'Ada Twist Scientist' wins an Annie Award

Annie Awards: ‘The Mitchells Vs. The Machines’, ‘Arcane’ Dominate; ‘Flee’ Takes Best Indie Film – Full Winners List

Netflix had a big night at the 49th annual Annie Awards on Saturday, with the streamer’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines on the feature film side and the video game adaptation Arcane on the TV side dominating the major categories.

Mitchells, from Sony Pictures Animation, won Best Feature among a film-side-leading eight Annies, presented by ASIFA-Hollywood honoring the year’s best in animated fare across movies, TV and video games.

Arcane, the League of Legends game adaptation from Riot Games and Fortiche Production, led all winners with nine trophies overall including for General Production, TV. It won in each of the categories for which it was nominated. The series, which debuted in November and has already been renewed for a Season 2, is set in the utopian region of League of Legends realms Piltover and the oppressed underground of Zaun It follows the origins of popular League champions sisters Jinx and Vi as they seek to reunite.

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Ella Purnell, who voices Jinx, won tonight for Voice Acting, TV. Abbi Jacobson won on the film side for Mitchells.

The Mitchells‘ victory in the marquee Best Feature race makes it a front-runner position leading up to the Oscars next month. Last year, eventual Animated Feature Oscar winner Soul from Pixar won the top Annie, the 14th time in 20 years the society and the Academy have matched their top pics.

“Flee”Neon

Another Oscar hopeful, Neon/Participant’s Danish movie Flee, which is nominated in the Animated, Documentary and International Feature Oscar categories, won the International Feature Annie tonight.

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Encanto won three Annies tonight — for Music, where it is also an Oscar nom; Character Animation; and Storyboarding — after coming in with nine noms. The same studio’s Raya and the Last Dragon, which led all titles this year with 10 nominations, was shut out, as was Pixar’s Luca which had eight noms coming in.

It was Arcane, in the end, that was mentioned most tonight, taking the big TV categories that also included Writing, Animated Effects, Character Animation, Character Design, Production Design, Storyboarding and Directing.

Netflix had a total of 20 wins tonight in the virtual ceremony, which featured presenters Tom Kenny, Guillermo del Toro, Diane Warren, Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Mamoru Hosoda, Charlie Saxton, Pierre Perffiel and Lilly Singh and John Leguizamo among others.

Among the honorary winners, Renzo & Sayoko Kinoshita, founders of the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, were presented with the June Foray Award for significant and benevolent or charitable impact. The Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement went to Python Foundation, while artist and author Glen Vilppu received the Special Achievement Award recognizing the unique and significant impact on the art and industry of animation.

Other honorary awards presented tonight included Ruben Aquino, Lillian Schwartz and Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki receiving the Winsor McCay Award for career contributions to the art of animation. The Certificate of Merit for service to the art and industry was presented to Evan Vernon.

Here’s the full list of winners:

Best Feature

The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix

Independent Feature

Flee
Neon, Final Cut For Real, Sun Creature, Vivement Lundi !, MostFilm, Mer Film, VICE, Left Hand Films, Participant

Directing, Feature

The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Directors: Mike Rianda, Jeff Rowe

Directing, TV

Arcane
Episode: The Monster You Created
A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Directors: Pascal Charue, Arnaud Delord, Barthelemy Maunoury

Storyboarding, Feature

Encanto
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Storyboard Artist: Jason Hand

Storyboarding, TV

Arcane
Episode: When These Walls Come Tumbling Down
A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Storyboard Artist: Simon Andriveau

General TV Production

Arcane
Episode: When These Walls Come Tumbling Down
A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix

Children’s TV Production

Maya and the Three
Episode: The Sun and the Moon
A Netflix Series

Preschool TV Production

Ada Twist, Scientist
Episode: Twelve Angry Birds
Laughing Wild, Higher Ground Productions, Wonder Worldwide, Netflix

