American and English-language titles of a wide variety of styles lead the way in the 2018 Annie Award nominations, but it's industry leader Pixar that dominates. Incredibles 2, their latest mega-blockbuster, scores 11 nominations to closest rival Ralph Breaks the Internet's 10, thus marking a major victory for distributor Buena Vista over their competitors. Interestingly, the studio's upcoming Mary Poppins Returns' five-strong haul includes three in animated feature categories; between that and their 2019 release The Lion King constituting an all-CGI feature, expect much debate about exactly what constitutes animation anymore. If you're looking for a likely Oscar lineup, you could do far worse than the Annies' top category selection, though keep an eye out for other contenders, including GKIDS releases such as MFKZ and Mirai, both up for the all foreign-language Independent category. This year's awards will be presented at the gala ceremony on the 2nd of February. Check out all the nominees just below.
Best Animated Feature
Early Man
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Brad Bird (Incredibles 2)
Phil Johnston and Rich Moore (Ralph Breaks the Internet)
Nick Park (Early Man)
Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Genndy Tartakovsky (Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation)
Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Bryan Cranston (Isle of Dogs)
Holly Hunter (Incredibles 2)
Eddie Redmayne (Early Man)
Sarah Silverman (Ralph Breaks the Internet)
Charlyne Yi (Next Gen)
Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Brad Bird (Incredibles 2)
Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go! To the Movies)
Hosoda Mamoru and Stephanie Sheh (Mirai)
Phil Johnston and Pamela Ribon (Ralph Breaks the Internet)
Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Best Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
Jesse Averna, Jeremy Milton, Pace Paulsen, Fabienne Rawley and John Wheeler (Ralph Breaks the Internet)
Chris Cartagena (The Grinch)
Bob Fisher, Andrew Leviton and Vivek Sharma (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Anthony J. Greenberg, Katie Schaefer Bishop and Stephen Schaffer (Incredibles 2)
Milorad Krstic, Laszlo Marcell, Danijel Milosevic and Wimmer Laszlo (Ruben Brandt, Collector)
Best Production Design in an Animated Feature Proudiction
Richard Edmunds and Matt Perry (Early Man)
Paul Harrod and Adam Stockhausen (Isle of Dogs)
Justin K. Thompson (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Jeff Turley (Mary Poppins Returns)
Scott Wills (Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation)
Best Animated Effects in an Animated Feature Production
Pat Andrew, Grant Hewlett, Howard Jones, Dave Alex Riddett and Elena Vitanza Chiarani (Early Man)
Ian J. Coony, Peter DeMund, Alexander Moaveni, Marie Tollec and Cesar Velazquez (Ralph Breaks the Internet)
Greg Gladstone, Tolga Goktekin, Jason Johnston, Eric Lacroix and Krzysztof Rost (Incredibles 2)
Kiel Gnebba, Spencer Lueders, Joe Pepper, Sam Rickles and Patrick Witting (Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation)
Ishigaki So and Graham Wiebe (Next Gen)
Best Music in an Animated Feature Production
Danny Elfman and Tyler, the Creator (The Grinch)
Michael Giacchino (Incredibles 2)
Harry Gregson-Williams and Tom Howe (Early Man)
Henry Jackman, Phil Johnston, Tom MacDougall, Alan Menken and Dan Reynolds (Ralph Breaks the Internet)
Karey Kirkpatrick, Wayne Kirkpatrick and Heitor Pereira (Smallfoot)
Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Bobby Alcid Rubio (Incredibles 2)
Michael Herrera (Ralph Breaks the Internet)
Dean Kelly (Incredibles 2)
Habib Louati (The Grinch)
Ovi Nedelcu (Mary Poppins Returns)
Best Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Kim Shi Yoon - 'Aunt May, Goblin, Gwen, Jefferson, King Pin, Miles, Peter, Rio and Uncle Aaron' (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Matt Nolte (Incredibles 2)
Marcelina Tanguay (Next Gen)
Ami Thompson - 'Baby Calhoun, Disney princesses, Ebay Elaine, Gord, Internet troll, Jimmy, KnowsMo, Maybe, Milkshake Kitty, Netizens, Netuser, Pancake Bunny, Ralphzilla, Shank, Slaughter Race crew, Spamley, The Eboy, Tiffany, Vanellope van Schweetz, Wreck-It Ralph and Yesss' (Ralph Breaks the Internet)
James Woods - 'Animated cast' (Mary Poppins Returns)
Best Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production
Lance Fite (Incredibles 2)
David Han (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Laurie Sitzia - 'Chief Bobnar, Dug, Goona, Lord Nooth, the rabbit and the tribe' (Early Man)
Jason Stalman - 'Chief and Nutmeg' (Isle of Dogs)
Vitor Vilela - 'Baby Mo, Double Dan, Fix-It Felix, Milkshake Kitty, Mo's mom, Pancake Bunny, Ralphzilla, Root Beer Tapper patrons, Vanellope van Schweetz, Wreck-It Ralph and Yesss' (Ralph Breaks the Internet)
Best Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Adrian Annesley, Hao Shan, Richard Oey, Allison Orr and Yap Wei Liang (The Nutcracker and the Four Realms)
James Baxter, Sandro Cleuzo and Chris Sauve (Mary Poppins Returns)
Claire Blustin, Marc-Andre Coulombe, Arslan Elver, Kayn Garcia and Laurent Laban (Christopher Robin)
Kyle Dunlevy, Stuart Ellis, Pablo Grillo, Laurent Laban and Liam Russell (Paddington 2)
Sidney Kombo-Kintombo, Jacob Luamanuvae-Su'a, Sam Sharplin, Paul Story and Eteuati Tema (Avengers: Infinity War)
Best Animated Independent Feature
Ce Magnifique Gateau!
MFKZ
Mirai
Ruben Brandt, Collector
Tito and the Birds
Best Animated Special Production
Back to the Moon
The Emperor's Newest Clothes
The Highway Rat
Mary Poppins Returns
Best Animated Short Subject
Grandpa Walrus
Lost & Found
Solar Walk
Untravel
Weekends
Best Virtual Reality Production
Age of Sail
Battlescar
Crow: The Legend
Mind Palace
Moss
Best Student Film
Best Friend (Juliana de Lucca, David Feliu, Varun Nair, Nicholas Oliveiri and Yi Shen)
A Blink of an Eye (Kiana Naghshineh)
Facing It (Sam Gainsborough)
Hors Piste (Leo Brunel, Loris Cavalier, Camille Jalabert and Oscar Mallet)
Sister (Siqi Song)