Were the Annie Award results ever in doubt?

It's Kung Fu Panda all over again. And I could have -- and did -- predict this would happen when ASIFA-Hollywood purged the Annies voting rolls of student and fan voters. The fact that Disney finally spoke out about the controversy and pulled their support from the show only solidified the end result.

Here are the winners of the Annie Awards, brought to you by Dreamworks Animation, where getting an ASIFA-Hollywood membership is allegedly just another perk of the job.

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

Best Animated Feature

* How to Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation

Best Animated Short Subject

* Day & Night – Pixar

Best Animated Television Commercial

* "Children's Medical Center" – DUCK Studios

Best Animated Television Production

* Kung Fu Panda Holiday – DreamWorks Animation

Best Animated Television Production for Children

* SpongeBob SquarePants – Nickelodeon

Best Animated Video Game

* Limbo – Playdead


INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES


Animated Effects in an Animated Production

* Brett Miller How To Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Television Production

* David Pate Kung Fu Panda Holiday – DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Feature Production

* Gabe Hordos How To Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Live Action Production

* Ryan Page – Alice in Wonderland – Sony Pictures

Character Design in a Television Production

* Ernie Gilbert T.U.F.F. Puppy – Nickelodeon

Character Design in a Feature Production

* Nico Marlet How To Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation

Directing in a Television Production

* Tim Johnson Kung Fu Panda Holiday – DreamWorks Animation

Directing in a Feature Production

* Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois How To Train Your Dragon DreamWorks Animation

Music in a Television Production

* Jeremy Wakefield, Sage Guyton, Nick Carr, Tuck Tucker SpongeBob SquarePants – Nickelodeon

Music in a Feature Production

* John Powell How To Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation

Production Design in a Television Production

* Richie Sacilioc Kung Fu Panda Holiday – DreamWorks Animation

Production Design in a Feature Production

* Pierre Olivier Vincent How To Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in a Television Production

* Fred Gonzales T.U.F.F. Puppy – Nickelodeon

Storyboarding in a Feature Production

* Tom Owens How To Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in a Television Production

* James Hong as Mr. Ping Kung Fu Panda Holiday – DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in a Feature Production

* Jay Baruchel as Hiccup How To Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation

Writing in a Television Production

* Geoff Johns, Matthew Beans, Zeb Wells, Hugh Sterbakov, Matthew Senreich, Breckin Meyer, Seth Green, Mike Fasolo, Douglas Goldstein, Tom Root, Dan Milano, Kevin Shinick & Hugh Davidson Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III – ShadowMachine

Writing in a Feature Production

* William Davies, Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders How to Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation

JURIED AWARDS

Winsor McCay Award — Brad Bird, Eric Goldberg, Matt Groening

June Foray Award — Ross Iwamoto

Ub Iwerks Award — Autodesk

Special Achievement — Waking Sleeping Beauty

Until ASIFA-Hollywood seriously looks into the issue of whether or not membership in its organization is given out as a perk of employment at Dreamworks as some have alleged, and until the independent and potentially balancing voices that are student and fan voters are restored to the voting pool of Annie voters, this will be the last time The Cartoon Geeks covers anything having to do with this allegedly and apparently tainted award.

Annie noms 2010...not that they matter much to me anymore...

2010 ANNIE AWARD NOMINATIONS BY CATEGORY

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

Best Animated Feature

• Despicable Me – Illumination Entertainment

• How to Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation

• Tangled – Disney

• The Illusionist – Django Films

• Toy Story 3 – Disney/Pixar

Best Animated Short Subject

• Coyote Falls – Warner Bros. Animation

• Day & Night – Pixar

• Enrique Wrecks the World – House of Chai

• The Cow Who Wanted To Be A Hamburger – Plymptoons Studio

• The Renter – Jason Carpenter

Best Animated Television Commercial

• Children’s Medical Center – DUCK Studios

• Frito Lay Dips “And Then There Was Salsa” – LAIKA/house

• ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ Winter Olympic Interstitial “Speed Skating” – DreamWorks Animation

• McDonald’s “Spaceman Stu” – DUCK Studios

• Pop Secret “When Harry Met Sally” – Nathan Love

Best Animated Television Production

• Futurama – The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Television

• Kung Fu Panda Holiday – DreamWorks Animation

• Scared Shrekless – DreamWorks Animation

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars “Arc Troopers” – Lucasfilm Animation, Ltd.

• The Simpsons – Gracie Films

Best Animated Television Production for Children

• Adventure Time – Cartoon Network Studios

• Cloudbread – GIMC

• Fanboy & Chum Chum – Nickelodeon, Frederator

• Regular Show – Cartoon Network Studios

• SpongeBob SquarePants – Nickelodeon

Best Animated Video Game

• Heavy Rain – Quantic Dream

• Kirby’s Epic Yarn – Good-Feel & HAL Laboratory

• Limbo – Playdead

• Shank – Klei Entertainment Inc.

