Annie Awards

Overview

The Annie Awards are peer-voted honors for animation, presented across 37 categories covering features, television, shorts, student films, and individual craft disciplines. ASIFA-Hollywood, the largest chapter of the international organization Association Internationale du Film d'Animation (ASIFA), administers the awards. The ceremony takes place annually in February at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles.

The 53rd Annie Awards were held February 21, 2026. Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters swept all 10 categories it was nominated in, including Best Feature, Best Direction, Best Writing, Best Voice Acting, and Best Character Animation. Neon's Arco won Best Feature - Independent. The ceremony also presented Winsor McCay Awards for lifetime contribution to Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, Chris Sanders, and Michael Dudok de Wit. Full submission rules and deadlines are available at annieawards.org.

Since the Academy introduced the Best Animated Feature Oscar in 2002, 14 of 23 Annie Best Feature winners went on to win the Oscar. Seven of the last 13 achieved the double. However, the two bodies have diverged with increasing frequency in recent years. In 2025, the Annie went to The Wild Robot while the Oscar went to Flow, which had won the Annie's Best Independent Feature category the same year.

Submission Process and Fees

Submissions for the 53rd Annie Awards opened August 4, 2025 and closed November 9, 2025. Entry fees range from $200 to $325 per submission, calibrated based on when payment is received. Early submissions receive the lowest rate.

Eligible productions are animated works released publicly in the United States and worldwide between January 1 and December 31, 2025. Short subjects, special projects, sponsored productions, student films, and films from Annie Award qualifying festivals may submit with or without a U.S. release.

Judges for the nominating committees do not need to be ASIFA-Hollywood members but must have an established career in animation and professional credentials in at least one Annie Award category. All judges must apply for each cycle, whether or not they have served previously. The application is available at members.asifa-hollywood.org/judge-application.

ASIFA-Hollywood membership is divided into three categories: General Member (for professionals), Patron (for enthusiasts), and Student Member. Only professional members vote on the awards. The deadline to join or renew membership and vote in the Annie Awards is January 26, 2026. Online balloting runs February 6 through February 14, 2026.

Key Categories

The Annie Awards present 37 categories. The major competitive categories include:

Feature Film:

• Best Feature
• Best Feature - Independent
• Best Direction - Feature
• Best Writing - Feature
• Best Voice Acting - Feature
• Best Character Animation - Feature
• Best Character Design - Feature
• Best Production Design - Feature
• Best Editorial - Feature
• Best Music - Feature
• Best FX - Feature
• Best Storyboarding - Feature

Television and Media:

• Best TV/Media - Limited Series
• Best TV/Media - Mature
• Best TV/Media - Children
• Best TV/Media - Preschool
• Best Direction - TV/Media
• Best Writing - TV/Media
• Best Voice Acting - TV/Media
• Best Character Animation - TV/Media
• Best Character Design - TV/Media
• Best Editorial - TV/Media
• Best FX - TV/Media
• Best Storyboarding - TV/Media

Other Categories:

• Best Animated Short Subject
• Best Special Production
• Best Sponsored Production
• Best Student Film
• Best Character Animation - Live Action
• Best Character Animation - Video Game

Juried Awards (not voted by membership):

• Winsor McCay Award - lifetime contribution to animation
• June Foray Award - significant impact on the animation community
• Ub Iwerks Award - technical achievement
• Special Achievement Award
• ASIFA-Hollywood Merit Award
• Animation Educators' Forum Hall of Fame

History

The Annie Awards began in 1972, created by veteran voice actor June Foray to honor excellence in animation at a time when the art form received limited recognition from mainstream awards bodies. For the first two decades, the awards primarily recognized lifetime and career contributions rather than individual works. The shift to honoring specific productions began in 1992, transforming the Annies into the primary competitive awards ceremony for the animation industry.

In 2008, Disney and Pixar withdrew submissions and support for the Annie Awards, citing concerns about the voting process. ASIFA-Hollywood responded by changing the rules: individual achievement categories became restricted to professionals within those specific categories, and Annie voters became subject to committee approval. Disney and Pixar resumed submissions in 2010 after the reforms were implemented.

