51st Annie Award Nominations: Netflix’s ‘Nimona’ Leads, Walt Disney and Pixar Shut Out of Feature for First Time Ever

For the first time in the 51 years of the Annie Awards, which recognize animated films, Walt Disney and Pixar were not represented in the group’s top category of Best Feature.

Netflix‘s Nimona, a story about a knight in a futuristic medieval world is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona — a mischievous teen who happens to be a shapeshifting creature he’s sworn to destroy, led the features category of the 51st Annie Awards nominations with nine, including best feature, director, character animation, character design, production design, storyboarding, voice acting, writing and editorial.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Boy and the Heron have shared critics wins almost equally this season until the latter won the Golden Globe last weekend for Best Animated Feature. Both films picked up seven Annie nominations, along with Suzume. Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Pixar’s Elemental followed with six each and Robot Dreams, a nominees in the best independent category, scored five.

In the voice acting category, several top films were left out, including Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Boy and the Heron, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Elemental. The nominees there were David Hornsby for Merry Little Batman (Character: Joker), Tresi Gazal for Migration (Character: Gwen), Chloë Grace Moretz for Nimona (Character: Nimona), Hokuto Matsumura for Suzume (Character: Souta Munakata) and Jack Black for The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Character: Bowser).

Joining Arcadia Motion Pictures’ Robot Dreams in the independent feature race are Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia from Folivari, Mélusine Productions, Studio Canal and distributed by GKIDS; Cinemon Entertainment’s Four Souls of Coyote; Curiosity Studios’ The Inventor and White Plastic Sky from Salto Films & Artichoke.

Netflix’s Blue Eye Samurai led the field in the TV/media categories, picking up seven nominations. It was followed closely by Disney TV Animation’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Visions with six each, Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire (Triggerfish Animation for Disney+) with five, and What If… from Disney+ and Max’s Scavengers Reign with four each.

Juried awards will also be handed out by ASIFA-Hollywood, the organization behind the Annies, “honoring exemplary contributions to the animation industry.” The Winsor McCay Award for lifetime or career achievement will go to the late animator and director Charlotte “Lotte” Reiniger, longtime Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi – who is nominated for his score for The Boy and the Heron – and National Film Board animator and producer Marcy Page. The BRIC Foundation, co-founded by Alison Mann and Nicole Hendrix, will receive the June Foray Award for charitable impact for its work to boost representation across the entertainment, gaming, media and tech industries. The late animation pioneer John Oxberry will receive the Ub Iwerks Award for technical achievement and a Special Achievement Award will be presented to the artists of Walt Disney Animation. The Special Achievement Award is given to honor unique and outstanding work not recognized within the existing award category structure.

Netflix movies and series absolutely dominated the overall animation nominations total with 28. The nearest competitors were Disney with eight, Pixar and Lucasfilm with seven each and DreamWorks Animation and Apple with five apiece.

The 51st annual Annie Awards will be held on Saturday, February 17, at UCLA’s Royce Hall. A pre-show reception will begin at 4:30pm, followed by the ceremony at 7pm.

Here is the complete list of nominations.

BEST FEATURE

Nimona, Annapurna Animation for Netflix

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures Animation

Suzume, CoMix Wave Films Inc. and STORY Inc.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies

The Boy and the Heron, Studio Ghibli/Distributed by GKIDS

BEST FEATURE-INDEPENDENT

Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, Folivari, Mélusine Productions, Studio Canal/Distributed by GKIDS

Four Souls of Coyote, Cinemon Entertainment

Robot Dreams, Arcadia Motion Pictures

The Inventor, Curiosity Studios

White Plastic Sky, Salto Films & Artichoke

BEST SPECIAL PRODUCTION

Invincible: Atom Eve, Amazon MGM Studios, Skybound Entertainment

Shape Island: The Winter Blues, Bix Pix Entertainment in association with Apple

Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie, WildBrain Studios in association with Apple

The Smeds and The Smoos, Magic Light Pictures

The Velveteen Rabbit, Magic Light Pictures in association with Apple

BEST SHORT SUBJECT

Carne de Dios, Ojo Raro & Fedora Productions

Daffy in Wackyland, Warner Bros. Animation

HUMO, Outik Animation, 3rd Street Video, Mindsoup Entertainment, IMCINE

PINA, Punchline Cinema/Next Days Films

WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko, ElectroLeague

BEST SPONSORED

Video Games by Tenacious D, Pinreel Inc.