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

Animated Effects in an Animated Production

• Andrew Young Kim “Shrek Forever After” – DreamWorks Animation

• Jason Mayer “How To Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

• Brett Miller “How To Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

• Sebastian Quessy “Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” – Warner Bros. Pictures

Kryzstof Rost “Megamind” – DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Television Production

• Nicolas A. Chauvelot “Scared Shrekless” – DreamWorks Animation

• Savelon Forrest “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III” – ShadowMachine

• Elizabeth Havetine “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III” – ShadowMachine

• David Pate “Kung Fu Panda Holiday” – DreamWorks Animation

• Nideep Varghese “Scared Shrekless” – DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Feature Production

• Mark Donald “Megamind” – DreamWorks Animation

• Anthony Hodgson “Megamind” – DreamWorks Animation

• Gabe Hordos “How To Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

• Jakob Hjort Jensen “How To Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

• David Torres “How To Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Live Action Production

• Quentin Miles – Clash of the Titans

• Ryan Page – Alice in Wonderland

Character Design in a Television Production

• Andy Bialk “The Ricky Gervais Show” – W!LDBRAIN Entertainment

• Stephan DeStefano “Sym-Bionic Titan” – Cartoon Network

• Ernie Gilbert “T.U.F.F. Puppy” – Nickelodeon

• Gordon Hammond “T.U.F.F. Puppy” – Nickelodeon

• Steve Lam “Fanboy & Chum Chum” – Nickelodeon, Frederator

Character Design in a Feature Production

• Sylvain Chomet “The Illusionist” – Django Films

• Carter Goodrich “Despicable Me” – Illumination Entertainment

• Timothy Lamb “Megamind” – DreamWorks Animation

• Nico Marlet “How To Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

Directing in a Television Production

• Bob Anderson “The Simpsons” – Gracie Films

• Peter Chung “Firebreather” – Cartoon Network Studios

• Duke Johnson “Frankenhole: Humanitas” – ShadowMachine

• Tim Johnson “Kung Fu Panda Holiday” – DreamWorks Animation

• Gary Trousdale “Scared Shrekless” – DreamWorks Animation

Directing in a Feature Production

• Sylvain Chomet “The Illusionist” – Django Films

• Pierre Coffin “Despicable Me” – Illumination Entertainment

• Mamoru Hosoda “Summer Wars” – Madhouse/Funimation

• Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois “How To Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

• Lee Unkrich “Toy Story 3” – Disney/Pixar

Music in a Television Production

• J. Walter Hawkes “The Wonder Pets!” – Nickelodeon Production & Little Airplane Productions

• Henry Jackman, Hans Zimmer and John Powell “Kung Fu Panda Holiday” – DreamWorks Animation

• Tim Long, Alf Clausen, Bret McKenzie, Jemaine Clement “The Simpsons: Elementary School Musical” – Gracie Films

• Shawn Patterson “Robot Chicken’s DP Christmas Special” – ShadowMachine

• Jeremy Wakefield, Sage Guyton, Nick Carr, Tuck Tucker “SpongeBob SquarePants” – Nickelodeon

Music in a Feature Production

• Sylvain Chomet “The Illusionist” – Django Films

• David Hirschfelder “Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” – Warner Bros. Pictures

• John Powell “How To Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

• Harry Gregson Williams “Shrek Forever After” – DreamWorks Animation

• Pharrell Williams, Heitor Pereira “Despicable Me” – Illumination Entertainment

Production Design in a Television Production

• Alan Bodner “Neighbors From Hell” – 20th Century Fox Television

• Barry Jackson “Firebreather” – Cartoon Network Studios

• Pete Oswald “Doubtsourcing” – Badmash Animation Studios

• Richie Sacilioc “Kung Fu Panda Holiday” – DreamWorks Animation

• Scott Wills “Sym-Bionic Titan” – Cartoon Network Studios

Production Design in a Feature Production

• Yarrow Cheney “Despicable Me” – Illumination Entertainment

• Eric Guillon “Despicable Me” – Illumination Entertainment

• Dan Hee Ryu “Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” – Warner Bros. Pictures

• Pierre Olivier Vincent “How To Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

• Peter Zaslav “Shrek Forever After” – DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in a Television Production

• Sean Bishop “Scared Shrekless” – DreamWorks Animation

• Fred Gonzales “T.U.F.F. Puppy” – Nickelodeon

• Tom Owens “Kung Fu Panda Holiday” – DreamWorks Animation

• Dave Thomas “Fairly OddParents” – Nickelodeon

Storyboarding in a Feature Production

• Alessandro Carloni “How To Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

• Paul Fisher “Shrek Forever After” – DreamWorks Animation

• Tom Owens “How To Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

• Catherine Yuh Rader “Megamind” – DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in a Television Production

• Jeff Bennett as The Necronomicon “Fanboy & Chum Chum” – Nickelodeon & Frederator

• Corey Burton as Baron Papanoida “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” – Cartoon Network

• Nika Futterman as Asajj Ventress “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” – Cartoon Network

• Mike Henry as Cleveland Brown “The Cleveland Show” – Fox Television Animation

• James Hong as Mr. Ping “Kung Fu Panda Holiday” – DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in a Feature Production

• Jay Baruchel as Hiccup “How To Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

• Gerard Butler as Stoick “How To Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

• Steve Carrell as Gru “Despicable Me” – Illumination Entertainment

• Cameron Diaz as Fiona “Shrek Forever After” – DreamWorks Animation

• Geoffrey Rush as Ezylryb “Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” – Warner Bros. Pictures

Writing in a Television Production

• Daniel Arkin “Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Heroes on Both Sides” – Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.