Writing, Feature

The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Writers: Mike Rianda, Jeff Rowe

Writing, TV

Arcane
Episode: The Monster You Created
A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Writers: Christian Linke, Alex Yee

Voice Acting, Feature

The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
As ‘Katie Mitchell’: Abbi Jacobson

Voice Acting, TV

Arcane
Episode: When These Walls Come Tumbling Down
A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
As ‘Jinx’: Ella Purnell

Editing, Feature

The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Editorial Team: Greg Levitan, Collin Wightman, T.J. Young, Tony Ferdinand, Bret Allen

Editing, TV

What If…?
Episode: What If…Ultron Won?
Marvel Studios
Editorial Team: Joel Fisher, Graham Fisher, Sharia Davis, Basuki Juwono, Adam Spieckermann

Animated Effects, Feature

The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
FX Team: Christopher Logan, Man-Louk Chin, Devdatta Nerurkar, Pav Grochola, Filippo Maccari

Animated Effects, TV

Arcane
Episode: Oil and Water
A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
FX Team: Guillaume Degroote, Aurélien Ressencourt, Martin Touzé, Frédéric Macé, Jérôme Dupré

Character Animation, Feature

Encanto
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Animator: Dave Hardin

Character Animation, TV

Arcane
Episode: The Monster You Created
A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Animator: Léa Chervet

Character Animation, Live Action

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Marvel Entertainment, Weta Digital
Animation Team: Karl Rapley, Sebastian Trujillo, Richard John Moore, Merlin Bela Wassilij Maertz, Pascal Raimbault

Character Animation, Video Game

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Insomniac Games
Animation Team: Insomniac Games Animation Team

Character Design, Feature

The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Designer: Lindsey Olivares

Character Design, TV

Arcane
Episode: Some Mysteries Better Left Unsolved
A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Designer: Evan Monteiro

Music, Feature

Encanto
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Score: Germaine Franco, Lin-Manuel Miranda

Music, TV

Maya and the Three
Episode: The Sun and the Moon
A Netflix Series
Score: Tim Davies, Gustavo Santaolalla

Sponsored Production

A Future Begins
Nexus Studios

Special Production

Namoo
Baobab Studios

Production Design, Feature

The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix
Design Team: Lindsey Olivares, Toby Wilson, Dave Bleich

Production Design, TV

Arcane
Episode: Happy Progress Day!
A Riot Games and Fortiche Production for Netflix
Design Team: Julien Georgel, Aymeric Kevin, Arnaud Baudry

Short Subject

Bestia
Trebol 3 Producciones, MALEZA Estudio

Student Film

Night of the Living Dread
Student director: Ida Melum
Student producer: Danielle Goff
School: National Film and Television School, UK

Winsor McCay Award

Ruben Aquino
Lillian Schwartz
Toshio Suzuki

Special Achievement Award

Glen Vilppu

Ub Iwerks Award

Python Foundation

June Foray Award

Renzo & Sayoko Kinoshita

2022 TOTYs: Ada Twist Wins Doll of the Year

LEGO Licenses And Squishmallows Dominate The 2022 TOTYs

LEGO went home with the most trophies (thanks to its Disney licenses), and Jazwares racked up three wins with its popular Squishmallows plush brand.

By Jeremy Dickson

February 22, 2022

LEGO and Jazwares took home the most hardware at the 2022 Toy of the Year Awards ceremony on February 18, picking up seven and three awards, respectively.

The brick-maker’s partnership with Disney contributed to four of its seven wins, including Construction Toy of the Year for the LEGO Marvel Spider-Man Daily Bugle set and Playset of the Year for Boba Fett’s Starship, which is manufactured under the LEGO Star Wars banner.

LEGO also won the inaugural Grown-Up Toy of the Year award with its LEGO Botanical Collection Flower Bouquet. The category was introduced to accommodate the rise in people of all ages taking on new hobbies, a byproduct of pandemic life.

