The Humane Society of the United States presented its annual Genesis Awards on Saturday night, and the winners were films and television shows that spotlighted animal protection issues related to bulls, dogs, elephants, dolphins … and dragons.
DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon" was the big winner for feature film – though, to be fair, the Humane Society cited the film not for its lesson about being nice to dragons but for "its inspiring message about tolerance and respect for all living creatures."
It marked the second year in a row that the Genesis Awards gave its top film honor to an animated feature: last year, Pixar's "Up" won.
Other winners included the feature documentary "Elephant in the Living Room" (left) and the television shows "The Colbert Report" (for a comic report satirizing bullfighters), "True Blood" (for its storyline about a shape-shifter abused through dogfighting) and The Oprah Winfrey Show (for a pair of shows dealing with Japan's dolphin slaughter and elephant poaching, among other topics).
Actress Kristin Davis was given the Humane Society's Wyler Award for her work bringing attention to African elephants orphaned because of poaching.
Multiple awards were also given to television news and print outlets for investigative reports and newspaper and magazine articles.
Presenters and performers included comic Bill Maher, the cast of "Hot in Cleveland" and a mini "Mary Tyler Moore Show" reunion of Betty White and Ed Asner.
The awards were presented at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, and will air on Animal Planet on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1.
The winners:
Outstanding Feature Film: "
How To Train Your Dragon," DreamWorks Animation
Outstanding Feature Documentary: "
The Elephant In The Living Room," NightFly Entertainment
Sid Caesar Comedy Award:"The Colbert Report: bullfighting," Comedy Central
Outstanding Dramatic Series: "True Blood: Hitting the Ground, Beautifully Broken," HBO
Outstanding TV Newsmagazine: "Nightline: Got Milk?" ABC
Outstanding News Feature: KTLA News At 10 (Los Angeles): Puppy Mills Exclusive Investigation, Dogfighting Investigation, Hatchery Hell Investigative Report
Outstanding News Series: WOIO TV 19 Action News (Cleveland): Ohio Dairy Farm Animal Abuse
Outstanding Morning News Show: "The Early Show: Shark Victims," CBS
Outstanding Talk Show: "The Oprah Winfrey Show: Oprah’s Earth Day Mom Swap – An Eye-Opening Intervention"; "Ultimate Amazing Animals"
Outstanding TV Documentary: "My Child Is A Monkey," National Geographic Channel
Outstanding Reality Series: "Last Chance Highway: The Great Escape," Animal Planet
Brigitte Bardot International: "60 Minutes Australia: Natural Born Killers," Nine Network
Australia
Outstanding Written WordMagazine: National Geographic Magazine, "The Kingpin" by Bryan Christy
Series Of Newspaper Articles: Isthmus (Wisconsin), multiple articles by Bill Lueders
Columnist: Los Angeles Times: "Where Captives Put on a Show," by Steve Lopez
Brigitte Bardot International Print: Daily Mail (UK), multiple articles by Dr. Danny Penman
William Wilberforce Award: Christianity Today: "A Feast Fit for the King: Returning the Growing Fields and Kitchen Table to God," by Leslie Leyland Fields
The Wyler Award: Kristin Davis