• Jon Colton Barry & Piero Piluso “Phineas & Ferb: Nerds of a Feather” – Disney Channel

• Geoff Johns, Matthew Beans, Zeb Wells, Hugh Sterbakov, Matthew Senreich, Breckin Meyer, Seth Green, Mike Fasolo, Douglas Goldstein, Tom Root, Dan Milano, Kevin Shinick & Hugh Davidson “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III” – ShadowMachine

• Billy Kimball & Ian Maxtone-Graham “The Simpsons: Stealing First Base” – Gracie Films

• Michael Rowe “Futurama” – The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Television

Writing in a Feature Production

• Michael Arndt “Toy Story 3” – Disney/Pixar

• Sylvain Chomet “The Illusionist” – Django Films

• William Davies, Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders “How to Train Your Dragon” – DreamWorks Animation

• Dan Fogelman “Tangled” – Disney

• Alan J. Schoolcraft, Brent Simons “Megamind” – DreamWorks Animation

JURIED AWARDS

Winsor McCay Award – Brad Bird, Eric Goldberg, Matt Groening

June Foray – Ross Iwamoto.

Ub Iwerks Award – Autodesk

Special Achievement – “Waking Sleeping Beauty”

Oh well, this makes my ASIFA-Hollywood membership officially useless...

Nice, ASIFA-Hollywood. Real nice.

International Animated Film Society
ASIFA-Hollywood

Dear ASIFA-Hollywood Member,

From the time the Annie Awards were created, every year the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood reviews the awards in order to improve them.

Over the years, these annual evaluations have resulted in such major changes including changing the Annie Awards from a lifetime honor to an award which recognizes current achievements and excellence in the field of animation, and conducting the Annie Award voting online to ensure that voters have reviewed all of the nominees work before casting their ballot.

Following the creation of the Oscar for Best Animated Feature by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science almost a decade ago, the Annie Award is now recognized by the entertainment industry as the highest honor given by the animation community, and ASIFA-Hollywood is regarded with the same kind of prestige as the Motion Picture and Television academies.

In order to maintain the integrity of the award the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood has decided to limit voting for the Annie Awards to only qualified members of ASIFA-Hollywood who are animation professionals. Non-professional and Student members of ASIFA-Hollywood shall not be eligible to participate in the Annie Award voting.

Therefore to participate in Annie award voting you must register to qualify to vote. This application process must be completed by August 31st, 2010. This is your only opportunity to qualify to vote this year! Your qualifications will then be vetted by a panel representing many studios and job classifications and you will be informed by email of acceptance or denial. If denied, you will be given an additional 30 days to appeal and provide sufficient proof of eligibility. Your eligibility status will also be available on your on-line profile page.

All professional members should apply for the Production categories (Best Feature, Best Short, Best Television Program, etc.). We also encourage you to apply for any of the individual categories in which you have credits or other verifiable recognition of your experience or expertise. If you are not sure if you qualify in a particular category, please apply and clearly explain your experience.

Each year, upon renewal of your membership, you will be given another opportunity to update your qualification categories. New members will also be given 30 days to qualify to vote upon acceptance of their membership.

To begin the process, please log onto the updated website for ASIFA-Hollywood at www.asifa-hollywood.org. Your login name is your email address. Your password should be listed on your membership card. If it is not listed, or you have misplaced your membership card, please select Forgot your password? and it will be emailed to you.

Once logged in, select Membership-Annie Voter Application. Then check the box for Production and any other category in which you believe you qualify to vote. Add your qualification evidence in the box next to the selected categories. When complete, select Update at the bottom of the page. Your status will be emailed to you after the qualification committee reviews your application.

Your application and your vote will help recognize excellence amongst your fellow artists and bring greater recognition to our art form. Thank you.

(facepalm)

Annie Awards presented...

Best Animated Feature
Up - Pixar Animation Studios

Best Home Entertainment Production
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder - The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Best Animated Short Subject
Robot Chicken: Star Wars 2.5 - ShadowMachine

Best Animated Television Commercial
Spanish Lottery "Deportees" - Acme Filmworks, Inc.

Best Animated Television Production
Prep and Landing - ABC Family/Walt Disney Animation Studios

Best Animated Television Production for Children
The Penguins of Madagascar - Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation

Animated Effects
James Mansfield "The Princess and the Frog" - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Television Production
Phillip To "Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space" - DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Feature Production
Eric Goldberg "The Princess and the Frog" - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Design in a Television Production
Bill Schwab "Prep and Landing" - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Design in a Feature Production
Shane Prigmore "Coraline" - Laika

Directing in a Television Production
Bret Haaland "The Penguins of Madagascar - Launchtime" - Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation

Directing in a Feature Production
Pete Docter "Up" - Pixar Animation Studios

Music in a Television Production
Guy Moon The Fairly OddParents: "Wishology-The Big Beginning" - Nickelodeon