Meanwhile, Jazwares’ Squishmallows plush brand (pictured) won the coveted Toy of the Year and People’s Choice awards, as well as Plush Toy of the Year. The Toy of the Year winner is selected by a panel of experts that bases its decision on TOTY votes, holiday sales and media buzz (traditional, online and social), whereas the People’s Choice winner is selected by online consumer votes.

Toy giant Mattel took home two awards—Action Figure of the Year for Masters of the Universe: Masterverse and Infant/Toddler Toy of the Year for Fisher-Price 4-in-1 Ultimate Learning Bot—after leading the pack with 17 nominations.

Out of 114 finalists for the Toy Association’s awards, category winners were selected based on votes from toy retailers (mass and specialty), media, Toy Association members and consumers. In related news, the Toy Association has revealed a list on its website of the top trends that are expected to drive consumer spending on toys this year.

The winners of the 2022 Toy of the Year Awards are as follows:

Action Figure of the Year: Masters of the Universe: Masterverse (Mattel)

Collectible of the Year: LEGO Minifigures MARVEL Studios (The LEGO Group)

Construction Toy of the Year: LEGO Marvel Spider-Man Daily Bugle (The LEGO Group)

Creative Toy of the Year: Magic Mixies Magic Cauldron (Moose Toys)

Doll of the Year: Ada Twist, Scientist Lab Doll (Just Play)

Game of the Year: A Game of Cat and Mouth (Exploding Kittens)

Infant/Toddler Toy of the Year: Fisher-Price 4-in-1 Ultimate Learning Bot (Mattel)

Grown-Up Toy of the Year: LEGO Botanical Collection Flower Bouquet (The LEGO Group)

License of the Year: Pokémon (The Pokémon Company International)

Outdoor Toy of the Year: ZURU Crazy Bunch O Balloons (ZURU)

Playset of the Year: LEGO Star Wars Boba Fett’s Starship (The LEGO Group)

Plush Toy of the Year: Squishmallows (Jazwares)

Preschool Toy of the Year: LEGO Disney Ariel, Belle, Cinderella and Tiana’s Storybook Adventures (The LEGO Group)

Specialty Toy of the Year: LEGO Everyone is Awesome (The LEGO Group)

STEAM Toy of the Year: LEGO CREATOR 3-in-1 Ferris Wheel (The LEGO Group)

Vehicle of the Year: PLAYMOBIL Volkswagen T1 Camping Bus (PLAYMOBIL)

NAACP Image Awards Nominations: Netflix Tops List For Second Year In A Row

Nominees for the 53rd NAACP Image Awards are officially in, with Netflix taking the lead with 52 noms overall for titles across film and TV including The Harder They Fall, Passing, Bruised, The Upshaws and Maid.

The Harder They Fall’s nominations include for Outstanding Motion Picture, where it joins fellow nominees Judas and the Black Messiah and King Richard from Warner Bros, MGM/UAR’s Respect and Hulu’s The United States vs. Billie Holiday.

The show announcing marquee winners is set to place February 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT live on BET. The NAACP will recognize winners in non-televised categories February 21-25, with those ceremonies to stream on NAACPImageAwards.net.

The Image Awards celebrates the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color across more than 80 competitive categories spanning film, television, streaming, music, literature and podcasts. That category count is up from the 70-plus categories recognized earlier this year.

Outstanding Children’s Program

• Ada Twist, Scientist (Netflix)

• Family Reunion (Netflix)

• Karma’s World (Netflix)

• Raven’s Home (Disney Channel)

• Waffles + Mochi (Netflix)

Who scored an Annie nomination?

Netflix collected a total of 51 nods, and The Mitchells vs. The Machines and Raya and the Dragon are frontrunners in multiple film categories.

