British Animation Awards Finalists announced
Skwigly
• Bill Nighy and Morwenna Banks nominated for Best Voice Performance
• Room on the Broom, The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists and The Snowman and The Snowdog nominated in Best Long Form
• Peppa Pig, Q Pootle 5 and Sarah & Duck nominated in Best Pre-School
• Amazing World of Gumball, Shaun the Sheep and Compost Corner nominated in Best Children’s Series
London, 22nd January 2014: The finalists were announced today for the prestigious British Animation Awards 2014. Held every two years, the British Animation Awards (BAAs) reward the very best in British animation across a variety of categories. This year’s ceremony, attended by the great and the good of British Animation will be held at the BFI on London’s Southbank on March 7th 2014. The ceremony will be hosted by award-winning comedian Aisling Bea
This year’s finalists include respected actor Bill Nighy who is up for a BAA in the Best Voice Performance category for his work on The Hungry Corpse – a short film set in a bustling yet desolate Trafalgar Square where an ancient, rather hungry corpse meets a pigeon. He faces stiff competition from Morwenna Banks for her role as Queen Marigold in Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom: Nanny’s Magic Test and Tim Dann for Compost Corner.
Pirates, witches and snowmen abound in the Best Long Form category where Aardman Animations & Sony Pictures Animations’ The Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists is up against the OSCAR nominated Magic Light Pictures’ Room on the Broom and Lupus Films’ The Snowman & The Snowdog.
The Pirates in an Adventure With Scientists
Enduring star of children’s TV Peppa Pig is up for a second BAA for Best Pre-School Series for Peppa Pig: Mr Bull in a China Shop. It is potentially the fourth gong in this category for production company Astley Baker Davies who have also won twice for Ben & Holly’s Magic Kingdom. Peppa faces competition in the pre-school category from Q Pootle 5: The Grooble Woogie and Sarah & Duck: Bobsleigh, both CBeebies.
And Aardman Animations’ Shaun the Sheep has been nominated alongside The Amazing World of Gumball and Compost Corner in the Best Children’s Series.
Sarah & Duck
In the Best Music Video Benjamin Scheuer: The Lion, Atoms for Peace: Before Your Very Eyes and Savages: Marshal Dear go head-to-head, while the Best Short Film category will be contested by Mikey Please for Marilyn Myller, Sam Taylor and Bjorn-Erik Aschim for Everything I can See From Here and Felix Massie for In the Air Is Christopher Gray.
Marilyn Myller
Elsewhere, ads for Honda, Talk Talk, TSB and Barclays have nominations for Best 2D and 3D Commercial, whilst Passion Pictures BBC Olympic trail: Stadium UK is up against Agile Film’s animated end credits for the film Filth and Blue Zoo’s promotional sequence for the new series of Gumball in the Best Film/TV Graphics
Several animation studios are in the running for multiple awards this year. Beakus Ltd and Aardman Animations have each been nominated for three awards. Astley Baker Davis have two nominations for Best Pre-school and Best Voice Performance. The Royal College of Art in London has produced two of the three finalists in the Best Student Award category, whilst Fieldtrip also has two nods in the Best 2D Commercial category.
The BAAs are the only awards to recognise all forms of animation and reward the work of both new and established animators for short films, animated graphics for film and television, children’s series, music videos and commercials.
The three Public Choice Awards, voted for by the public, will be announced at the awards Ceremony. The Public Choice Screenings are running across the country in 14 different venues from the 25th January through to the 19th February. Three specially selected programmes featuring the work of new and established animators showcase an eclectic mix of films in three categories: short films, music videos, and commercials. At each programme the audience get to vote on their favourite in each category.
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. Previous ‘baa’ artists include Nick Park, Tim Burton and Chuck Jones. Artists contributing BAAs this year include: illustrator Pete Williamson, Simon’s Cat creator Simon Tofield and director and writer Chris Shepherd.