Music in a Feature Production
Bruno Coulais "Coraline" - Laika

Production Design in a Television Production
Andy Harkness "Prep and Landing" - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Production Design in a Feature Production
Tadahiro Uesugi "Coraline" - Laika

Storyboarding in a Television Production
Robert Koo "Merry Madagascar" - DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in a Feature Production
Tom Owens "Monsters vs. Aliens" — DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in a Television Production
Tom Kenny - Voice of SpongeBob - "SpongeBob SquarePants - Truth or Square" - Nickelodeon

Voice Acting in a Feature Production
Jen Cody - Voice of Charlotte - "The Princess and the Frog" - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Writing in a Television Production
Daniel Chun - "The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XX" - Gracie Films

Writing in a Feature Production
Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach - "Fantastic Mr. Fox" - 20th Century Fox

Just finished Annie voting...

...and this time I wasn't given any technical categories, just best features, best tv show, best tv show for kids, best commercial, best home video release and best short. Too bad, because I had definite ideas about some of the technical categories and who did and did not deserve Annie love. And as far as the kidvid category...I couldn't find anything to vote affirmatively for so I just didn't vote at all in that category. Then again, this meant that voting the Annie ballot wasn't the endurance contest it had been last time. I am still unhappy that Ed Asner is not up for best voice actor, because his was an example of real acting that you normally don't see in American animation. I still wish Ponyo had been up for best picture. But I voted for what I considered the best of what was there. I did my duty. I earned my screeners for the year. Hoo-yah.

Annie time! Annie time!

Here's the noms. Om nom nom.

Best Animated Feature
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs – Sony Pictures Animation
Coraline – Laika
Fantastic Mr. Fox – 20th Century Fox
The Princess and the Frog – Walt Disney Animation Studios
The Secret of Kells – Cartoon Saloon
Up – Pixar Animation Studios
Note: looks like DreamWorks won't be able to repeat its total domination of last year's awards. I always thought that was a bit fishy. Speaking of fishy, where the frak is PONYO in this list???

Best Home Entertainment Production
Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas – Universal Animation Studios
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder – The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Green Lantern: First Flight – Warner Bros. Animation
Open Season 2 – Sony Pictures Animation
SpongeBob vs. The Big One – Nickelodeon

Best Animated Short Subject
Pups of Liberty – Picnic Pictures
Robot Chicken: Star Wars 2.5 – ShadowMachine
Santa, The Fascist Years – Plymptoons
The Rooster, The Crocodile and The Night Sky – Barley Films
The Story of Walls – Badmash Animation Studios

Best Animated Television Commercial
Goldfish: In The Dark – Blur Studios, Inc.
Idaho Lottery “Twiceland” – Acme Filmworks, Inc.
Nutty Tales – Blue Sky Studios
Spanish Lottery “Deportees” – Acme Filmworks, Inc.
The Spooning – Screen Novelties /Acne Media

Best Animated Television Production
Glenn Martin, DDS – Torante, Cuppa Coffee Studios & Rogers Communications
Merry Madagascar – DreamWorks Animation
Prep and Landing – ABC Family/Walt Disney Animation Studios
The Simpsons – Gracie Films

Best Animated Television Production for Children
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse – Disney Television Animation
SpongeBob SquarePants – Nickelodeon
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack – Cartoon Network Studios
The Mighty B! – Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper Kite Productions
The Penguins of Madagascar – Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation

Animated Effects
Scott Cegielski “Monsters vs. Aliens” – DreamWorks Animation
Alexander Feigin “9” – 9 L.L.C.
Eric Froemling “Up” – Pixar Animation Studios
Tom Kluyskens “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” – Sony Pictures Animation
James Mansfield “The Princess and the Frog” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Television Production
Mark Donald “B.O.B.’s Big Break” – DreamWorks Animation
Mark Mitchell “Prep and Landing” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Kevan Shorey “Merry Madagascar” – DreamWorks Animation
Tony Smeed “Prep and Landing” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Phillip To “Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space” – DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Feature Production
Andreas Deja “The Princess and the Frog” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Eric Goldberg “The Princess and the Frog” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Travis Knight “Coraline” – Laika
Daniel Nguyen “Up” – Pixar Animation Studios
Bruce Smith “The Princess and the Frog” – Walt Disney Animation Studios


Character Design in a Television Production
Bryan Arnett “The Mighty B! – Catatonic” – Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper Kite Productions
Ben Balistreri “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” – Cartoon Network Studios
Craig Kellman “Merry Madagascar” – DreamWorks Animation
Bill Schwab “Prep and Landing” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Character Design in a Feature Production
Daniel Lopez Munoz “Up” – Pixar Animation Studios
Shane Prigmore “Coraline” – Laika
Shannon Tindle “Coraline” – Laika

Directing in a Television Production
Pam Cooke & Jansen Yee “American Dad: Brains, Brains & Automobiles” – 20th Century Fox/Fuzzy Door/Underdog
Rob Fendler “Popzilla” – Animax
John Infantino, J.G. Quintel “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack: Candy Casanova” – Cartoon Network Studios
Bret Haaland “The Penguins of Madagascar – Launchtime” – Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation
Jennifer Oxley “The Wonder Pets: Help The Monster” – Nickelodeon/Little Airplane Productions

