Netflix’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines and Neon’s animated documentary Flee won the top feature prizes at this year’s Annie Awards, where Netflix’s Arcane earned nine statues on the TV side.
In addition to Best Feature, The Mitchells vs. the Machines won awards for writing, FX, character design, production design, voice acting, and editorial, indicating that the Oscar race for Best Animated Feature may be closer than most pundits think. Encanto is still out in front, but a lot of people sure did love Mitchells, which won eight Annie Awards.
Directed by Mike Rianda and co-directed by Jeff Rowe, the film was produced by Sony Pictures Animation, which sold it to Netflix given the uncertainty surrounding theatrical releases last year — especially those aimed at children.
Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Flee was named Best Indie Feature, and it’s up for a rare trifecta of Oscars this year between animated feature, documentary feature, and international feature.
Produced by Riot Games and Fortiche Production, Arcane won awards for direction, FX, character animation, character design, production design, storyboarding, voice acting, and writing.
Disney’s Encanto didn’t go home empty-handed, as it won awards for character animation, storyboarding, and its music, which has been burning up the music charts as well as TikTok. Another of this year’s Oscar nominees — the stop-motion animated short Bestia, also won an Annie, giving it a slight edge heading into the Oscars.
The Annie Awards feted the talented musicians behind Encanto — Germaine Franco and Lin-Manuel Miranda — as well as voice actors Abbi Jacobson (Katie Mitchell in Mitchells vs. the Machines) and Ella Purnell, who voices Jinx in Arcane, the animated action-adventure series based on the League of Legends multiplayer online game. Meanwhile, Tim Davies and Gustavo Santaolalla won Best Score for their work on Netflix’s animated series Maya and the Three.
Disney animator Ruben Aquino, computer pioneer Lillian Schwartz, and Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki received lifetime achievement awards at the ceremony, which also honored Renzo and Sayoko Kinoshita, founders of the Hiroshima International Animation Festival. Artist and author Glen Vilppu received a special achievement award for his work teaching the art of animation, while a certificate of merit for service to the art and industry of animation was given to Evan Vernon.
The Annies were presented by ASIFA-Hollywood, and its actual awards presenters included Guillermo del Toro, John Leguizamo, Blythe Danner, and 13-time Oscar nominee Diane Warren, who we just interviewed.
Below is a complete list of winners at this year’s Annie Awards:
Best Feature
The Mitchells vs. The Machines, Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Best Indie Feature
Flee, Neon, Final Cut For Real, Sun Creature, Vivement Lundi !, MostFilm, Mer Film, VICE, Left HandFilms, Participant
Best Special Production
Namoo, Baobab Studios
Best Short Subject
Bestia, Trebol 3 Producciones, MALEZA Estudio
Best Sponsored
A Future Begins, Nexus Studios
Best TV/Media – Preschool
Ada Twist, Scientist, Episode: Twelve Angry Birds, Laughing Wild, Higher Ground Productions, Wonder Worldwide, Netflix
Best TV/Media
Maya and the Three, Episode: The Sun and the Moon, A Netflix Series
Best TV/Media – General Audience
Arcane, Episode: When These Walls Come Tumbling Down, A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Best Student Film
Night of the Living Dread, Student director: Ida Melum; Student producer: Danielle Goff; School: National Film and Television School, U.K.
Best FX – TV/Media
Arcane; FX Team: Guillaume Degroote, Aurélien Ressencourt, Martin Touzé, Frédéric Macé, Jérôme Dupré; Episode: Oil and Water; A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Best FX – Feature
The Mitchells vs. The Machines; FX Team: Christopher Logan, Man–Louk Chin, Devdatta Nerurkar, Pav Grochola, Filippo Maccari; Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Best Character Animation – TV/Media
Arcane; Animator: Léa Chervet; Episode: The Monster You Created; A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Best Character Animation – Feature
Encanto; Animator: Dave Hardin; Walt Disney Animation Studios
Best Character Animation – Live Action
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings; Animation Team: Karl Rapley, Sebastian Trujillo, Richard John Moore, Merlin Bela Wassilij Maertz, Pascal Raimbault; Marvel Entertainment, Weta Digital
Best Character Animation – Video Game
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart; Animation Team: Insomniac Games Animation Team; Insomniac Games
Best Character Design – TV/Media
Arcane; Designer: Evan Monteiro; Episode: Some Mysteries Better Left Unsolved; A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Best Character Design – Feature
The Mitchells vs. The Machines; Designer: Lindsey Olivares; Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Best Direction – TV/Media
Arcane; Directors: Pascal Charue, Arnaud Delord, Barthelemy Maunoury; Episode: The Monster You Created; A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Best Direction – Feature
The Mitchells vs. The Machines; Directors: Mike Rianda, Jeff Rowe; Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Best Music – TV/Media
Maya and the Three; Score: Tim Davies, Gustavo Santaolalla; Episode: The Sun and the Moon; A Netflix Series
Best Music – Feature
Encanto; Score: Germaine Franco, Lin–Manuel Miranda; Walt Disney Animation Studios
Best Production Design – TV/Media
Arcane; Design Team: Julien Georgel, Aymeric Kevin, Arnaud Baudry; Episode: Happy Progress Day!; A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Best Production Design – Feature
The Mitchells vs. The Machines; DesignTeam: Lindsey Olivares, Toby Wilson, Dave Bleich; Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Best Storyboarding – TV/Media
Arcane; Storyboard Artist: Simon Andriveau; Episode: When These Walls Come Tumbling Down; A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Best Storyboarding – Feature
Encanto; Storyboard Artist: Jason Hand; Walt Disney Animation Studios
Best Voice Acting – TV/Media
Arcane; Ella Purnell as Jinx; Episode: When These Walls Come Tumbling Down; A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Best Voice Acting – Feature
The Mitchells vs. The Machines; Abbi Jacobson as Katie Mitchell; Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Best Writing – TV/Media
Arcane; Writers: Christian Linke, Alex Yee; Episode: The Monster You Created; A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Best Writing – Feature
The Mitchells vs. The Machines; Writers: Mike Rianda, Jeff Rowe; Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Best Editorial – TV/Media
What If…?; Editorial Team: Joel Fisher, Graham Fisher, Sharia Davis, Basuki Juwono, Adam Spieckermann; Episode: What If…Ultron Won?; Marvel Studios
Best Editorial – Feature
The Mitchells vs. The Machines; Editorial Team: Greg Levitan, Collin Wightman, T.J. Young, Tony Ferdinand, Bret Allen; Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
