DreamWorks animated movies lead Annie nomination pack with 17 nods. Disney/Pixar's Cars and Flushed Away tied with nine nominations

(Source: www.thestar.com)

DreamWorks Animation SKG had a banner year for Annie nominations, garnering 17 nods for Flushed Away and Over the Hedge. The Annies honour the best in film, television and home animation.

In an ironic twist, Flushed Away is the top nominated draw for DreamWorks, with nine nods for directing (David Bowers and Sam Fell), writing, and a voice acting nomination for Sir Ian McKellen who portrayed the villainous Toad. Spiralling costs ($149 million) and battles between DreamWorks and co-producer Aardman Animation doomed Flushed Away at the box office.

Tied with Flushed Away for most nominations is Disney/Pixar's Cars, John Lasseter's ode to the American highway. That movie earned nods for Best Feature Film, Best Score (for composer Randy Newman) and Best Director for Lasseter (Toy Story), who became Chief Creative Officer at Disney earlier this year.

Taking third place with eight nominations is DreamWorks' Over the Hedge. The CG animated movie about a gang of wisecracking animals dealing with suburban sprawl got nods for Best Feature Film, and a voice acting nomination for Wanda Sykes, who portrayed Stella the skunk.

Other nominations for Best Feature Film include include Warner Bros' Happy Feet, Sony's Monster House and Open Season.

The 34th Annual Annie Awards will be handed out on February 11th in Glendale. These awards are an important indication of who will win on Oscar night. The Best Animated Feature Film winner has always gone on to claim Oscar glory ever since AMPAS created the animated category.

UPDATE: Here's the complete list of nominees, taken from the Annie Awards website:

Best Animated Feature

Cars – Pixar Animation Studios

Happy Feet – Warner Bros. Pictures presents in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a Kennedy Miller Production in association with Animal Logic Film

Monster House – Columbia Pictures Presents an ImageMovers/Amblin Production

Open Season – Sony Pictures Animation/Columbia Pictures

Over The Hedge – DreamWorks Animation

Best Home Entertainment Production

Bambi II – DisneyToon Studios

The Adventures of Brer Rabbit – Universal Animation Studios

Winnie the Pooh: Shapes & Sizes – DisneyToon Studios

Best Animated Short Subject

Adventure Time – Nickelodeon

Fumi and the Bad Luck Foot – Thunderbean Animation

No Time For Nuts – Blue Sky Studios

Weird Al Yankovic “Don’t Download This Song” – Acme Filmworks

Best Animated Television Commercial

Candy Factory – Ka-chew!/Screen Novelties

ESPN “Believe” – Laika/house

Hilton “Dancing Couple” – Acme Filmworks

St. Louis Zoo “Giraffe” – Z Animation

United Airlines “Dragon” – DUCK Studios

Best Animated Television Production

Charlie and Lola – Tiger Aspect Productions

Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends – Cartoon Network Studios

King of the Hill – Twentieth Century Fox TV

The Fairly OddParents – Nickelodeon

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! – Film Roman, a Starz Media Co. Best Animated Video Game

Flushed Away The Game – D3 Publisher of America, Inc.

Monster House – THQ, Inc.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature From the Krusty Krab – THQ, Inc.

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

Animated Effects

Scott Cegielski – Flushed Away – DreamWorks Animation & Aardman Features

Keith Klohn – Cars – Pixar Animation Studios

David Stephens – Open Season – Sony Pictures Animation/Columbia Pictures

Erdem Taylan – Cars – Pixar Animation Studios

John David Thornton – Ice Age: The Meltdown – Blue Sky Studios

Character Animation in a Feature Production

Line Andersen – Flushed Away – DreamWorks Animation & Aardman Features

Carlos Baena – Cars – Pixar Animation Studios

Gabe Hordos – Flushed Away – DreamWorks Animation & Aardman Features

Bobby Podesta – Cars – Pixar Animation Studios

Kristof Serrand – Over The Hedge – DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Television Production

Joshua Jennings – Moral Orel – ShadowMachine Films

Eileen Kohlhepp – Family Guy – Fox TV

Sihanouk Mariona – Robot Chicken – ShadowMachine Films

Yu Jae Myung – Avatar: The Blind Bandit – Nickelodeon

Character Design in an Animated Feature Production

Peter DeSeve – Ice Age: The Meltdown – Blue Sky Studios

Carter Goodrich – Open Season – Sony Pictures Animation/Columbia Pictures

Nicolas Marlet – Over The Hedge – DreamWorks Animation

Character Design in an Animated Television Production

Ben Balistreri – Danny Phantom “King Tuck” – Nickelodeon

Mike Kunkel – The Life & Times of Juniper Lee “Party Monsters” – Cartoon Network Studios

Carlos Ramos – The X’s “Homebody” – Nickelodeon

Eric Robles – The X’s “You Only Sneeze Twice” – Nickelodeon

Directing in an Animated Feature Production

David Bowers & Sam Fell – Flushed Away – DreamWorks Animation & Aardman Features

Tim Johnson & Karey Kirkpatrick – Over The Hedge – DreamWorks Animation

Gil Kenan – Monster House – Columbia Pictures ImageMovers/Amblin Entertainment

John Lasseter – Cars – Pixar Animation Studios

Carlos Saldanha – Ice Age: The Meltdown – Blue Sky Studios

Directing in an Animated Television Production

Shaun Cashman – The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy “Hill Billy” – Cartoon Network Studios