Directing in a Feature Production
Wes Anderson “Fantastic Mr. Fox” – 20th Century Fox
Pete Docter “Up” – Pixar Animation Studios
Christopher Miller, Phil Lord “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” – Sony Pictures Animation
Hayao Miyazaki “Ponyo” – Studio Ghibli
Henry Selick “Coraline” – Laika

Music in a Television Production
Michael Giacchino “Prep and Landing” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Kevin Kiner “Star Wars: The Clone Wars “Weapons Factory” – Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.
Guy Moon “The Fairly OddParents: “Wishology- The Big Beginning” – Nickelodeon

Music in a Feature Production
Bruno Coulais “Coraline” – Laika
Michael Giacchino “Up” – Pixar Animation Studios
Joe Hisaishi “Ponyo” – Studio Ghibli
John Powell “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” – Blue Sky Studios


Production Design in a Television Production
Mac George “Prep and Landing” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Andy Harkness “Prep and Landing” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Janice Kubo “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” – Cartoon Network Studios
Production Design in a Feature Production
Christopher Appelhans “Coraline” – Laika
Ian Gooding “The Princess and the Frog” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Tadahiro Uesugi “Coraline – Laika
Christopher Vacher “9” – 9 L.L.C.

Storyboarding in a Television Production
Sunil Hall “The Mighty B!: Catatonic” – Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper
Brandon Kruse “The Fairly OddParents: Fly Boy” – Nickelodeon
Robert Koo “Merry Madagascar” – DreamWorks Animation
Joe Mateo “Prep and Landing” – ABC Family/Walt Disney Animation Studios
Kite Productions
Adam Van Wyk “The Spectacular Spider-Man: Final Curtain” – Culver Entertainment

Storyboarding in a Feature Production
Sharon Bridgeman “Astro Boy” – Imagi Studios
Chris Butler “Coraline” – Laika
Ronnie Del Carmen “Up” – Pixar Animation Studios
Tom Owens “Monsters vs. Aliens” – DreamWorks Animation
Peter Sohn “Up” – Pixar Animation Studios

Voice Acting in a Television Production
Danny Jacobs - Voice of King Julien - “Merry Madagascar” – DreamWorks Animation
Nicky Jones - Voice of Chowder - “Chowder: The Dinner Theatre’” – Cartoon Network Studios
Tom Kenny - Voice of SpongeBob - “SpongeBob SquarePants – Truth or Square” – Nickelodeon
Dwight Schultz - Voice of Mung Daal - “Chowder:The Party Cruise” – Cartoon Network Studios
Willow Smith - Voice of Abby - “Merry Madagascar” – DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in a Feature Production
Jen Cody - Voice of Charlotte - “The Princess and the Frog” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Dawn French - Voice of Miss Forcible – “Coraline” – Laika
Hugh Laurie - Voice of Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. – “Monsters vs. Aliens” – DreamWorks Animation
John Leguizamo - Voice of Sid – “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur” – Blue Sky Studios
Jennifer Lewis - Voice of Mama Odie – “The Princess and the Frog” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
And WHERE is Ed Asner? He did a tour-de-force performance in Up. Some of the best voice work done by a person not normally a voice actor. This is a REAL oversight. Too bad the ballot isn't set up for write-in candidates. This is the big surprise of the nomination pack.

Writing in a Television Production
Daniel Chun – “The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XX” – Gracie Films
Kevin Deters, Stevie Wermers-Skelton – “Prep and Landing” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Valentina L. Garza – “The Simpsons: Four Great Women and a Manicure” – Gracie Films
Billy Kimball and Ian Maxtone-Graham - “The Simpsons: Gone Maggie Gone” – Gracie Films
Billy Lopez – The Wonder Pets – Save the Honey Bears” – Nickelodeon Productions/Little Airplane Productions

Writing in a Feature Production
Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach – “Fantastic Mr. Fox” – 20th Century Fox
Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy – “Up” – Pixar Animation Studios
Timothy Hyde Harris and David Bowers – “Astro Boy” – Imagi Studios
Christopher Miller and Phil Lord – “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” – Sony Pictures Animation
Up deserves the nod here. I've also seen AstroBoy and Cloudy, haven't seen Mr. Fox yet, but Up is just...awesome. And Ponyo should have gotten a chance to play in this category too.
End of list...

Anyway, it's going to be Up's game to lose, and Coraline might be the likely challenger. 9 got shut out of everything but relatively minor nominations, which means that Fred Stuhr's laughing up there in the Great Beyond.

Monsters Vs. Aliens also got short shrift, which might actually be blowback from the Kung Fu Panda pwnage of last year. And Ponyo...good god, didn't anyone SEE Ponyo??? Way to go, Disney. Nominating Miyazaki as director without nominating Ponyo as best picture is a tremendous oversight.

Another shutout that I can't understand: no honors for Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone. That was absolutely spectacular. Perhaps it's the long lag time between Japanese and US releases that did Eva in. They've already seen 2.0, and 1.0 was barely released here.

Oh well, warts and all, those are the Annie noms. Bring on the endless online ballot....oy....

