Voice actor June Foray proposed creating an annual awards event to recognize excellence in animation. With support from ASIFA-Hollywood president Nick Bosustow, the plan became an organized ceremony. This established a new, industry-focused way to honor animation at a time when many animators felt overlooked in major awards.
The first Annie Awards ceremony was held at the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, Los Angeles. Early honorees included Max Fleischer and Dave Fleischer, recognized for major contributions such as iconic characters and the rotoscoping technique (tracing live-action movement frame-by-frame). The event helped formalize the Annies as a recurring animation awards tradition.
By the 1970s, ASIFA-Hollywood also supported animation community events and fundraising, including early “Anifest” gatherings. These small beginnings grew into larger public-facing events that helped sustain the organization’s work, such as preservation projects and the annual Annie Awards. The growth showed rising interest in animation culture beyond studio walls.
Over time, the Annie Awards developed beyond a small industry gathering into a larger competitive awards program. More categories and nominees meant more parts of the animation process could be recognized, from directing and writing to design and effects. This shift helped the Annies reflect the full production pipeline behind animated works.
In 1992, the Annie Awards introduced a Best Animated Feature category, signaling a stronger focus on feature-length animated filmmaking. The category helped compare major theatrical releases in a consistent way each year. It also made the Annies more legible to the broader entertainment world as feature animation grew in scale and audience impact.
In 1995, the Annies added a category for animated home entertainment (direct-to-video and similar releases). This mattered because many animated projects reached audiences outside theaters, especially franchise spin-offs and special productions. The change broadened what “important animation” could look like in the awards program.
By the mid-2000s, the ceremony was held at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, reflecting the Annies’ larger audience and production scale. The 33rd ceremony in 2006 was also noted as being recorded for television, a sign of growing visibility. These shifts helped position the Annies as a major annual event rather than an internal industry gathering.
The 34th Annie Awards continued at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, showing stability in the event’s format and venue during this period. Regular, highly attended ceremonies reinforced the Annies as an expected milestone in the animation calendar. This consistency helped studios and creators plan campaigns around nominations and wins.
In 2008, the 35th Annie Awards were held at UCLA’s Royce Hall, marking a notable venue change after years at the Alex Theatre. That year, Ratatouille won Best Animated Feature and led the ceremony’s wins, reflecting the Annies’ continuing focus on craft achievements across multiple categories. The move to Royce Hall helped define the “modern” Annies setting for many later ceremonies.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ASIFA-Hollywood announced that the 48th Annie Awards would be held as a virtual event. The ceremony took place online on April 16, 2021, changing how nominees, winners, and audiences participated. The shift showed how even long-running industry traditions had to adapt to public health risks.
In early 2022, ASIFA-Hollywood cancelled its planned in-person ceremony due to concerns about the Omicron variant. The 49th Annie Awards were rescheduled and streamed virtually on March 12, 2022. This back-to-back virtualization emphasized the uncertainty facing live events during the pandemic period.
The 50th Annie Awards returned to a live, in-person ceremony at UCLA’s Royce Hall on February 25, 2023, after two years of virtual events. The milestone “50th” highlighted the awards’ durability as an animation institution that has grown far beyond its 1972 start. The return also signaled a broader reopening of major entertainment events after pandemic disruptions.
Annie Awards (1972–present)