By Elizabeth Foster

December 22, 2021

The 49th annual Annie Awards have given an early holiday gift to some animation producers, especially those making content for Netflix. The streamer’s projects received 51 nominations in categories including Best Feature, Best Preschool TV/Media and Best Feature Direction, with Maya and the Three (pictured) and The Mitchells vs. The Machines getting eight nods each.

Disney projects were shortlisted 24 times in the Best Feature and Best Character Animation in a Video Game categories, and Sony has 15 chances to win awards including Best Feature and Best Writing for a Feature.

In addition to The Mitchells, this year’s top nominated movies include Disney’s Luca (eight nominations), Encanto (nine nominations) and Raya and the Dragon (10 nominations).

The Annie Awards ceremony is set to take place live in LA on February 26. Here are the nominees in a few key categories, with a complete list available online.

Best Feature

Encanto (Walt Disney Animation Studios)

Luca (Pixar Animation Studios)

Raya and the Last Dragon (Walt Disney Animation Studios)

Sing 2 (Illumination)

The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix)

Best Indie Feature

Belle (Studio Chizu/Distributed by GKIDS)

Flee (Final Cut For Real, Sun Creature, Vivement Lundi!, MostFilm, Mer Film, VICE, Left HandFilms, Participant)

Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (STUDIO 4˚C/Distributed by GKIDS)

Pompo the Cinephile (CLAP Animation Studio/Distributed by GKIDS)

The Summit of the Gods (Julianne Films, Folivari and Mélusine Productions Present in co-production with France 3 Cinéma and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, in association with Wild Bunch, Palatine Etoile 17, Cinémage 14 and Indéfilms 8, for Netflix)

Best Short Subject

Bestia (Trebol 3 Producciones, MALEZA Estudio)

Easter Eggs (Animal Tank/Brecht Van Elslande)

MAALBEEK (Films Grand Huit Films à Vif)

Night Bus (Joe Hsieh Independent Production)

Steakhouse (Finta Film, Fabian & Fred, RTV Slovenija, Miyu Productions)

Best TV/Media—Preschool

Ada Twist, Scientist (Laughing Wild, Higher Ground Productions, Wonder Worldwide, Netflix)

Muppet Babies (ODDBOT INC)

ODO (Sixteen South and Letko)

Stillwater (Scholastic Entertainment/Gaumont/Polygon Pictures, in association with Apple)

Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum (9 Story Media Group/Brown Bag Films)

Best TV/Media—Children

Amphibia (Walt Disney Television Animation)

Carmen Sandiego (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing and DHX Media for Netflix)

Dug Days (Pixar Animation Studios)

Maya and the Three (Netflix)

We the People (Laughing Wild, Higher Ground Productions, Netflix)

Netflix opens up shop with Walmart

Netflix Hub marks the streamer's first digital storefront with a national retailer, and features product ranges for Waffles and Mochi and Ada Twist, Scientist.

By Elizabeth Foster

October 12, 2021

Netflix is partnering with Walmart to launch a branded online hub—the largest dedicated shopping destination for the streamer’s merchandise in the US. This partnership marks Netflix’s first digital storefront with a national retailer.

Exclusive products inspired by shows like Waffles and Mochi, CoComelon and Ada Twist, Scientist are now available on the Netflix Hub. The ranges currently include items such as dolls, playsets and publishing, and new items will continue to be released over the next few months.

Additionally, the online storefront will feature a crowd-sourcing opportunity called Netflix Fan Select, which will allow fans to vote on which products they’d like to see next.

Despite speculation about whether or not the streaming giant could translate its views into merchandise revenue, the streamer has been building its consumer products strategy for years. Netflix hired Jess Richardson as director of global licensing, merchandising and promotions in 2017. Then in 2018, Christie Fleischer joined as global head of consumer products, with Josh Simon taking on a VP of consumer products role when she departed in 2019. Following Simon’s appointment, Netflix launched its first owned-and-operated retail outlet to sell products directly to consumers. Netflix.shop sells exclusive, limited-edition apparel and lifestyle products inspired by the streamer’s shows.