Craig McCracken – Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends “Bus the Two of Us” – Cartoon Network Studios

Guy Vasilovich – Growing Up Creepie “The Tell-Tale Poem” – Mike Young Productions

Giancarlo Volpe – Avatar “The Drill” – Nickelodeon

Music in an Animated Feature Production

John Debney – The Ant Bully – Warner Bros. Pictures Presents in Association with Legendary Pictures, a Playtone Production in Association with DNA Productions

Gordon Goodwin – Bah Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas – Warner Bros. Animation

Laura Karpman – A Monkey’s Tale – Dedica Group

Randy Newman – Cars – Pixar Animation Studios

John Powell – Ice Age: The Meltdown – Blue Sky Studios

Music in an Animated Television Production

Brad Benedict, Mark Fontana & Erik Godal – Squirrel Boy “A Line in the Sandwich” – Cartoon Network Studios

John King – Shorty McShorts’ Shorts “Boyz on Da Run Part 1” – Walt Disney Television Animation

Steve Marston – Jakers! “The Gift” – Mike Young Productions

James L. Venable & Jennifer Kes Remington – Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends “One False Movie” – Cartoon Networks Studios

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production

William Cone – Cars – Pixar Animation Studios

Andy Harkness – Open Season – Sony Pictures Animation/Columbia Pictures

Michael Humphries – Open Season – Sony Pictures Animation/Columbia Pictures

Paul Shardlow – Over The Hedge – DreamWorks Animation

Pierre-Olivier Vincent – Flushed Away – DreamWorks Animation & Aardman Features

Production Design in an Animated Television Production

Martin Ansolabehere – Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends “Good Wilt Hunting” – Cartoon Network Studios

Alan Bodner - The Life and Times of Juniper Lee “Water We Fighting For” - Cartoon Network Studios

Bob Boyle – Wow! Wow! Wubbzy – “Tale of Tails” – Film Roman, a Starz Media Co.

Dan Krall – My Gym Partner’s A Monkey “Grub Drive” – Cartoon Network Studios

Sue Mondt – Camp Lazlo “Hard Days Samson” – Cartoon Network Studios

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production

Thom Enriquez – Over The Hedge – DreamWorks Animation

William H. Frake III – Ice Age: The Meltdown – Blue Sky Studios

Gary Graham – Over The Hedge – DreamWorks Animation

Kris Pearn – Open Season – Sony Pictures Animation/Columbia Pictures

Simon Wells – Flushed Away – DreamWorks Animation & Aardman Features

Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production

Troy Adomitis - American Dragon: Jake Long “Breakout” – Walt Disney Television Animation

Ben Balistreri – Danny Phantom “Urban Jungle” – Nickelodeon

Li Hong – The X’s “You Only Sneeze Twice” – Nickelodeon

Shaut Nigoghossian – Danny Phantom “Reality Trip” – Nickelodeon

Adam Van Wyk – Hellboy “Sword of Storms” – Film Roman, a Starz Media Co.

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production

Maggie Gyllenhaal – Voice of Zee – Monster House – Columbia Pictures ImageMovers/Amblin Entertainment

Sam Lerner – Voice of Chowder – Monster House – Columbia Pictures ImageMovers/Amblin Entertainment

Spencer Locke – Voice of Jenny – Monster House – Columbia Pictures ImageMovers/Amblin Entertainment

Ian McKellen – Voice of Toad – Flushed Away – DreamWorks Animation & Aardman Features

Wanda Sykes – Voice of Stella – Over The Hedge – DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production

Keith Ferguson – Voice of Blooregard – Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends “Squeeze the Day” – Cartoon Network Studios

Eartha Kitt – Voice of Yzma – The Emperor’s New School “Kuzclone” – Walt Disney Television Animation

Mila Kunis – Voice of Meg Griffin – Family Guy “Barely Legal” – Fuzzy Door Productions

Russi Taylor – Voice of Ferny – Jakers! “Mi Galeon” – Mike Young Productions

Patrick Warburton – Voice of Kronk – The Emperor’s New School “Kuzclone” – Walt Disney Television

Animation Writing in an Animated Feature Production

Rich Burns – Brother Bear 2 – DisneyToon Studios

Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais and Chris Lloyd & Joe Keenan and Will Davies – Flushed Away – DreamWorks Animation & Aardman Features

Dan Harman, Rob Schrab & Pamela Pettler – Monster House – Columbia Pictures Presents an ImageMovers/Amblin Entertainment

Dan Fogelman – Cars – Pixar Animation Studios

George Miller, John Collee, Judy Morris & Warren Coleman – Happy Feet – Warner Bros. Pictures Presents in Association with Village Roadshow Pictures, A Kennedy Miller Production in Association with Animal Logic Film

Writing in an Animated Television Production

Kirker Butler – Family Guy “Barely Legal” – Fuzzy Door Productions

Ian Maxtone-Graham – The Simpsons “The Seemingly Neverending Story” – Gracie Films

Tom Sheppard – My Gym Partner’s a Monkey “Nice Moustache” – Cartoon Network Studios

Dan Veber – American Dad “American Dad Afterschool Special” – Fuzzy Door Productions/Underdog Productions

John Viener – Family Guy “The Griffin Family History” – Fuzzy Door Productions