Alzheimer’s Research UK ‘Change The Ending,’ Passion Pictures

Laugh Track – The National (featuring Phoebe Bridgers), Bernard Derriman

Up in Smoke, Nomint

BEST TV/MEDIA – PRESCHOOL

Batwheels,Episode: To the Batmobile!, Warner Bros. Animation

Ghee Happy, Episode: Navagraha, Ghee Happy Studio

Playdate with Winnie the Pooh, Episode: Piglet, Tigger and the Cardboard Box, Oddbot Inc.

StoryBots: Answer Time, Episode: Fractions, JibJab Bros. Studios for Netflix

The Creature Cases, Episode: The Forest Food Bandit, Silvergate Media/Team TO/Choice/Provisions/Netflix

BEST TV/MEDIA – CHILDREN

CURSES!, Episode: The Baboon Temple, DreamWorks Animation

Hilda, Episode: Chapter 8: The Fairy Isle, Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix Inc. and Mercury Filmworks

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Episode: The Beyonder, Flying Bark Productions/Disney Television Animation

My Dad the Bounty Hunter, Episode: Bizarre Ride, A Netflix Series

Shape Island, Episode: 105B Square’s Special Place, Bix Pix Entertainment in association with Apple

BEST TV/MEDIA – MATURE

Big Mouth, Episode: The International Show, Netflix

Blue Eye Samurai, Episode: Pilot: Hammerscale, A Netflix Series/3 Arts Entertainment and Blue Spirit Productions

Bob’s Burgers, Episode: Amelia, 20th Television Animation

Scavengers Reign, Episode: The Signal, Max in association with Titmouse Animation and Green Street

Tomato Kitchen, Episode: Special Production, Bilibili / Studio Reflection

BEST TV/MEDIA – LIMITED SERIES

Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, Episode: Enkai, Triggerfish Animation Studio & Blinkink

Only You: An Animated Shorts Collection, Episode: Yellowbird, Afterman production in association with Max/Warner Bros. Discovery

Pokémon: Path to the Peak, Episode: 1, The Pokémon Company International

BEST STUDENT FILM

From The Top; Student Director: Rich Farris, Student Producer: Martina Buendia Silva, School: National Film and Television School

Kolaj; Student Director: Besen Dilek, Student Producer: Besen Dilek, School: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH

La quête de l’humain; Student Team: Mélina Ienco, Lucie JURIC, Caroline Leibel, Faustine MERLE, Claire Pellet, School: Gobelins, l’école de l’image

Quem Salva; Student Team: Laure Devin, Maxime Bourstin, Nathan Medam, Charles Hechinger and Titouan Jaouen, School: Supinfocom Rubika

The Little Poet; Student Director: Justine King, Student Producer: Justine King, School: California Institute of the Arts

BEST FX – TV/MEDIA

Blue Eye Samurai, Episode: All Evil Dreams and Angry Words; Production Company: A Netflix Series / 3 Arts Entertainment and Blue Spirit Productions; FX Production Company: Blue Spirit; Thomas Decaens, Karl Burtin, Laurent Bretonniere

Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, Episode: Moremi; Production Company: Triggerfish for Disney+; FX Production Company: Lucan Matthew Dunwoody, Dmitry Sarkisov, Podchasha Yuri Anatolyevich, Richard Bothma, Emile Van Straaten

Star Wars: Visions, Episode: Sith; Production Company: Lucasfilm Ltd.; FX Production Company: El Guiri Studios; Jonatan Catalán, Alberto Sánchez, Phoebe Arjona, Virginia Cantaro, Rubén Hinarejos

The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday, Episode: The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday; Production Company: DreamWorks Animation; FX Production Company: DreamWorks Animation and 88 Pictures; Sateesh Malla, Russell Richardson Jr., Akash Gopal, Basavaraj P, Kevin Rumold

What If…?, Episode 206 “What If…Kahhori Reshaped the World?” Episode: 206; Production Company: Marvel Studios; FX Production Company: SDFX Studios; Ryan Barringer, Rajkumar Gurudu, Bipin Kumar Patra, Pranil Ravindra Mahajan

