Annie Awards facts for kids

The Annie Awards are special prizes given out every year to celebrate the best in animation! They recognize amazing work in animated movies and TV shows from the United States. These awards have been presented since 1972 by a group called ASIFA-Hollywood, which is the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association.

At first, the Annie Awards honored people for their whole career in animation. But since 1992, they have also given awards for specific animated films and TV shows.

To be a member of ASIFA-Hollywood, you can join as a professional, an animation fan, or a student. Members pay a fee. Some professional members get to vote on who wins the awards each year.

The 48th and 49th Annie Awards ceremonies were held online in 2021 and 2022. This was because of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time.

History of the Annie Awards

In 1972, a talented person named June Foray had a great idea. She thought there should be awards just for animation! With the help of Nick Bosustow, who was the president of ASIFA-Hollywood, the first Annie Award ceremony was put together.

The very first ceremony took place in Studio City, California. The first people honored were Max Fleischer and Dave Fleischer. They were celebrated for creating famous characters like Betty Boop, and for bringing Popeye and Olive Oyl to life in cartoons. They also invented a cool animation trick called rotoscoping.

Why are they called "Annie Awards"?

June Foray shared that her husband, Hobart Donavan, suggested the name "Annie." He thought it was a perfect fit because the awards are all about animation!

The Annie Award Trophy

The first Annie Award trophy was given out at the second ceremony. It went to Walter Lantz, who created the famous Woody Woodpecker. This first trophy was made of wood and plastic. It looked like a zoetrope, which is an old toy that makes pictures seem to move.

The next year, a designer named Tom Woodward created the trophy that is still given out today.

Award Categories

As of 2025, there are 37 different Annie Award categories. These awards celebrate achievements in both animated movies and TV shows.

Past Categories

Some award categories are no longer given out. These include:

• Best Animated Home Entertainment Production
• Best Virtual Reality Production
• Outstanding Animated Effects – Live Action
• Best Animated Television Production
• Best Animated Video Game

Records and Achievements

The Annie Awards have seen some amazing achievements over the years!

Film Achievements

• First non-English-language film to win Best Animated Feature:
  • Spirited Away (in 2002)
• First stop-motion film to win Best Animated Feature:
  • Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (in 2005)
• Most awards won by a feature-length film: 11 awards
  • Coco (in 2017)
• Most awards won by a short film: 4 awards
  • The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (in 2022)
• Films that won all their nominated categories (with more than 3 nominations): 15 films have achieved this!
  • Coco (in 2017) won all 11 of its 13 nominations.
  • The Incredibles (in 2004), Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (in 2005), and Kung Fu Panda (in 2008) each won all 10 of their 16 nominations.
  • The Iron Giant (in 1999) and How to Train Your Dragon (in 2010) each won all 10 of their 15 nominations.
  • Mulan (in 1998) won all 10 of its 12 nominations.
  • Finding Nemo (in 2002) won all 9 of its 12 nominations.
  • The Wild Robot (in 2024) won all 9 of its 10 nominations.
  • The Mitchells vs. the Machines (in 2021) won all 8 of its 8 nominations.
  • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (in 2018), Klaus (in 2019), and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (in 2023) each won all 7 of their 7 nominations.
  • Pocahontas (in 1995) won all 4 of its 7 nominations.
  • Spirited Away (in 2002) won all 4 of its 4 nominations.
  • I Lost My Body (in 2019) won all 3 of its 3 nominations.
• Most nominations received by a feature-length film: 16 nominations
  • This record is held by The Incredibles (in 2004), Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (in 2005), and Kung Fu Panda (in 2008).
• Most nominations received by a short film: 9 nominations
  • Prep & Landing (in 2009)
• Most nominations received without winning any awards by a feature-length film: 0 wins out of 13 nominations
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (in 1996)

Television Achievements

• Most wins received by a single season of a TV show: 9 awards
  • Arcane (first season, in 2021)
• TV show season that won all its nominated categories (with more than 3 nominations):
  • Arcane (first season, in 2021) won all 9 of its 9 nominations.

See also

In Spanish: Premios Annie para niños

• List of animation awards
• List of Annie Awards ceremonies
• International Animated Film Association