The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, announced that TV, film and voice actor Patrick Warburton will host the 41st Annie Awards, Feb. 1 at UCLA’s Royce Hall.
“We are really excited to have Patrick hosting this year’s ceremony,” ASIFA-Hollywood president, Frank Gladstone said. “With his love of animation and deadpan comedic style, we know he will keep the show lively, funny and very entertaining.”
Warburton quickly became a popular semi-regular in the hit TV series Seinfeld, involved in a running joke about his frequent breakups and reconciliations with Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). He stayed with the show until it finished in 1998, and provided the voice for Superman in a series of commercials with Jerry Seinfeld. He has contributed his memorable voice to characters on the animated shows Hercules, and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and as sorceress Yzma’s (Eartha Kitt) not-too-bright thug assistant in Disney‘s animated feature, The Emperor’s New Groove (2000).
In 2001, Warburton signed on as the star voice of the Fox sitcom The Tick, about a muscle-bound, dimwitted superhero in a blue costume. High-profile projects in 2002 included a role in the delayed ensemble farce Big Trouble and as Agent T alongside Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in Men in Black 2. By then, Warburton had become an in-demand voice actor working on a variety of projects including TV series like The Venture Brothers and Family Guy, as well as movies such as Home on the Range, Chicken Little, The Wild and Bee Movie. In 2007, he started on a successful seven-season run with the prime-time sitcom Rules of Engagement, and in 2012 he appeared in Seth McFarland‘s directorial film debut, Ted. In 2014, Warburton will lend his voice talent in the new Peabody and Sherman film and also Planes 2.
Often a predictor of the annual Academy Award for best animated feature, the Annie Awards honor overall excellence as well as individual achievement in a total of 30 categories ranging from best feature, production design, character animation and effects animation to storyboarding, writing, music, editing and voice acting.
For more information, visit http://www.annieawards.org.
