‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ Leads Annie Award Nominations

The awards for animation give “Pinocchio” nine nominations and “Turning Red” seven

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Netflix

“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” has continued its streak as the most-awarded animated movie of 2022, leading all films in nominations for the 50th Annie Awards, which were announced on Tuesday morning.

A week after winning the Golden Globe and two days after winning the Critics Choice Award, “Pinocchio” picked up nine nominations at the Annie Awards, the main awards show devoted entirely to animation. That total was two more than Pixar’s “Turning Red” and three more than “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and “The Sea Beast.” Those four films are competing with “Wendell & Wild” in the Best Feature category, while the Best Indie Feature lineup consists of “Charlotte,” “Inu-Oh,” “Little Nicholas, Happy as Can Be,” “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” and “My Father’s Dragon.”

“Turning Red” and “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” were the only films to be nominated for Best Feature (or Best Indie Feature), Best Direction and Best Writing, with the latter film the only one to be nominated in all those categories plus voice acting. (“Pinocchio” was nominated for all except writing.)

With “Pinocchio,” “The Sea Beast” and “Wendell & Wild,” Netflix had three of the Best Feature nominees, the first time any company other than Disney/Pixar has scored that many nominations in the top category.

In two of the last three years, a Netflix-distributed film has won the Annies’ Best Feature category over a Disney or Pixar favorite, with “Klaus” beating “Toy Story 4” and “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” beating “Encanto.” “Pinocchio” will likely be a clear favorite over “Turning Red” this year.

Most years, the Oscar nominees for Best Animated Feature are a mixture of Annie nominees in both the Best Feature and Best Indie Feature categories.

In the television categories, the top nominees included “Oni: Thunder God’s Tale,” “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” “Love Death + Robots” and “The House.”

The Annies also announced six juried awards. The Windsor McCay Award, a lifetime achievement award for animation, will go to director and Pixar CEO Pete Docter, the late filmmaker Evelyn Lambert and TV creator Craig McCracken. The June Foray Award for charitable impact will go to author and historian Mindy Johnson. The Ub Iwerks Award for technical advances will go to Visual Effects Reference Platform, and the Certificate of Merit Award for service to the animation industry will go to John Omohundro.

The Annie Awards are presented by ASIFA-Hollywood, the International Animated Film Society. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, Feb. 26.

Here are the nominated films and programs. For a complete list of the individuals nominated in each category, go to https://annieawards.org.

BEST FEATURE
“Turning Red”
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
“The Sea Beast”
“Wendell & Wild”

BEST INDIE FEATURE
“Charlotte”
“Inu-Oh”
“Little Nicholas, Happy As Can Be”
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On”
“My Father’s Dragon”

BEST SPECIAL PRODUCTION
“Prehistoric Planet”
“Superworm”
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
“The House”
“5. The Sandman”

BEST SHORT SUBJECT
“Amok”
“Black Slide”
“Ice Merchants”
“Love, Dad”
“The Flying Sailor”

BEST SPONSORED
“Can’t Negotiate the Melting Point of Ice”
“Minions: The Rise of Gru” / “The Office”
“Save Ralph”
“Ted Lasso: The Missing Christmas Mustache”
“Today’s Holiday Moments are Tomorrow’s Memories”

BEST TV/MEDIA – PRESCHOOL
“Elinor Wonders Why,” episode: “Rest Is Best”
“Gabby’s Dollhouse,” episode: “Cakey’s Cupcake Cousins”
“Rise Up, Sing Out,” episode: “Name Tag”
“Spirit Rangers,” episode: “Thunder Mountain”
“5. The Tiny Chef Show,” episode: “Pancakes”

BEST TV/MEDIA – CHILDREN
“Abominable and the Invisible City,” episode: “Everest Returns”
“Big Nate,” episode: “The Legend of the Gunting”
“Moominvalley,” episode: “Lonely Mountain”
“The Owl House,” episode: “King’s Tide”
“We Baby Bears,” episode: “The Real Crayon”

BEST TV/MEDIA – MATURE
“Bob’s Burgers,” episode: “Some Like it Bot Part 1: Eighth Grade Runner”
“Harley Quinn,” episode: “Batman Begins Forever”
“Rick and Morty,” episode: “Night Family”
“The Simpsons – Treehouse of Horror XXXIII”
“Tuca & Bertie,” episode: “The Pain Garden”

BEST TV/MEDIA – LIMITED SERIES
“BAYMAX!” episode: “Sofia”
“El Deafo,” episode: “Everybody Sounds So Weird”
“HouseBroken,” episode: “Who’s Having A Merry Trashmas?”
“Oni: Thunder God’s Tale,” episode: “The Demon Moon Rises”
“Undone,” episode: “Rectify”

BEST STUDENT FILM
“Au revoir Jérôme!” Gobelins, l’école de l’image
“Birdsong,” California Institute of the Arts
“Synchronie Passagère,” Supinfocom Rubika
“The Most Boring Granny in the Whole World,” Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH
“The Soloists,” Gobelins, l’école de l’image

BEST FX – TV/MEDIA
“Cars on the Road,” episode: “Road Rumblers”
“Love Death + Robots,” episode: “Bad Traveling”
“3. Prehistoric Planet,” episode: “Coasts”
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
“The House”