The Best Feature - Independent category has grown in relevance as independent and international animated features increasingly compete for attention against major studio releases. In 2025, the independent winner Flow went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, defeating the major-studio winner of the Annie's top prize (The Wild Robot). This divergence highlighted the independent category's value as a predictor of Academy tastes, which have trended toward international and stop-motion productions in recent years.

Significance for Filmmakers

For animation professionals, an Annie Award represents peer recognition from the specific community that understands the craft's demands. Animation combines visual art, performance, technical skill, and storytelling in ways that differ fundamentally from live-action filmmaking. The Annies evaluate those specific competencies across 37 categories, giving individual animators, storyboard artists, character designers, and FX artists recognition that no other major awards body provides at the same granularity.

For studios and producers, Annie nominations and wins directly influence the Oscar campaign for Best Animated Feature. A strong Annie showing builds momentum heading into final Academy voting. In 2026, KPop Demon Hunters entered the Oscar race as the clear frontrunner after sweeping 10 Annie Awards, adding the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award to its tally. However, the 2025 precedent (Flow winning the Oscar over Annie winner The Wild Robot) means an Annie sweep no longer guarantees an Oscar win.

For independent animation filmmakers, the Best Feature - Independent category provides visibility that can translate into distribution deals and festival circuit momentum. The category has recognized films from Japan, France, Latvia, and other countries, connecting international animation to U.S. industry attention.

Recent Winners

2026 (53rd Annie Awards):

• Best Feature: KPop Demon Hunters (Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix)
• Best Feature - Independent: Arco (Remembers, MountainA France, France 3 Cinema)
• Best Direction - Feature: Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, KPop Demon Hunters
• Best Voice Acting - Feature: Arden Cho, KPop Demon Hunters
• Best Short Subject: Snow Bear (Aaron Blaise)
• Best TV/Media - Mature: Common Side Effects (Green Street Pictures)
• Best TV/Media - Children: The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball (Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe)
• Best TV/Media - Limited Series: Win or Lose (Pixar Animation Studios)
• Winsor McCay Award: Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, Chris Sanders, Michael Dudok de Wit
• June Foray Award: Sandy Rabins (AnimAID relief fund)
• Ub Iwerks Award: Wacom
• Special Achievement Award: LightBox Expo

Watch

Eligibility Quirks That Trip People Up

• US and worldwide release requirement: Eligible productions are animated works released publicly in the United States and worldwide between January 1 and December 31 of the eligibility year. Films released only in their home country but not in the US are not eligible for the main feature categories, though short subjects and films from qualifying festivals may submit without a US release.
• Entry fees range from $200 to $325: Unlike some awards with no entry fees, the Annies charge per submission, with fees calibrated based on when payment is received. Early submissions receive the lowest rate. Late submitters pay significantly more.
• Professional members only vote on awards: ASIFA-Hollywood membership is divided into General Member (professionals), Patron (enthusiasts), and Student Member. Only professional members vote on the awards. Patrons and students cannot vote, which differs from some organizations where all membership tiers have voting rights.
• Judges must apply for each cycle: Judges for the nominating committees do not need to be ASIFA-Hollywood members but must have an established career in animation and professional credentials in at least one Annie Award category. All judges must apply for each cycle, whether or not they have served previously. Past service does not guarantee selection.
• Disney/Pixar history: In 2008, Disney and Pixar withdrew submissions and support citing voting process concerns. ASIFA-Hollywood reformed the rules (individual achievement categories restricted to professionals within those categories, voters subject to committee approval), and Disney/Pixar resumed submissions in 2010. This history informs current voting rules.

Prestige Tier

The Annie Awards are the most prestigious animation-specific awards, often serving as a key predictor of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Since the Oscar category was introduced in 2002, 14 of 23 Annie Best Feature winners went on to win the Oscar, though the two bodies have diverged with increasing frequency in recent years. Among craft-specific awards, the Annies rank alongside the ASC (cinematography) and ACE Eddie (editing) in industry prestige within their discipline. The 37-category breadth gives individual animators, storyboard artists, character designers, and FX artists recognition that no other major awards body provides at the same granularity. The Best Feature - Independent category has grown in relevance as independent and international animated features increasingly compete against major studio releases.

See Also

For understanding the technical specifications involved in animation production and delivery, use the Frame Rate Calculator and the Aspect Ratio Calculator. For context on how animated features fit into distribution strategies, see Distribution Deals Explained. To explore animation terminology, browse the Glossary.