34th Annual ANNIE Awards Honor the Year's Best Animation

Leave it to the animation community to poke fun at their industry and their craft''s superstars, bring tears to the eyes of recipients and audience watchers, and mix and mingle while the outside world casts a curious eye upon this increasingly-popular industry. On February 11, the Alex Theatre in Glendale (215 N. Brand Blvd.) is once again the setting of The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood''s Annie Awards, honoring animation achievement within 23 categories including Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Home Entertainment Production, Best Animated Short Subject, Best Animated Television Production, and Best Video Game, as well as individual excellence in areas ranging from production design, character animation, character design, and effects animation to storyboarding, writing, directing, music, and voice acting.

More than 1,300 industry insiders—studio brass, production executives, creative talent and animation luminaries—will attend the black-tie awards ceremony hosted by Tom Kenney, best known as the voice of SpongeBob Square Pants, who is back by popular demand.

In addition to the awarding of trophies, celebrity presenters and special presentations, the black-tie evening features and pre- and post-event receptions for all attendees on site at the Alex Theatre. Tickets for the general public are $100 and VIP seats are $150 but the event is nearly sold out. For availability, contacting the Alex Theatre box office at (818) 243-ALEX (2539).

The Annie Awards have long been recognizing pioneers at the forefront of animation, through nominations, juried awards, and certificates of merit. In 1972, legendary voice actor June Foray organized the very first Annie Awards. Today, supported by major animation studios and production companies, The Annie Awards have grown into a much-heralded industry event and are considered an important industry benchmark and a predictor of the Academy Award for Animation. The winner of the most coveted and high profile Best Animated Feature Annie has gone on to claim the Oscar for animation every year since its inception.

Entries submitted for Annie consideration must be from productions that originally aired, were exhibited in an animation festival or were commercially released in the United States between Jan. 1, 2006 and Dec. 31, 2006. All ASIFA-Hollywood members in good standing cast their ballots for winners.

Sponsors for the 34th Annual Annie Awards are: Sony Pictures Animation, Cartoon Network, DreamWorks Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studio, Pixar Animation Studios, Starz Media, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Walt Disney Television Animation and Laika.

Today ASIFA-Hollywood, the largest of an international network of chapters, supports a range of animation initiatives through its membership. Current projects include special animation events, classes and screenings, film and video archives and film preservation efforts.

For general information on the 34th Annual Annie Awards, visit www.annieawards.org or contact ASIFA-Hollywood at (818) 842-8330. Media inquiries, contact Jarrod Holland at (910) 395-4829; jarrod@jahcommunications.com or Melanie Crandall at (310) 739-0955.

ASIFA is the French acronym for L''Association Internationale du Film D'' Animation,
an organization founded in 1957 in France by a group of professional animators and
chartered by UNESCO in 1960 to encourage the art of animation and further international understanding and goodwill through the animation medium. Today, there are ASIFA chapters in nearly thirty countries worldwide.