. Founded by a group of animators in 1957, and chartered by UNESCO in 1960, ASIFA encourages the art of animation and furthers international understanding and goodwill through the medium. Today, there are about thirty chapters of ASIFA all over the globe. ASIFA is a French acronym for “Association Internationale du Film D’Animation.”

ASIFA-Hollywood was established over thirty-five years ago as a 501(c)(3) California non-profit organization. It is the largest chapter of ASIFA in the world. We are self-sustaining through our membership dues and the proceeds from our various projects and events.

www.annieawards.org