BURBANK, Calif., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, announced nominations today for its 36th Annual Annie Awards recognizing the year's best animated features, television productions, commercials, video games and short subjects. DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda" leads the field with 17 nominations out of 27 overall for the studio, including Best Animated Feature, and individual nominations for character animation, character design, directing, music, production design, storyboarding, voice acting and writing. Walt Disney Animation Studios and its Best Animated Feature "Bolt" received 9 nominations and Pixar Animation Studios and its Best Animated Feature "Wall-E" received 8 nominations. Completing the Best Animated Feature category is Sony Pictures Classics "Waltz With Bashir" and Sherman Pictures/Lama Films "$9.99."

Nickelodeon leads the pack in television with 12 nominations, including two for Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children: "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "The Mighty B!" Other nominees in this category include: "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" and "Underfist: Halloween Bash," Cartoon Network Studios and "A Miser Brothers Christmas," Warner Bros. Animation. Nominees for the Best Animated Television Production are "Phineas and Ferb," Disney Television Animation, "The Simpsons," Gracie Films/Fox TV, "King of the Hill," 20th Century Fox TV and "Moral Orel" and "Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II," both from ShadowMachine.

Winners will be announced at the 36th Annual Annie Awards ceremony on Friday, January 30, 2009, at UCLA's Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, CA. For a complete listing of Annie Award nominations and event information, please go to http://www.annieawards.org.

Special juried awards honoring career achievement and exceptional contributions to animation will also be awarded: Winsor McCay recipients -- Mike Judge, John Lasseter and Nick Park for career contributions to the art of animation; June Foray award -- Bill Turner for significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation; and Certificate of Merit award -- Amir Avini, Mike Fontanelli, Kathy Turner, Alex Vassilev.

"On behalf of ASIFA-Hollywood, I would like to congratulate all of the nominees and award recipients for their outstanding work and look forward to a very exciting ceremony in January," said ASIFA-Hollywood President, Antran Manoogian.

The Annie Awards' black-tie ceremony will feature a lively mix of animation luminaries, celebrity presenters and comedic talent to celebrate this year's best of the best. A pre-reception begins at 6:00 pm with the awards ceremony following 8:00 pm. A post-show celebration immediately follows at the Royce Hall. More than 1,500 entertainment industry insiders are expected to attend the annual Annie Awards. For tickets, advertising, sponsorship opportunities and up-to-the minute information on the 36th Annual Annie Awards, visit http://www.annieawards.org. Media inquiries, please contact Gretchen Dixon, Dixon PR at 562.235.0991 or Email, Gdixonpr@aol.com.

The industry's oldest and most prestigious award, The Annie Award is considered an important industry benchmark and an annual predictor of the Academy Award for Animation. The winner of the most coveted and high profile Best Animated Feature, Annie has gone on to claim the Oscar for animation every year but one since its inception.

The Annie Awards honor overall excellence as well as individual achievement in a total of 24 categories ranging from production design, character animation, and effects animation to storyboarding, writing, music and voice acting. Entries submitted for consideration were from productions that originally aired, were exhibited in an animation festival or commercially released between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008.

Founded in 1972 by ASIFA member and veteran voice talent June Foray, the Annie Awards have grown in scope and stature for the past three decades. Today, ASIFA-Hollywood, the largest of an international network of chapters, supports a range of animation activities and preservation efforts through its membership. Current initiatives include the Animation Archive, Animation preservation, special events, classes and screenings.

SOURCE The International Animated Film Society