“KPop Demon Hunters,” a Netflix animated feature from Sony Pictures Animation, dominated the 53rd Annie Awards on Saturday, taking home ten awards including Best Feature. The ceremony, considered animation’s highest honor, was held at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles.
The film also secured wins for character animation, direction, and production design, according to a statement released by Netflix. Arden Cho, who voiced the character Rumi in “KPop Demon Hunters,” was awarded Best Voice Acting in a Feature Film.
Beyond the top prize, the Annie Awards recognized excellence across television and independent animation. Ugo Bienvenu’s “Arco” was named Best Independent Feature. Adult Swim’s “Common Side Effects” led the television categories with four wins, including Best Editorial, Best Writing, Best Mature TV/Media, and Best Direction. Netflix’s “Love, Death + Robots” followed with three awards, recognizing its achievements in character design, production design, and storyboarding.
Several juried awards were also presented. Michaël Dudok de Wit, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord and Chris Sanders received the Winsor McCay Award, while Sandy Rabins was honored with the June Foray Award. Wacom was recognized with the Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancement, and LightBox Expo received the Special Achievement Award. Jeffrey New and Haley Mirren Douthit were presented with the ASIFA-Hollywood Merit Award.
“Common Side Effects,” Episode: Raid, received the award for Best Editorial in TV/Media, with Tony Christopherson and Joie Lim recognized for their work. Joe Bennett and Steve Hely were awarded Best Writing in TV/Media for the same series, Episode: Pilot. Vincent Tsui received the award for Best Direction in TV/Media for “Common Side Effects,” Episode: Cliff’s Edge Productions.
Pixar’s “Win or Lose” also garnered significant recognition, winning Best TV/Media – Limited Series and Best Character Animation – TV/Media, with Alli Sadegiani receiving the latter award. Ramin Djawadi, Shane Eli, and Johnny Pakfar were awarded Best Music in TV/Media for “Win or Lose,” Episode: Episode 6, Mixed Signals.
The full list of winners included awards for short subjects, sponsored content, preschool, children’s, and student films, as well as specific achievements in FX, character design, music, production design, storyboarding, and voice acting across various media.