BEST FX – FEATURE

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget; Production Company: Netflix Presents An Aardman Production; FX Production Company: Aardman Production; Charles Copping, Jon Biggins, Jim Lewis, Rich Spence, Martin Lipmann

Elemental; Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios; FX Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios; Chris Chapman, Tim Speltz, Krzysztof Rost, Amit Baadkar, Ravindra Dwivedi

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Production Company: Sony Pictures Animation; FX Production Company: Sony Pictures Imageworks; Pav Grochola, Filippo Maccari, Naoki Kato, Nicola Finizio, Edmond Boulet-Gilly

Suzume; Production Company: CoMix Wave Films Inc. and Story Inc.; FX Production Company: CoMix Wave Films Inc. and Story Inc.; Yoshitaka Takeuchi, Hiroyuki Seshita

The Peasants; Production Company: Breakthru Films; FX Production Company: Breakthru Productions; Lukasz Mackiewicz, Kamil Polak

BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – TV/MEDIA

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, Episode: The Winter King; Cartoon Network Studios; Alex Small-Butera

Blue Eye Samurai, Episode: Episodes 101, 104 and 106; A Netflix Series/3 Arts Entertainment and Blue Spirit Productions; Alex Bard

Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, Episode: Moremi, Surf Sangoma, Stardust; Triggerfish Animation for Disney+; Andre DeVilliers

Star Wars: Visions, Episode: I Am Your Mother; Lucasfilm Ltd.; Laurie Sitzia

The Amazing Digital Circus: Pilot, Episode: 1; Glitch Productions; Kevin Temmer

BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – FEATURE

Elemental, Pixar Animation Studios, Jessica Torres

Nimona, Annapurna Animation for Netflix, Toby Seale

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, DreamWorks Animation, Prashanth Cavale

Suzume, CoMix Wave Films Inc. and Story Inc., Kenichi Tsuchiya

The Boy and the Heron, Studio Ghibli/Distributed by GKIDS, Takeshi Honda

BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – LIVE ACTION

Ahsoka; Production Company: Lucasfilm; FX Production Company: Industrial Light & Magic; Rick O’Connor, Mike Beaulieu, Stewart Alves, Kevin Reuter, Wai Kit Wan

Cocaine Bear; Production Company: Wētā FX; FX Production Company: Wētā FX; Carmelo Leggiero, Steve Braggs, Kevin Kelm, Cedric Enriquez Canlas, Kane Elferink

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; Production Company: Marvel Studios; FX Production Company: Framestore; Fernando Herrera, Chris Hurtt, Nathan McConnel, Daniel Cabral, Chris McGaw

The Little Mermaid; Production Company: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; FX Production Company: Framestore; Pablo Grillo, Kayn Garcia, Ferran Casas, Stuart Ellis, Joseph Lewis

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts; Production Company: Wētā FX; FX Production Company: Wētā FX; Kevin Estey, Kai-Hua Lan, Blaine Toderian Toderian, Richard John Moore, Joseph C.K Leong

BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – VIDEO GAME

Atomic Heart; Mundfish; Mundfish Animation Team

Hogwarts Legacy; Avalanche Software; Tara Edwards

Let’s! Revolution!; Buck; Buck Animation Team

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2; Insomniac Games; Insomniac Games Animation Team

Teslagrad 2; Rain Games; Aslak Helgesen

BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – TV/MEDIA

Clone High, Episode: Let’s Try This Again; Max in association with Lord Miller, Doozer, ShadowMachine, and MTV Entertainment; Tara Billinger

Jessica’s Big Little World, Episode: Bedtime Routine; Cartoon Network Studios; Nick Winn

Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, Episode: You Give Me Heart; Triggerfish for Disney+; Lesego Vorester

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Episode: 515M-106 (The Beyonder); Disney Television Animation/Cinema Gypsy Productions; Jose Lopez

Spirit Rangers, Episode: Water Protectors; Laughing Wild/Netflix; Marie Delmas

BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – FEATURE

Elemental; Pixar Animation Studios; Maria Yi

Merry Little Batman; Amazon MGM Studios, Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment; Nikolas Ilic

Nimona; Annapurna Animation for Netflix; Aidan Sugano

Robot Dreams; Arcadia Motion Pictures; Daniel Fernandez Casas

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Sony Pictures Animation; Jesús Alonso Iglesias

