the annies

So, we didn’t win the Annie for Best Short (damn you, Seth Green!), but the Annies were awesome.  Highlights for me:

Losing to Robot Chicken

Robot Chicken has been one of my favorite animated things in the world for a long time.  So, it was awesome to lose to Seth Green.

Their piece, Star Wars 2.5, is hilarious.  You can see the full Robot Chicken Star Wars series here.

Deep Roy

Deep Roy presented the Winsor McCay award to Tim Burton.  And, he’s the Indian Oompah Loompah.  He told me he’s going to act in something I make one day, and I plan on holding him to it.

2D is Alive

Disney’s The Princess & The Frog got a few awards and a lot of audience love at the Annies.  I agree with Katharine - Disney basically saved 2D movies this year.

A Strong Year

Although Pixar (deservedly) took the best Feature Film award this year, it was the first time in years that there were three strong contenders (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Coraline, and Up).  The industry is really excited about what’s coming next, and you could feel it at the Annies.

Animation for children

I always knew this intellectually, but the Annies really drove home that 99% of what is done in animation is for children.  Interestingly, the Simpsons made up 3 of the 4 television writing nominations, and there was almost no representation at the Annies for Family Guy, South Park, etc. etc. (I think American Dad got one nomination, and the voice of Cleveland from the Cleveland Show was a presenter, but that was it)

The 1st Indian Studio at the Annies

About twenty young animators from Pune did some of the best work of their careers to help get us nominated.  We didn’t bring home the award, but this was a big moment for all of us, particularly for our director Pete Oswald (with me and Deepa, below), who spent 2 months in Pune, guiding the team through this piece.