#Soul and Wolfwalkers Lead the 2021 Annie Awards Nominations – /Film

Every year, Annie Awards does what the Golden Globes, the Oscars, and all the other big awarding bodies cannot: properly celebrate the best of animation. And this year, the ASIFA-Hollywood’s annual animation awards did their job right, doling out the most nominations to two of the best movies of the year: Pixar’s singular Soul and Cartoon Saloon’s hand-drawn masterpiece Wolfwalkers. But which one will deservedly walk away with the most prizes? We’ll have to find out when the 48th Annie Awards are streamed live on April 16, 2021.

Soul and Wolfwalkers both dominated the 2021 Annie Awards nominations, leading the pack with 10 nods each. They’re both expected to win their respective feature and best independent feature categories, but are nose-to-nose when it comes to direction, FX, character animation, character design, production design, score, storyboarding, and writing. But each has one nomination for a category the other does not — Soul for editorial, Wolfwalkers for voice acting.
I’m personally pulling for Wolfwalkers, Cartoon Saloon’s breathtaking feat of hand-drawn animation which looks and feels like no other animated film today. It’s naturally the underdog — Pixar has another seven nominations for Onward, and leads for studios overall — but it feels right that the exquisite Wolfwalkers should get acknowledged by the animation industry when it’s becoming more likely that Soul will walk away with the mainstream awards like the Oscars.

Meanwhile, it’s nice that anime films like On-Gaku: Our Sound and Ride Your Wave are getting nods, with more Eastern independent features getting more notice outside of the domineering force that is Studio Ghibli (which sadly disappointed with the still-nominated Earwig and the Witch). Also, shout-out to Aardman/Netflix’s stop-motion  A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon for getting three nods despite being undeservedly overlooked last year.

Here is the full list of 2021 Annie Awards nominations (via IndieWire):

Best Feature
Onward
Soul
The Croods: A New Age
The Willoughbys
Trolls World Tour

Best Indie Feature
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Calamity Jane
On-Gaku: Our Sound
Ride Your Wave
Wolfwalkers
Best Special Production
Baba Yaga
Nixie & Nimbo
The Snail and the Whale

Best Short Subject
Filles Bleues, Peur Blanche
KKUM
Souvenir Souvenir
The Places Where We Live (Cake)
World of Tomorrow Episode Three: The Absent

Best Sponsored
Erste Group ‘Edgar’s Christmas’
Max & Maxine
The Last Mile
There’s a Monster in My Kitchen
Travel the Vote

Best TV/Media – Preschool
Buddi
Episode: Snow

Muppet Babies
Episode: Wock-a-bye-Fozzie
Stillwater
Episode: The Impossible

The Adventures of Paddington
Episode: Paddington Digs a Tunnel to Peru

Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum: I am Madam President
Episode: I am Madam

Best TV/Media – Children
Hilda
Episode: Chapter 9: The Deerfox

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Episode: Finale Part 4: Rise

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Episode: Heart Part 2
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Episode: Shattered

Victor And Valentino
Episode: The Lonely Haunts

Best TV/Media – General Audience
Close Enough
Episode: Logan’s Run’d/Room Parents

Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal
Episode: Coven Of The Damned

Harley Quinn
Episode: Something Borrowed, Something Green

Rick and Morty
Episode: The Vat of Acid Episode

The Midnight Gospel
Episode: Mouse of Silver

Best Student Film
100,000 Acres of Pine
Coffin
La Bestia
Latitude du printemps
O Black Hole!

Best FX for TV/Media
Fast & Furious: Spy Racers
Episode: Sirocco Fire Explosion

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous
Episode: Welcome to Jurassic World

Lamp Life
Episode: Lamp Life

Tales of Arcadia: Wizards
Episode: Killahead, Part Two

Transformers: War For Cybertron Trilogy (Siege)
Episode: Episode 6

Best FX for Feature
Over the Moon
Soul
The Croods: A New Age
Trolls World Tour
Wolfwalkers

Best Character Animation – TV/Media
Alien Xmas
BoJack Horseman
Cosmos: Possible Worlds
Hilda
Lamp Life

Best Character Animation – Feature
Onward
Soul
The Croods: A New Age
The Willoughbys
Wolfwalkers

Best Character Animation – Live Action
The Christmas Chronicles 2
The Mandalorian
The Umbrella Academy 2
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made

Best Character Animation – Video Game
League of Legends
Marvels Spider-Man Miles Morales
The Last of Us Part II

Best Character Design – TV/Media
Amphibia
Episode: The Shut-In!

BNA
Episode: Runaway Raccoon

Craig of the Creek

The Owl House
Episode: Young Blood, Old

Best Character Design – Feature
Soul
The Croods: A New Age
The Willoughbys
Trolls World Tour
Wolfwalkers

Best Direction – TV/Media
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal
Episode: Plague Of Madness

Great Pretender
Episode: Case 1_1: Los Angeles Connection

Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart
Episode: Mao Mao’s Nakey

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Episode: Battle Nexus NYC

The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse
Episode: Hard to Swallow

Best Direction – Feature
Calamity Jane
Over the Moon
Ride Your Wave
Soul
Wolfwalkers

Best Music – TV/Media
Blood of Zeus
Episode: Escape or Die

Mira Royal Detective
Episode: The Great Diwali Mystery

Star Trek: Lower Decks
Episode: Crisis Point

Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Episode: Victory and Death

The Tiger That Came to Tea

Best Music – Feature
Onward
Over the Moon
Soul
The Willoughbys
Wolfwalkers

Best Production Design – TV/Media
Baba Yaga
The Adventures of Paddington
To: Gerard
Trash Truck

Best Production Design – Feature
Onward
Soul
The Willoughbys
Wolfwalkers

Best Storyboarding – TV/Media
Archibald’s Next Big Thing
Episode: Baritone Tea Part 1

Big City Greens
Episode: Cheap Show

Looney Tunes Cartoons

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge

Best Storyboarding – Feature
Earwig and the Witch
Over the Moon
Ride Your Wave
Soul
Wolfwalkers

Best Voice Acting – TV/Media
Dragons Rescue Riders
Jeff Bennett (Erik the Wretched)

It’s Pony
Jessica DiCicco (Annie)

Phineas and Ferb the Movie
Ashley Tisdale (Candace)

Tales of Arcadia: Wizards
David Bradley (Merlin)

ThunderCats ROAR!
Patrick Seitz (Mumm-Ra, Tygra)

Best Voice Acting – Feature
Earwig and the Witch
Vanessa Marshall (Bella Yaga)

Onward
Tom Holland (Ian Lightfoot)

Over the Moon
Robert G. Chiu (Chin)

The Croods: A New Age
Nicolas Cage (Grug)

Wolfwalkers
Eva Whittaker (Mebh Óg MacTíre)

Best Writing – TV/Media
Big Mouth
Episode: The New Me

Craig of the Creek

Fancy Nancy
Episode: Nancy’s New Friend

Harley Quinn
Episode: Something Borrowed, Something Green

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Episode: Heart Part 2

Best Writing – Feature
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Onward
Over the Moon
Soul
Wolfwalkers

Best Editorial – TV/Media
Cops and Robbers
Hilda
If Anything Happens I Love You
Lamp Life
To: Gerard

Best Editorial – Feature
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Calamity Jane
Onward
Soul
The Willoughbys

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