BEST DIRECTION – TV/MEDIA

Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, Episode: Moremi; Triggerfish Animation Studio & Lucan Studio; Shofela Coker, Andrew McNally

My Dad the Bounty Hunter, Episode: Bizarre Ride; A Netflix Series; Kenji Ono, Kai Akira, Patrick Harpin

Pokémon Concierge, Episode: #2 What’s on Your Mind, Psyduck?; Dwarf Studios for Netflix; Iku Ogawa

Scavengers Reign, Episode: The Fall; Max in association with Titmouse Animation and Green Street; Diego Porral

Star Wars: Visions, Episode: Screecher’s Reach; Lucasfilm Ltd.; Paul Young

BEST DIRECTION – FEATURE

Nimona; Annapurna Animation for Netflix; Nick Bruno, Troy Quane

Robot Dreams; Arcadia Motion Pictures; Pablo Berger, Benoît Feroumont

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Sony Pictures Animation; Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem; Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies; Jeff Rowe, Kyler Spears

The Boy and the Heron; Studio Ghibli/Distributed by GKIDS; Hayao Miyazaki

BEST MUSIC – TV/MEDIA

Animaniacs, Episode: Talladega Mice; Warner Brothers Animation/Amblin Entertainment/HULU Originals; Steven Bernstein, Julie Bernstein

Babylon 5: The Road Home, Special Production; Warner Bros. Animation; Michael McCuistion, Kristopher Carter, Lolita Ritmanis

Pacemaker, Short Film; A Running Commentary; Christopher Lennertz

Star Wars: Visions, Episode: Aau’s Song; Lucasfilm Ltd.; Markus Wormstorm, Nadia Darries, Dineo du Toit

The Smeds and The Smoos, Special Production; Magic Light Pictures; René Aubry

BEST MUSIC – FEATURE

Elemental; Pixar Animation Studios; Thomas Newman, Ari “Laiv” Leff

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Sony Pictures Animation; Daniel Pemberton, Metro Boomin

Suzume; CoMix Wave Films Inc. and Story Inc.; Kazuma Jinnouchi, Radwimps

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem; Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies; Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

The Boy and the Heron; Studio Ghibli/Distributed by GKIDS; Joe Hisaishi

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – TV/MEDIA

Blue Eye Samurai, Episode: Hammerscale; Netflix Animation; Jason Scheier

Blue Eye Samurai, Episode: The Great Fire of 1657; A Netflix Series/3 Arts Entertainment and Blue Spirit Productions; Toby Wilson, James Wilson, Emil Mitev

Scavengers Reign, Episode: The Storm; Max in association with Titmouse Animation and Green Street; Charles Huettner, Jonathan Djob Nkondo, Pauline Mauvière, Hugo Moreno, Jon Juarez

Star Wars: Visions, Episode: Sith; Lucasfilm Ltd.; Carlos Salgado

What If…?, Episode: What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?; Marvel Studios; Paul Lasaine, Kristina Vardazaryan, Cynthia Halley, Ryan Magno, Simon Dunsdon

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – FEATURE

Elemental; Pixar Animation Studios; Don Shank, Maria Yi, Dan Holland, Jennifer Chang, Laura Meyer

Nimona; Annapurna Animation for Netflix; Aidan Sugano, Jeff Turley

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Sony Pictures Animation; Patrick O’Keefe, Dean Gordon

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem; Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies; Yashar Kassai, Arthur, Tiffany Lam

The Boy and the Heron; Studio Ghibli/Distributed by GKIDS; Yoji Takeshige

BEST STORYBOARDING – TV/MEDIA

Craig Before The Creek, Episode: Craig Before The Creek; Cartoon Network Studios; Erik Fountain

Fright Krewe, Episode: The Blood Awakening, Part 1; DreamWorks Animation; Leah Artwick

Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Episode: Never Give Up; Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Television; Kristine Lee

Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, Episode: Apok-ta-pokalypse Now, Part II; DreamWorks Animation; Grace Liu

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Episode: 515M-107 “Run the Rink”; Disney Television Animation/Cinema Gypsy Productions; Ben Juwono

BEST STORYBOARDING – FEATURE

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget; Netflix Presents An Aardman Production; Richard Phelan