BEST FX – FEATURE
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“Lightyear”
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Minions: The Rise of Gru”
“The Sea Beast”

BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – TV/MEDIA
“Entergalactic”
“Oni: Thunder God’s Tale,” episode: “The Mighty Storm Gods”
“StoryBots: Answer Time,” episode: “Taste”
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
“The House”

BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – FEATURE
“Turning Red” (Teresa Falcone)
“Turning Red” (Eric Anderson)
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (Tucker Barrie)
“The Bad Guys” (Jorge Capote)
“The Bad Guys” (Min Hong)

BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – LIVE ACTION
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“Beast”
“Finch”
“Jurassic World Dominion”
“Peacemaker”

BEST CHARACTER ANIMATION – VIDEO GAME
“Cuphead – The Delicious Last Course”
“God of War Ragnarök”
“Horizon Forbidden West”
“Moss: Book II”
“Potionomics”

BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – TV/MEDIA
“Amphibia,” episode: “The Hardest Thing”
“Entergalactic”
“Love Death + Robots,” episode: “Jibaro”
“Oni: Thunder God’s Tale,” episode: “The Demon Moon Rises”
“Spirit Rangers,” episode: “Belly of the Beast”

BEST CHARACTER DESIGN – FEATURE
“Luck”
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
“Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie”
“The Bad Guys”
“Wendell & Wild”

BEST DIRECTION – TV/MEDIA
“BAYMAX!” episode: “Sofia,” Lissa Treiman
“exception / エクセプション,” episode: “Misprint,” Yuzo Sato
“More Than I Want To Remember,” Amy Bench, Maya Edelman
“Oni: Thunder God’s Tale,” episode: “The Demon Moon Rises,” Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” Peter Baynton, Charlie Mackesy

BEST DIRECTION – FEATURE
“Turning Red,” Domee Shi
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” Dean Fleischer Camp, Kirsten Lepore, Stephen Chiodo
“My Father’s Dragon,” Nora Twomey
“Wendell & Wild,” Henry Selick

BEST MUSIC – TV/MEDIA
“Love Death + Robots,” episode: “The Very Pulse of the Machine”
“Oni: Thunder God’s Tale,” episode: “Onari’s Kushi Power”
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
“The Cuphead Show!” episode: “Carn-Evil”
“The House”

BEST MUSIC – FEATURE
“Turning Red”
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Mad God”
“The Bad Guys”
“The Sea Beast”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – TV/MEDIA
“Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal,” episode: “Echoes of Eternity”
“Mall Stories – Atilla the Grilla”
“Oni: Thunder God’s Tale,” episode: “The Demon Moon Rises”
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
“The House”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – FEATURE
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Mad God”
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
“The Bad Guys”
“The Sea Beast”

BEST STORYBOARDING – TV/MEDIA
“Cyberpunk: Edgerunners,” episode: “Let You Down”
“Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight,” episode: “The Knight’s Code”
“Looney Tunes Cartoons,” episode: “Hex Appeal”
“Love Death + Robots,” episode: “The Very Pulse of the Machine”
“The Cuphead Show!” episode: “A Very Devil Christmas”

BEST STORYBOARDING – FEATURE
“Minions: The Rise of Gru” (Nima Azarba)
“Minions: The Rise of Gru” (Dave Feiss)
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” (Anthony Holden)
“Strange World” (Jeff Snow)
“Strange World” (Javier Ledesma Barboll)

BEST VOICE ACTING – TV/MEDIA
“Looney Tunes Cartoons,” episode: “Hex Appeal” – Candi Milo
“StoryBots: Answer Time,” episode: “Glue” – Fred Tatsciore
“Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls Mayhem in the Multiverse” – Tara Strong
“The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” episode: “New Kids On The Block” – Karen Malina White
“Zootopia+,” episode: “The Godfather of the Bride” – Maurice LaMarche

BEST VOICE ACTING – FEATURE
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” – David Bradley
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” – Gregory Mann
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” – Jenny Slate
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” – Wagner Moura
“The Sea Beast” –  Zaris-Angel Hator

BEST WRITING – TV/MEDIA
“BAYMAX!” episode: “Sofia”
“Big Nate,” episode: “The Legend of the Gunting”
“Love Death + Robots,” episode: “Bad Traveling”
“The House”
“Tuca & Bertie,” episode: “The Pain Garden”

BEST WRITING – FEATURE
“Turning Red”
“Eternal Spring”
“Inu-Oh”
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On”

BEST EDITORIAL – TV/MEDIA
“Amphibia,” episode: “All In”
“Green Eggs and Ham,” episode: “The Sam Who Came In From The Cold”
“Karma’s World,” episode: “Keys, The Inventor”
“Star Trek: Lower Decks,” episode: “The Stars At Night”
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”

BEST EDITORIAL – FEATURE
“Disney and Pixar’s Lightyear”
“Turning Red”
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
“The Sea Beast”

JURIED AWARDS

Windsor McCay Award: Pete Docter
Windsor McCay Award: Evelyn Lambart
Windsor McCay Award: Craig McCracken
June Foray Award: Mindy Johnson
Ub Iwerks Award: Visual Effects Reference Platform
Certificate of Merit Award: John Omohundro

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