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Magic Light Pictures’ The Snail and the Whale takes Best Special Production at 2021 Annie Awards

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Magic Light Pictures’ animated special, The Snail and the Whale, has been named Best Special Production in the 48th Annual Annie Awards, hosted via a virtual ceremony on Friday, April 16th.

The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, each year since 1972 to recognise excellence in animation.

The acclaimed 30’ family film, which premiered on BBC One on Christmas Day 2019 to an audience of four million, follows the journey of a snail who longs to see the world and manages to hitch a ride on the tail of a humpback whale.

The film was voiced by a British acting cast including Sally Hawkins (Paddington, The Shape of Water) as Snail, Rob Brydon (Gavin & Stacey, The Trip) as Whale, Cariad Lloyd (Peep Show, Murder in Successville) as Teacher, and the late Dame Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones, Victoria) as the Narrator.

Based on the global hit book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, The Snail and the Whale was directed by Max Lang and Daniel Snaddon and produced by Michael Rose and Martin Pope of Magic Light Pictures, with animation services by Triggerfish Animation in Cape Town.

Its Annies success adds to Magic Light’s plethora of awards, including four Oscar nominations. Many of the awards have been for their critically acclaimed festive family specials, The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, Stick Man, The Highway Rat and Zog, which have become a highlight of the BBC One Christmas schedule.

The Snail and the Whale is also proving a hit at retail, with leading licensees including master toy partner Wow! Stuff, Aurora for huggable plush and Sainsbury’s for a range of items including clothing.

Magic Light Pictures co-founder Michael Rose, said: “We are thrilled to have won this prestigious award for The Snail and the Whale. To be named Best Special Production among so much outstanding global competition is a real honour and testament to the creativity, talent and hard work of directors Max Lang, Daniel Snaddon and all the team.”

In an exciting time for Magic Light, the award follows the launch of its first-ever preschool series, Pip and Posy, which premiered on Channel 5’s Milkshake! in March and launches on Sky Kids on demand in May.

Magic Light is also currently in production with Superworm, which will premiere this Christmas. Superworm is the ninth TV adaptation of a Donaldson/Scheffler title for BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Magic Light Pictures’ The Snail and the Whale takes Best Special Production at 2021 Annie Awards

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Magic Light Pictures’ animated special, The Snail and the Whale, has been named Best Special Production in the 48th Annual Annie Awards, hosted via a virtual ceremony on Friday, April 16th.

The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, each year since 1972 to recognise excellence in animation.

The acclaimed 30’ family film, which premiered on BBC One on Christmas Day 2019 to an audience of four million, follows the journey of a snail who longs to see the world and manages to hitch a ride on the tail of a humpback whale.

The film was voiced by a British acting cast including Sally Hawkins (Paddington, The Shape of Water) as Snail, Rob Brydon (Gavin & Stacey, The Trip) as Whale, Cariad Lloyd (Peep Show, Murder in Successville) as Teacher, and the late Dame Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones, Victoria) as the Narrator.

Based on the global hit book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, The Snail and the Whale was directed by Max Lang and Daniel Snaddon and produced by Michael Rose and Martin Pope of Magic Light Pictures, with animation services by Triggerfish Animation in Cape Town.

Its Annies success adds to Magic Light’s plethora of awards, including four Oscar nominations. Many of the awards have been for their critically acclaimed festive family specials, The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, Stick Man, The Highway Rat and Zog, which have become a highlight of the BBC One Christmas schedule.

The Snail and the Whale is also proving a hit at retail, with leading licensees including master toy partner Wow! Stuff, Aurora for huggable plush and Sainsbury’s for a range of items including clothing.

Magic Light Pictures co-founder Michael Rose, said: “We are thrilled to have won this prestigious award for The Snail and the Whale. To be named Best Special Production among so much outstanding global competition is a real honour and testament to the creativity, talent and hard work of directors Max Lang, Daniel Snaddon and all the team.”

In an exciting time for Magic Light, the award follows the launch of its first-ever preschool series, Pip and Posy, which premiered on Channel 5’s Milkshake! in March and launches on Sky Kids on demand in May.

Magic Light is also currently in production with Superworm, which will premiere this Christmas. Superworm is the ninth TV adaptation of a Donaldson/Scheffler title for BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Shaun the Sheep and The Snail and the Whale among winners at British Animation Awards 2020

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The talent behind some of Britain’s best animation over the past year, including The Snail and the Whale, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, The Adventures of Paddington, and A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon were celebrated at the British Animation Awards 2020 this week.

Held at London’s BFI Southbank, the BAAs was hosted by comedian and actor Miles Jupp who kicked off a ceremony dedicated to recognising all forms of animation and honour the achievements of the British animation scene from the past two years.

Top awards went to Sally Hawkins for her work on the animated adaptation of the Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler book, The Snail and the Whale, David Arnold for Best Original Music for The Tiger Who Came to Tea, and to Nick Jr for its pre-school series, The Adventures of Paddington.

Hawkins scooped up the award for Best Voice Performance for her portrayal of Snail in Snail and the Whale, Magic Light Pictures’ festive animation about a mollusc on an epic adventure.

Meanwhile there were three major awards for acclaimed studio Aardman Animations, which picked up the prestigious award for Best Long Form Animation for its hugely successful madcap caper A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmaggedon (directed by Will Becher and Richard Phelan), the Children’s Choice Award for an episode from its CBBC series Shaun The Sheep: Squirreled Away(directed by Carmen Bromfield-Mason), and Best Music Video for Coldplay’s “Daddy” (directed by Asa Lucanda).