Skiddoosh! It's a shocker at the Annies as Kung Fu Panda lays the smack down on Wall-E

Kung Fu Panda dominated the Annies, surprising all who expected Wall-E in a similar position. Here's the list of winners:

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES
Best Animated Feature
Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation

Best Animated Home Entertainment Production
Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs – The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Best Animated Short Subject
Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death – Aardman Animations Ltd.

Best Animated Television Commercial
United Airlines “Heart” – Duck Studios

Best Animated Television Production
Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II - ShadowMachine

Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children
Avatar: The Last Airbender – Nickelodeon

Best Animated Video Game
Kung Fu Panda – Activision

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES
Animated Effects
Li-Ming Lawrence Lee Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Feature Production
James Baxter Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Television Production or Short Form
Pierre Perifel Secrets of the Furious Five – DreamWorks Animation

Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Nico Marlet Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation

Character Design in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Nico Marlet Secrets of the Furious Five – DreamWorks Animation

Directing in an Animated Feature Production
John Stevenson & Mark Osborne Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation

Directing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Joaquim Dos Santos – Avatar: The Last Airbender “Sozin’s Comet Pt. 3” – Nickelodeon

Music in an Animated Feature Production
Hans Zimmer & John Powell – Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation

Music in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Henry Jackman, Hans Zimmer & John Powell – Secrets of the Furious Five – DreamWorks Animation

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Tang Heng -- Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation

Production Design in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Tang Heng -- Secrets of the Furious Five – DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Jen Yuh Nelson – Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Chris Williams -- Glago’s Guest – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Dustin Hoffman – Voice of Shifu – Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Ahmed Best – Voice of Jar Jar Binks – Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II - ShadowMachine

Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Jon Aibel & Glenn Berger – Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation

Writing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form
Tom Root, Douglas Goldstein, Hugh Davidson, Mike Fasolo, Seth Green, Dan Milano, Matthew Senreich, Kevin Shinick, Zeb Wells, Breckin Meyer – Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II – ShadowMachine

JURIED AWARDS
Winsor McCay recipients - Mike Judge, John Lasseter and Nick Park for career contributions to the art of animation
June Foray award - Bill Turner for significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation
Certificate of Merit award - Amir Avni, Mike Fontanelli, Kathy Turner, Alex Vassilev

Annie Awards tonight...

...I'll have the results tomorrow.

BTW I forgot to mention that the Best Animated Feature Oscar nominees are Wall-E, Bolt and Kung Fu Panda; "Down To Earth," the end-credits song from Wall-E, is one of three nominees for best song, sharing the nomination with two songs from Slumdog Millionaire; and that the Best Animated Short Oscar category again has almost nothing in common with the same category in the Annies.

Annie Awards Best Animated Short nominees 2009
Glago's Guest - Walt Disney Animation Studios
Hot Dog - Bill Plympton Studio
Presto - Pixar Animation Studios
Sebastian's Voodoo - Joaquin Baldwin
Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death - Aardman Animations Ltd.

Academy Awards Best Animated Short nominees 2009
La Maison en Petits Cubes A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
Lavatory - Lovestory A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
Oktapodi (Talantis Films), A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
Presto (Walt Disney), A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
This Way Up A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

OK, Presto's there on both lists. But that's it. As it turned out last year, if Peter & The Wolf was up for the Annies I might have voted for it...it was pretty damn cool and deserved to win the Oscar it did. People are raving about Oktapodi but I haven't seen it yet. Why is there this disconnect between what the Academy votes on and what the Annies vote on with regard to animated shorts? It seems like there is more of a focus on the work of established studios on the Annies list, and more indies, oddly enough, on the Academy's shortlist. If that's the case, the Annies nomination process needs to change.

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

Honorary Annies now announced

WINSOR MCCAY AWARD WINNERS (career contributions to the art of animation)

John Canemaker
- Animation historian, educator, Oscar winning filmmaker. Canemaker's tomes on Windsor McCay and Felix The Cat, his numerous books on Disney history (The Nine Old Men, Mary Blair, etc.) are esstential references. Canemaker is Chair of NYU's Animation Program and won an Academy Award for his animated short The Moon And The Son: An Imagined Conversation.

Glen Keane
- One of the leading lights in the current generation of Disney character animators, Keane's artistry has been the bedrock of many classic animated features since 1977. Most notably, Keane was lead animator of Ariel in The Little Mermaid, The Beast in Bauty and The Beast, and animated the characters Aladdin, Tarzan, Pocahontas in their respective Disney films. Aside from Disney he's worked on animated films of Star Trek and Alvin and the Chipmunks.

John Kricfalusi
- Notorious animator Kricfalusi created the influential Ren & Stimpy Show in 1991. He restored an individual look to TV animation, pushing the envelope during the "creator-driven" movement of the 1990s. He also pioneered the use of artist-driven Flash animation. His animated films and design style currently influences a new generation of cartoonists, with which he communicates personally to through his blog.

JUNE FORAY (significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation)

Jerry Beck

UB IWERKS (technical achievement)

Jonathan Gay, Gary Grossman and Robert Tatsumi – the creators of FLASH computer software

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT ANNIE AWARD

Edwin R. Leonard - promoting the Linux open system for animation in animation studios and gaming software development

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT

Marcus Adams

Jo Jo Batista

Steve Gattuso

Jon Reeves

Gemma Ross

Woodbury University

(Gotta love this list! ^_^)

Annie Award Noms time!

