Animation Awards Nominees Announced

Interesting nominations from the International Animated Film Society, which gives out annual Annie Awards.

As far as the Oscar race for animated feature, my sense is that Warner Bros./Kennedy Miller's runaway crowd pleaser Happy Feet, not Disney/Pixar's Cars, is leading the race, with Sony Pictures' Monster House close behind. But the Annies gave nine nominations to both Cars and DreamWorks' Flushed Away, while DreamWorks' Over the Hedge nabbed eight:

Associated Press. LOS ANGELES - DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. led the pack in this year's Annie Awards nominations for film, television and home video animation, garnering 17 nods for two features, "Flushed Away" and "Over the Hedge."

The Disney-Pixar film "Cars," a nostalgic nod to the country's forgotten backroads, tied "Flushed Away" with the most nominations with nine, according to a Monday announcement from the International Animated Film Society.

The society will present the 34th annual awards for achievement in animation on Feb. 11 in Glendale.

"Flushed Away," a co-production with British filmmakers Aardman Animation, received nine nominations, including directing, writing and voice acting for Ian McKellan, who gave a Shakespearean croak to the evil character of "Toad."

"Over the Hedge," the animated version of the popular comic strip, earned eight nominations, including best animated feature and voice acting for Wanda Sykes, who portrayed a skunk named Stella.

Nominations for "Cars," from Pixar Animation Studios and The Walt Disney Co., included best animated feature and best director for John Lasseter, the director of the landmark Pixar film "Toy Story."

Composer Randy Newman also received a nomination for the film's soundtrack.

The other nominees for top animated feature were "Happy Feet," from Warner Bros., a division of Time Warner Inc., "Monster House," from Sony Pictures, a division of Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news)., and "Open Season," also from Sony Pictures.

The winner of the Annie Awards has gone on to claim the Oscar for animated feature every year since the Academy Award for animation was created.