Nimona; Annapurna Animation for Netflix; Esteban Bravo

Robot Dreams; Arcadia Motion Pictures; Maca Gil

Suzume; CoMix Wave Films Inc. and Story Inc.; Makoto Shinkai

The Boy and the Heron; Studio Ghibli/Distributed by GKIDS; Hayao Miyazaki

BEST VOICE ACTING – TV/MEDIA

Archer, Episode: Keys Open Doors; FX Productions; Aisha Tyler (Character: Lana Kane)

Craig Before The Creek, Episode: Craig Before The Creek; Cartoon Network Studios; Vico Ortiz (Character: Serena)

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Episode: Moon Girl Landing; Flying Bark Productions/Disney Television Animation; Diamond White (Character: Lunella Lafayette/Moon Girl)

Solar Opposites, Episode: The Re-Visibility Bouillabaisse; 20th Television Animation; Dan Stevens (Character: Korvo)

The Velveteen Rabbit, Episode: The Velveteen Rabbit; Magic Light Pictures in association with Apple; Alex Lawther (Character: Velveteen Rabbit)

BEST VOICE ACTING – FEATURE

Merry Little Batman; Amazon MGM Studios, Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment; David Hornsby (Character: Joker)

Migration; Illumination; Tresi Gazal (Character: Gwen)

Nimona; Annapurna Animation for Netflix; Chloë Grace Moretz (Character: Nimona)

Suzume; CoMix Wave Films Inc. and Story Inc.; Hokuto Matsumura (Character: Souta Munakata)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie; Illumination; Jack Black (Character: Bowser)

BEST WRITING – TV/MEDIA

Blue Eye Samurai, Episode: Episode 105: The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride; A Netflix Series/3 Arts Entertainment and Blue Spirit Productions; Amber Noizumi

Only You: An Animated Shorts Collection, Episode: Yellowbird; Afterman production in association with Max/Warner Bros. Discovery; Tsvetelina Zdraveva, Jerred North

Rock Paper Scissors, Episode: Birthday Police; Nickelodeon Animation Studios; Josh Lehrman, Kyle Stegina, Aram Spencer Porter, Julia Prescott, Mike Trapp

Rosie’s Rules, Episode: Time Trouble; 9 Story Media Group, Brown Bag Films; Leyani Diaz, Maria Escobedo

Scavengers Reign, Episode: The Reunion; Max in association with Titmouse Animation and Green Street; Sean Buckelew

BEST WRITING – FEATURE

Nimona; Annapurna Animation for Netflix; Robert L. Baird, Lloyd Taylor

Robot Dreams; Arcadia Motion Pictures; Pablo Berger

Suzume; CoMix Wave Films Inc. and Story Inc.; Makoto Shinkai

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem; Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies; Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Jeff Rowe, Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit

The Boy and the Heron; Studio Ghibli/Distributed by GKIDS; Hayao Miyazaki

BEST EDITORIAL – TV/MEDIA

Blue Eye Samurai, Episode: Episode 105: The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride; A Netflix Series/3 Arts Entertainment and Blue Spirit Productions; Yuka Shirasuna

Hilda, Episode: Chapter 6: The Forgotten Lake; Hilda Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media Company, Netflix Inc. and Mercury Filmworks; John Mckinnon, Mike Stefanelli

I Am Groot, Episode: Groot’s Snow Day; Marvel Studios; Dan Urrutia

Star Wars: Visions, Episode: Screecher’s Reach; Lucasfilm Ltd.; Richie Cody, ACE, BFE

The Legend of Vox Machina, Episode: The Sunken Tomb; Amazon MGM Studios, Critical Role Productions, Titmouse; Todd Raleigh

BEST EDITORIAL – FEATURE

Elemental; Pixar Animation Studios; Stephen Schaffer, Amera Rizk, Gregory Snyder, Jen Jew, Kevin Rose-Williams

Leo; Happy Madison for Netflix; Patrick Voetberg, Joseph Titone, Darrian M. James, Danny Miller, Brian Robinson

Nimona; Annapurna Animation for Netflix; Randy Trager, Erin Crackel, Stephen Schwartz, Ashley Calle

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Sony Pictures Animation; Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Editorial Team

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem; Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies; Greg Levitan, Illya Quinteros, David Croomes, Myra Owyang