The official website of Annie Awards revealed the list of nominees for the 51st edition of the awards on Jan 11, 2024. The awards, which have been presented each year since 1972, recognizes excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television.

While Nick Bruno and Troy Quane directed Nimona earned the highest nominations with 8, Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume no Tojimari and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron were nominated in 7 categories each, tying with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Both the anime films were nominated for Best Feature, Best Character Animation and Best Music among others.

Check out the nominations for The Boy and the Heron movie below:

• Best Feature
• Best Character Animation – Feature (Takeshi Honda)
• Best Direction – Feature (Hayao Miyazaki)
• Best Music – Feature (Joe Hisaishi)
• Best Production Design – Feature (Yoji Takeshige)
• Best Storyboarding – Feature (Hayao Miyazaki)
• Best Writing – Feature (Hayao Miyazaki)

Check out the nominations for Suzume movie:

• Best Feature
• Best FX – Feature (Yoshitaka Takeuchi, Hiroyuki Seshita)
• Best Character Animation – Feature (Kenichi Tsuchiya)
• Best Music – Feature (Kazuma Jinnouchi, Radwimps)
• Best Storyboarding – Feature (Makoto Shinkai)
• Best Voice Acting – Feature (Hokuto Matsumura for voicing Souta Munakata)
• Best Writing – Feature (Makoto Shinkai)

Additionally, Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi will be receiving the Winsor McCay Award in recognition of lifetime or career contributions. The Winsor McCay Award is a juried award.

The 51st Annual Annie Awards will take place on Saturday, Feb 17th, 2024 at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California. The winners will be announced at the ceremony which is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.

Both Suzume and The Boy and the Heron have not been short of critical acclaim, as they both have managed to be eligible for the Best Picture category at Oscars. The anime films were also nominated for the Golden Globes 2024, with Miyazaki’s flick bagging the Best Animated Film award.

Source: Official website