2007 ANNIE AWARD NOMINATIONS BY CATEGORY
PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

Best Animated Feature

Bee Movie – DreamWorks Animation
Persepolis – Sony Pictures Classics
Ratatouille – Pixar Animation Studios
Surf’s Up – Sony Pictures Animation
The Simpsons Movie – Twentieth Century Fox

Best Home Entertainment Production
Doctor Strange – MLG Productions
Futurama "Bender’s Big Score" – The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Television

Best Animated Short Subject
Everything Will Be OK – Bitter Films
How to Hook Up Your Home Theater – Walt Disney Feature Animation
Shorty McShorts’ Shorts "Mascot Prep" – Walt Disney Television Animation
The Chestnut Tree – Picnic Pictures
Your Friend the Rat – Pixar Animation Studios

Best Animated Television Commercial
CVS Watering Can – Acme Filmworks
Esurance "Homeowners" – Wild Brain
Idaho Lottery: Twister – Acme Filmworks
Oregon Lottery "Alaska" – Laika/house
Power Shares Escape Average – Acme Filmworks

Best Animated Television Production
Jane and the Dragon – Weta Productions Limited & Nelvana Limited
Creative Comforts America – Aardman Animations
Moral Orel – ShadowMachine
Robot Chicken Star Wars- ShadowMachine
Kim Possible – Walt Disney Television Animation

Best Animated Television Production for Children
Chowder – Cartoon Network Studios
El Tigre – Nickelodeon
Little Einsteins – Disney Channel
Peep and the Big Wide World – Discovery Kids
The Backyardigans – Nickelodeon

Best Animated Video Game
Avatar: The Last Airbender "The Burning Earth" – THQ, Inc.
Bee Movie Game – Activision
Ratatouille – THQ, Inc.
Transformers: The Game – Blur Studios

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

Animated Effects
Gary Bruins – "Ratatouille" – Pixar Animation Studios
Deborah Carlson – "Surf’s Up" – Sony Pictures Animation
Ryan Laney – "Spider-Man 3" – Sony Pictures Animation
James Mansfield – "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater" – Walt Disney Feature Animation
Jon Reisch – "Ratatouille" – Pixar Animation Studios

Animation Production Artist
John Clark – "Surf’s Up" – Sony Pictures Animation
Michael Isaak – "Bee Movie" – DreamWorks Animation
Hyun-Min Lee – "The Chestnut Tree" – Picnic Pictures
Natasha Liberman – "Growing Up Creepie "Creepie & The Candy Factory" – Taffy Entertainment LLC, Telegrael Teoranta, Discovery Communications Inc., SunWoo Entertainment, Peach Blossom Media
Jim Worthy – My Gym Partner’s A Monkey "Meet the Spidermonkeys" – Cartoon Network Studios

Character Animation in a Feature Production
Dave Hardin – "Surf’s Up" – Sony Pictures Animation
Alan Hawkins – "Surf’s Up" – Sony Pictures Animation
Michal Makarewicz – "Ratatouille" – Pixar Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Television Production
Elizabeth Harvatine - Moral Orel "Nature 2" – ShadowMachine
Monica Kennedy – El Tigre – Nickelodeon
Eric Towner – Robot Chicken – ShadowMachine

Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Sylvain Deboissy – "Surf’s Up" – Sony Pictures Animation
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
Ash Brannon & Chris Buck "Surf’s Up" – Sony Pictures Animation
Chris Miller & Raman Hui – "Shrek The Third" – DreamWorks Animation
Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi – "Persepolis" – Sony Pictures Classics
David Silverman – "The Simpsons Movie" – Twentieth Century Fox

Directing in an Animated Television Production
Seth Green "Robot Chicken Star Wars" – ShadowMachine
David Hartman - Tigger & Pooh "Turtles Need for Speed" – Walt Disney Television Animation
Raymie Muzquiz - Squirrel Boy "Gumfight at the S’Okay Corral" – Cartoon Network Studios
Howy Parkins – The Emperor’s New School "Emperor’s New Musical" - Walt Disney Television Animation
Gary Trousdale "Shrek The Halls" – DreamWorks Animation

Music in an Animated Feature Production
Olivier Bernet – "Persepolis" – Sony Pictures Classics
Danny Elfman, Rufus Wainwright & Rob Thomas – "Meet The Robinsons" – Walt Disney Feature Animation
Michael Giacchino – "Ratatouille" – Pixar Animation Studios
Rupert Gregson-Williams – "Bee Movie" – DreamWorks Animation
Amy Powers, Russ DeSalvo & Jeff Danna – "Disney Princess Enchanted Tales" – DisneyToon Studios/Walt Disney Video/Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Music in an Animated Television Production
Alf Clausen & Michael Price – The Simpsons "Yokel Chords" – Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox
Evan Lurie, Robert Scull & Steven Bernstein – The Backyardigans "International Super Spy" – Nickelodeon
Drew Neumann & Gregory Hinde – Billy & Mandy’s Big Boogey Adventure – Cartoon Network Studios
Shaw Patterson – El Tigre "Yellow Pantera" – Nickelodeon
James L. Venable & Jennifer Kes Remington – Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends "The Bloo Superdude and the Magic Potato Power" – Cartoon Network Studios