Best Voice Performance
Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom: Nanny’s Magic Test | Morwenna Banks | Astley Baker Davies
The Hungry Corpse | Bill Nighy | Beakus Ltd
Compost Corner | Tim Dann | CITV
Best Long Form
Room on the Broom | Max Lang & Jan Lauchauer | Magic Light Pictures.
Pirates: In An Adventure with Scientists | Peter Lord | Aardman Animations & Sony Pictures Animation
The Snowman & The Snowdog | Hilary Audus | Lupus Films.
Best Pre-School Series
Peppa Pig: Mr Bull in a China Shop | Philip Hall & Joris van Hulzen | Astley Baker Davies for Nick Jnr & eOne entertainment.
Q Pootle 5: The Groobie Woogie | Adam Shaw | Snapper Productions & Q Pootle Ltd for CBeebies.
Sarah & Duck: Bobsleigh | Tim O’Sullivan | Karrot Animation for CBeebies
Best Children’s Series
Shaun the Sheep: The Stand Off | Lee Wilton | Aardman Animations for CBBC
Compost Corner | Westley Wood | CITV
Amazing World of Gumball: The Apology | Ben Boquelet & Mic Graves | Cartoon Network Studio Europe / SOI Studio.
Best Mixed Media Children’s
Baby Jake: Popping Peas | Maddy Darrall & Rafa Canales | Darrall Macqueen Ltd for CBeebies.
Num Tums: No 5 | Steve Smith | Beakus Ltd for CBeebies
Get Squiggling Letters: Letter A | Dan Edgley & Adrian Hedley | Dot to Dot Productions Ltd for CBeebies.
Best Music Video
Benjamin Scheuer: The Lion | Peter Baynton | Radish Pictures Ltd for Escapist Records.
Atoms for Peace: Before Your Very Eyes | directed by Andrew Thomas Huang | Colonel Blimp for XL Recordings
Savages: Marshal Dear | Gergely Wootsch | Beakus Ltd for Matador Records
Best Commissioned Animation
NPSCC: Sarah’s Story | Moth Collective | Moth Collective for YCN.
Apodemy | Katerina Athanasopoulou | Independent Production for the Onassis Foundation
RSPB: Vote for Nature | Morgan Powell & Neil Kidney | Seed Animation for RSPB.
Best 2D Commercial
Barclay’s: Life Skills | Marc Reisbig | Fieldtrip for BBH.
WWF: We Don’t Farm Like This | againstallodds | Fieldtrip for John St.
Mindfull | Shay Hamias & Will Barras | Th1ng for M&C Saatchi
Best 3D Commercial
TSB: The Story | Marc Craste | Studio AKA for Joint London.
Talk Talk: Model Britain | Daniel Kleinman | Glassworks & Rattling Stick for CHI + Partners.
Honda: Hands | Smith & Foulkes | Nexus Productions for Wieden + Kennedy, London.
Best Film/TV Graphics
Filth Credits | Frater | Agile Films.
BBC Olympics: Stadium UK | Pete Candeland | Passion Pictures.
Gumball: Machine | Damian Hook & Daniel Fuller | Blue-Zoo Productions
Best Short Film
Marilyn Myller | Mikey Please | Blink Ink
Everything I Can See From Here | Sam Taylor & Bjorn-Erik Aschim |
In the Air Is Christopher Gray | Felix Massie | Nexus Productions
Best Student Film
Anomalies | Ben Cady | Royal College of Art.
Shirley Temple | Daniela Sherer | Royal College of Art.
Day I Killed my Best Friend | Antonio J Busto Algarin | Middlesex University
Student Excellence
Laughing Policeman | Marcus Armitage | University for the Creative Arts,
Gutenberg | Amalie Vilmar | University of Westminster
I am Tom Moody | Ainslie Henderson | Edinburgh College of Art
Best Motion Graphics
Handle with Care | Jun Iwakawa | Ticktockrobot
Darkside | Darren Dubicki | Aardman Animations |
Apocalypse Rhyme | Oliver Harrison | Animate Projects and Lupus Films for Channel 4.