We finally leave the Flintstones behind!

We've gotten better clothes than animal skins (we don't need PETA throwing blood on us). We guys don't have to wear these itchy beards. And we don't have to make cars move with our feet, unless gas prices hit $4 a gallon. Translation: this is the best-sounding, best-working Cartoon Geeks episode yet!

This time, we discuss the Annies and the Oscars. See how well our predictions worked. We also discuss what's happened to Spider-Man and the One More Day/Brand New Day business, the way that the amazing animated film Persepolis is being treated badly by its distributor, the exciting new way that Apple is breaking the conventional wisdom about cable and DVD rental, and other amazing things.

And we're going to try to turn around these podcasts faster. If our lives and the fates permit. For now, though, enjoy the great new sound of the Cartoon Geeks.

To download the newest Cartoon Geeks podcast, right-click this line on the Windows computer, or option-click on the Mac. Stay animated!

Oscar winners and a CG note...

Much as I was rooting for Persepolis, and also as much as I liked Surf's Up, was there ever any doubt that Ratatouille, that wonderful story about a rodent gourmet chef, was going to win the best animated feature award? Year of the Rat indeed. Gong hay fa choy.

The animated short statuette went to Peter And The Wolf. Again, tremendous disconnect between Annies and Oscars on this one. Both How To Hook Up Your Home Theatre System and Your Friend, The Rat got robbed of the honor of being nominated, which bit the big one. Maybe I would have liked this crop if I would have gotten a chance to see 'em.

Also, the three songs in the running from Enchanted got cancelled out by a song from the live action movie Once.

So thus ends the frantic award season.

The next Cartoon Geeks podcast should be up in a few days, and we'll be recording another one fairly soon after. Meanwhile, try the fruit and cheese plate, it's excellent.

Annie Awards: The Winners

35th Annual Annie Awards Winners And Nominees
Winners in bold. For more information, see www.annieawards.org.

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

Best Animated Feature
Ratatouille - Pixar Animation Studios

Best Home Entertainment Production
Futurama "Bender's Big Score" - The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Television

Best Animated Short Subject
Your Friend the Rat - Pixar Animation Studios

Best Animated Television Commercial
Power Shares Escape Average - Acme Filmworks

Best Animated Television Production
Creature Comforts America - Aardman Animations

Best Animated Television Production for Children
El Tigre - Nickelodeon

Best Animated Video Game
Ratatouille - THQ, Inc.

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

Animated Effects
Deborah Carlson - "Surf's Up" - Sony Pictures Animation

Animation Production Artist
John Clark - "Surf's Up" - Sony Pictures Animation

Character Animation in a Feature Production
Michal Makarewicz - "Ratatouille" - Pixar Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Television Production
Eric Towner - Robot Chicken - ShadowMachine

Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Carter Goodrich - "Ratatouille" - Pixar Animation Studios

Character Design in an Animated Television Production
Jorge R. Gutierrez - El Tigre "Fistful of Collars" - Nickelodeon

Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Brad Bird "Ratatouille" - Pixar Animation Studios

Directing in an Animated Television Production
Seth Green "Robot Chicken Star Wars" - ShadowMachine

Music in an Animated Feature Production
Michael Giacchino - "Ratatouille" - Pixar Animation Studios

Music in an Animated Television Production
Alf Clausen & Michael Price - The Simpsons "Yokel Chords" - Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Harley Jessup - "Ratatouille" - Pixar Animation Studios

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Ted Mathot - "Ratatouille" - Pixar Animation Studios

Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production
Steve Fonti - Family Guy "No Chris Left Behind" - Fox TV Animation/Fuzzy Door

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Ian Holm - Voice of Skinner - "Ratatouille" - Pixar Animation Studios

Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production
Winner: Eartha Kitt - Voice of Yzma - The Emperor's New School "Emperor's New Musical" - Walt Disney Television Animation

Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Brad Bird - "Ratatouille" - Pixar Animation Studios

Writing in an Animated Television Production
Ian Maxtone-Graham & Billy Kimball - The Simpsons "24 Minutes" - Gracie Films