"Wreck-It Ralph" wrecked the rest of the field at the 40th annual Annie Awards on Saturday night, picking up five awards to reinforce its position as the animated film with the most momentum heading into Oscar voting.
Rich Moore's comedy about a video-arcade bad guy who yearns to become a hero was named Best Animated Feature by the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood. Moore was also honored for his directing, and the film won additional awards for its screenplay, music and voice acting in a ceremony at UCLA's Royce Hall.
On the heels of its recent victories at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards and the Producers Guild Awards, "Wreck-It Ralph" has emerged as a slight favorite in a competitive, evenly-balanced year for animation.
Fellow Oscar nominees "ParaNorman" and "Brave" each won a pair of awards, the former for character design and the latter for production design and editorial. "Rise of the Guardians" won for its effects and storyboarding.
Genndy Tartakovsky's "Hotel Transylvania," which received eight nominations, did not win anything. Tim Burton's "Frankenweenie" and Aardman Animations' "The Pirates! Band of Misfits," both of which are Oscar nominees, went into the show with five nominations each but were also shut out.
On the television side, the big winner was DreamWorks Animation's "Dragons: Riders of Berk," which won four awards.
"Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem" was named Best Animated Special Production, while the award for animated preschool programming went to "Bubble Guppies." "Robot Chicken" was named Best General Audience Animated Television Production.
Two current Oscar nominees in the Best Animated Short category won Annies. "Paperman" was named Best Animated Short Subject, while "Head Over Heels" won the award for Best Student Film. (A third Oscar nominee, "Adam and Dog," won the short-subject Annie last year.)
Also read: Oscar's Animated Shorts: A Student Film and a Cooking Lesson Take on Disney, 'The Simpsons'
Travis Knight, the CEO of Laika and the son of owner Phil Knight, won an award for his other job at the animation studio, taking home the Annie for Character Animation in a Feature Production.
The live-action films "The Avengers" and "Life of Pi" won awards for their animated elements, including the tiger Richard Parker in "Pi."
The show took place at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus, and was hosted by critic Leonard Maltin and voice actors Rob Paulsen and Maurice Lamarche.
This is the second year for the Annies after a 2011 reorganization and rule change that was prompted by Disney/Pixar's temporary withdrawal from ASIFA-Hollywood over concerns about voting procedures and industry oversight.
The winners:
PRODUCTION CATEGORIES
Best Animated Feature: "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Best Animated Special Production: "Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem" – Illumination Entertainment
Best Animated Short Subject: "Paperman" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Best Animated Television Commercial: No nominations
Best General Audience Animated TV Production For Preschool Children: "Bubble Guppies ‘A Tooth on the Looth’" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Best Animated Television Production For Children: "Dragons: Riders of Berk, ‘How to Pick Your Dragon’" – DreamWorks Animation
Best General Audience Animated Television Production: "Robot Chicken ‘DC Comics Special’" – Stoopid Buddy Studios
Animated Video Game: "Journey" – Sony Computer Entertainment America
Best Student Film: "Head Over Heels" – Timothy Reckart
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES
Animated Effects in an Animated Production: Andy Hayes, Carl Hooper, David Lipton, "Rise of the Guardians" – DreamWorks Animation
Animated Effects in a Live Action Production: Jerome Platteaux, John Sigurdson, Ryan Hopkins, Raul Essig, Mark Chataway, "The Avengers" – Industrial Light & Magic
Character Animation in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production: Dan Driscoll, "SpongeBob SquarePants: It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Character Animation in a Feature Production: Travis Knight, “ParaNorman" – LAIKA/Focus Features
Character Animation in a Live Action Production: Erik de Boer, Matt Shumway, Brian Wells, Vinayak Pawar, Michael Holzl, "Life of Pi" – Tiger – Rhythm & Hues Studio
Character Design in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production: Robert Valley, "Disney Tron: Uprising: The Renegade, Part I" – Disney TV Animation
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production: Heidi Smith, "ParaNorman" – LAIKA/Focus Features
Directing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production: John Eng, "Dragons: Riders of Berk: Animal House" – DreamWorks Animation
Directing in an Animated Feature Production: Rich Moore, "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Music in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production: John Paesano, "Dragons: Riders of Berk: How to Pick Your Dragon" – DreamWorks Animation
Music in an Animated Feature Production: Henry Jackman, Skrillex, Adam Young, Matthew Thiessen, Jamie Houston, Yasushi Akimoto, "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Production Design in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production: Alberto Mielgo, "Tron: Uprising: The Stranger" – Disney TV Animation
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production: Steve Pilcher, "Brave" – Pixar Animation Studios
Storyboarding in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production: Doug Lovelace, "Dragons: Riders of Berk: Portrait of Hiccup as a Buff Man" – DreamWorks Animation
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production: Johanne Matte, "Rise of the Guardians" – DreamWorks Animation
Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production: Kristen Schaal as Mabel Pines, "Gravity Falls: Tourist Trapped" – Disney TV Animation
Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production: Alan Tudyk as King Candy, "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Writing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production: Trey Parker, "South Park: Jewpacabra" – Central Productions
Writing in an Animated Feature Production: Phil Johnston, Jennifer Lee, "Wreck-It Ralph" – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Editorial in an Animated Television Production: Hugo Morales, Adam Arnold, Davrick Waeden, Otto Ferraye, "Kung Fu Panda – Enter the Dragon" – Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Editorial in an Animated Feature Production: Nicholas C. Smith, A.C.E, Robert Grahamjones, A.C.E., David Suther, "Brave" – Pixar Animation Studios
JURIED AWARDS
Winsor McCay Award – Oscar Grillo, Terry Gilliam, Mark Henn
June Foray Award – Howard Green
Ub Iwerks Award – Toon Boom Animation Pipeline