Staying in the children’s TV categories, Adam Shaw and Chris Drew picked up the Best Children’s Pre-School Series award for their charming Nick Jr. series The Adventures of Paddington – which features the voice of Ben Wishaw as Paddington and a song written and performed by Gary Barlow.

Erstwhile awards and audience favourite The Amazing Adventures of Gumball added another two BAAs to its collection picking up Best Use of Sound and the Writers Award for Richard Overall, Mic Graves and Tony Hull.

Meanwhile, the Best Children’s Series was awarded to Gutsy Animations’ Sky One series Moominvalley (directed by Steve Box), which was praised by the judges for its “undeniable beauty” and “top-notch vocal performances”.

The Best Original Music Award went to multi award-winning duo David Arnold and Don Black for Lupus Films’ The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

 Some of the leading British animation courses were represented in both Best Undergraduate and Best Postgraduate Student film categories including nominees from Falmouth University School of Film and Television, University of Creative Arts in Farnham, Arts University Bournemouth and the Royal College of Arts London.

The winner of the all-female nominated Best Undergraduate Student Film category was Megan Earls from UCA, Farnham for Border/Line and the victor of the Best Postgraduate Student Film was Alex Widdowson, also from RCA, for his film Music and Clowns.

 In other categories: The Best Short Film was awarded to Jonathan Hodgson for Roughhouse, which the judges described as a “masterful piece of short form storytelling”. The Best Animation in a Commercial award went to Thomas Harnett O’Meara and Matthew Day for their charming take on The Wind in the Willows for The Wildlife Trusts; The Best Film or TV Graphic, Motion Design was awarded to Second Home Studios for its “varied and imaginative idents” for DaVinci Learning.

The Best Commissioned Animation was picked up by Moth Studio for the “beautifully delicate animation” in Conception: Catie & Jen: The Best Immersive Category was won by Marshmallow Laser Feast for We Live in an Ocean of Air, which was praised for “inspiring us to think about nature in a different way”.

Finally, in a new category for 2020, the Best Social Good Award rewarded Danny Capozzi for his animation for United for Global Mental Health – New Mindset.

BAA Director, Helen Brunsdon, said: “This is my first year at the helm of the BAAs and I was blown away by the quality of the entries this year. The BAAs are a brilliant way to showcase the incredible talent we have here in the UK and help cement Britain’s position as one of the leading countries in the world for animation.”

Held every two years, the British Animation Awards (BAAs) reward the very best new and established British animators across a variety of categories including short films, animated graphics for film and television, children’s series, music videos and commercials.

The awards themselves (the BAAs) are unique artworks, featuring sheep, created especially for the occasion by a range of leading international and UK animation artists: a measure of the world-wide respect felt for British animation.

The Snail and the Whale, Shaun the Sheep, and Moominvalley among finalists in British Animation Awards 2020

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The Snail and the Whale, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, and The Tiger Who Came to Tea have all been named among the finalists in this year’s British Animation Awards.

Rewarding the very best in British animation across a variety of categories, the British Animation Awards – now in its 24th year – attracts the great and the good from across the industry to its biennial celebration of the craft.

This year’s ceremony will be held at London’s BFI Southbank on March 12th 2020, where it will unveil the latest names to join the list of illustrious winners from past years.

This year’s finalists included in the Best Voice Performance category are renowned British actors Sally Hawkins (Paddington, The Shape of Water) and Bella Ramsey from Game of Thrones, who are nominated for their work on The Snail and the Whale and as Hilda in Hilda – The Hidden People respectively.

They are up against strong competition from the cast of The Rubbish World of Dave Spud and young newcomer Clara Ross for The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

The Best Long Form category includes nominations from the likes of Aardman Animations and its A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon; two festive favourites from Magic Light Pictures, Zog and The Snail and the Whale; The Tiger Who Came to Tea from Lupus Films, and Aliens Love Underpants And…Panta Claus from Tiger Aspect.

Contenders for the Best Children’s Series award include The Amazing World of Gumball from Cartoon Network, the Shaun the Sheep series from Aardman, Moominvalley from Gutsy animations, The Rubbish World of Dave Spud from Illuminated Films and 101 Dalmatian Street from Disney.

Up for the Best Animation in a Commercial award is The Wind in the Willows for The Wildlife Trusts, the commercial Whatever You Call It by Moth Studio for Marie Curie and the organic baby food NatureNes by Studio AKA for Nestle.

Meanwhile, the family favourites Hey Duggee, The Adventures of Paddington and Clangers are each nominated for the Best Children’s Pre-School Series award.

Some of the leading British animation courses are represented in both Best Undergraduate and Best Postgraduate Student film categories including nominees from Falmouth University School of Film and Television, University of Creative Arts in Farnham, Arts University Bournemouth and the Royal College of Arts London. In an encouraging sign for the industry, all four finalists in the Best Undergraduate category are women.

New for 2020 is the Best Social Good Award, while four additional award categories will be announced on the night.

BAA director, Helen Brunsdon, said: “Animation leads the way in visually imaginative and innovative forms of storytelling. From a record number of submissions, I am delighted to see rich and diverse talent make it through to the final stages of the various categories.

“The nominated finalists for 2020 are shining examples of the best in the business. I wish them all the best of luck and look forward to the big night on March 12th at the BFI South Bank where all will be revealed.”

The awards themselves (the BAAs) are unique artworks, featuring sheep, created especially for the occasion by a range of leading international and UK animation artists: a measure of the worldwide respect felt for British animation.