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Doug Chiang – "Beowulf" – Paramount Pictures
Harley Jessup – "Ratatouille" – Pixar Animation Studios
Marelo Vignali – "Surf’s Up" – Sony Pictures Animation

Production Design in an Animated Television Production
NONE

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Don Hall – ‘Meet The Robinsons’ – Walt Disney Feature Animation
Denise Koyama – "Surf’s Up" – Sony Pictures Animation
Ted Mathot – "Ratatouille" – Pixar Animation Studios
Sean Song – "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" – IMAGI Animation Studios
Nassos Vakalis – "Bee Movie" – DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production
Ben Balistreri – Danny Phantom "Torrent of Terror" – Nickelodeon
Aldin Baroza – The Replacements "London Calling" – Walt Disney Television Animation
Dave Bennett – Tom and Jerry Tales – Warner Bros. Animation
Steve Fonti – Family Guy "No Chris Left Behind" – Fox TV Animation/Fuzzy Door Productions
Roy Meurin – My Friends Tigger and Pooh "Good Night to Pooh" – Walt Disney Television Animation

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Janeane Garofalo – Voice of Collette – "Ratatouille" – Pixar Animation Studios
Ian Holm – Voice of Skinner – "Ratatouille" – Pixar Animation Studios
Julie Kavner – Voice of Marge Simpson – "The Simpsons Movie" – Twentieth Century Fox
Patton Oswalt – Voice of Remy – "Ratatouille" – Pixar Animation Studios
Patrick Warburton – Voice of Ken – "Bee Movie" – DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production
Scott Adsit – Voice of Clay Puppington – "Moral Orel" – ShadowMachine
Madison Davenport – Voice of Sophianna – "Christmas is Here Again!" – Easy To Dream Entertainment
Tom Kenny – Voice of SpongeBob – SpongeBob SquarePants "Spy Buddies" – Nickelodeon
Eartha Kitt – Voice of Yzma – The Emperor’s New School "Emperor’s New Musical" – Walt Disney Television Animation
Eddie Murphy – Voice of Donkey – "Shrek The Halls" - DreamWorks Animation

Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Brad Bird – "Ratatouille" – Pixar Animation Studios
James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, David, Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder & Jon Vitti – "The Simpsons Movie" – Twentieth Century Fox
Don Rhymer and Ash Brannon & Chris Buck & Christopher Jenkins – "Surf’s Up" – Sony Pictures Animation
Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud – "Persepolis" – Sony Pictures Classics

Writing in an Animated Television Production
C.H. Greenblatt & William Reiss – Chowder "Burple Nurples" – Cartoon Network Studios
Gene Grillo – Back at the Barnyard "Cowman and Ratboy" – Nickelodeon
Ian Maxtone-Graham & Billy Kimball – The Simpsons "24 Minutes" – Gracie Films
Christopher Painter – Squirrel Boy "I Only Have Eye For You" – Cartoon Network Studios
Tom Sheppard – My Gym Partner’s A Monkey "The Butt of the Jake" – Cartoon Network Studios

Annie Awards wrapup...

The Annie Awards have come and gone. Amazingly, my fellow ASIFA members made the best of it.

The results are here.

Too bad Bill Plympton didn't win for "Don't Download This Song." However, he did come away with a Winsor McCay award for his whole body of work. And much respect for Steve Worth, our second interview "victim," for his receiving the June Foray Award. Basically they give the June Foray award for being a mensch. Which he is.

Confessional time: I didn't vote for the Annies...

...and I don't intend to, either.

Why?

Because watching the snippets and bits and pieces of animation I was supposed to vote on was hell. I have never seen so much UGLY in one spot. If you were to sum up the entirety of what I looked at before I just gave up on the process, which incidentally was online for the first time ever, it was ALL PLUG-UGLY CGI, all the time. Except for one pencil-drawn bit of animation by Bill Plympton, the short "Don't Download This Song." That was cool. The rest of the stuff I saw just sucked and sucked and sucked.

I was not given the opportunity to vote Flushed Away as best picture. That opportunity was taken away from me. Instead, you had to make a choice between Cars, Over The Hedge, Monster House, Happy Feet and Open Season. GOOD GOD THOSE ALL SUCKED RUNNY EGGS!!!

Even the commercials were plug-ugly CGI. I mildly enjoyed the Hilton one with its recollection of Chuck Jones' The Dot And The Line, and the CGI cut-outs of the United Airlines "Dragon" commercial. But none of them said "I'm good, I'm really good, reward me!"

2006 will go down in history as the year of the crappy CGI production. No redeeming qualities. I hope I don't lose my Annie voting privileges over this by not just opting out of voting but spilling some of the beans about the super-seekrit process of voting. Maybe this year I'll be able to say I genuinely enjoyed some of the stuff and enthusiastically vote for it. Last year, however, was a desert.