Posted: Tue., Jan. 6, 2004, 6:30pm PT

'Nemo' finds Annie nominations

Pixar pic leads with 12 nods

By Kimberly Williams

The Intl. Animated Film Society unveiled noms Tuesday for the 31st annual Annie Awards honoring animation excellence.

"Finding Nemo" led the list with 12 noms including best theatrical feature, character design and directing.

Walt Disney's "Brother Bear" followed with seven noms.

Other top feature film nominees are Warner Bros.' "Looney Tunes: Back in Action," "Millennium Actress" from Go Fish Pictures and "The Triplets of Belleville" from Les Armateurs (Sony Pictures Classics).

In the primetime television category, Annie winner for more than 10 years running -- "The Simpsons" from Gracie Films -- nabbed a nom again for outstanding achievement sharing the category with "Captain Sturdy" (Renegade Animation), "The Fairly OddParents" (Nickelodeon), "Samurai Jack" (Cartoon Network Studios) and "Spider-Man Animated Series" (Adelaide Productions, Inc).

And the nominees are...

THEATRICAL FEATURE

"Brother Bear" -- Walt Disney Pictures
"Finding Nemo" -- Pixar Animation Studios
"Looney Tunes: Back in Action" --Warner Bros.
"Millennium Actress" -- Go Fish Pictures
"The Triplets of Belleville" -- Les Armateurs

HOME ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION

"101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure" -- DisneyToon Studios
"The Animatrix" -- Silver Pictures/Warner Home Video
"Rolie Polie Olie: The Baby Bot Chase" -- Nelvana Limited/Sparkling
"Disney's Stitch! The Movie" -- Walt Disney Television Animation

SHORT SUBJECT

"Ananda" -- Vinton Studios
"Boundin" -- Pixar Animation Studios
"Boys Night Out" -- Barley Films LTD
"Destino" -- Walt Disney Pictures
"Nibbles" -- Acme Filmworks

TELEVISION COMMERCIAL

Bombay "Drift" -- Psyop Inc.
Colorado Lottery "Woodcut" -- Acme Filmworks
Lamisil "It's Alive" -- Wild Brain Inc.
Wisconsin Lottery "Casino" -- Acme Filmworks

TV PRODUCTION

"Captain Sturdy" -- Renegade Animation
"The Fairly OddParents" -- Nickelodeon
"Samurai Jack" -- Cartoon Network Studios
"The Simpsons" -- Gracie Films
"Spider-Man Animated Series" -- Adelaide Prods.

TV PRODUCTION PRODUCED FOR CHILDREN

"ChalkZone" -- Nickelodeon
"Duck Dodgers" -- Warner Bros. Animation
"Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks" -- Mike Young Prods.
"JoJo's Circus" -- Cartoon Pizza, Inc. and Cuppa Coffee Studios
"The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius" -- Nickelodeon & DNA Prods.

CHARACTER ANIMATION

Anthony DeRosa -- "Looney Tunes: Back in Action"
Dave DeVan -- "Finding Nemo"
Byron Howard -- "Brother Bear"
Gini Santos -- "Finding Nemo"
Doug Sweetland -- "Finding Nemo"

CHARACTER DESIGN IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Rune Brandt Bennicke -- "Brother Bear"
Carter Goodrich -- "Sinbad"
Ricky Nierva -- "Finding Nemo"

CHARACTER DESIGN IN AN ANIMATED TV PRODUCTION

Andrew Bialk -- "The Powerpuff Girls: Save Mojo"
Matt Danner -- "Xiaolin Showdown"
Andy Suriano -- "Samurai Jack -- Episode XXXV"
Shannon Tindle -- "The Proud Family: Culture Shock"

DIRECTING IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Sylvain Chomet -- "Triplets of Belleville"
Eric Goldberg -- "Looney Tunes: Back in Action"
Satoshi Kon -- "Millennium Actress"
Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich -- "Finding Nemo"

DIRECTING IN AN ANIMATED TV PRODUCTION

Mike Gasaway -- The Adventures Jimmy Neutron: "Operation: Rescue Jet Fusion!"
Steven Dean Moore -- The Simpsons: "'Scuse Me While I Miss The Sky"
Rob Renzetti -- My Life As A Teenage Robot "Ragged Android"
Genndy Tartakovsky -- Samurai Jack: "The Birth of Evil"
Darrell Van Citters -- Captain Sturdy: "The Originals"

EFFECTS ANIMATION

Martin Nguyen -- "Finding Nemo"
Justin Ritter -- "Finding Nemo"
Dave Stephens -- "Haunted Mansion
Jason Wolbert -- "Brother Bear"
Madoka Yasuet -- "Piglet's BIG Movie"

MUSIC IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION

Phil Collins & Mark Mancina -- "Brother Bear"
Harry Gregson-Williams -- "Sinbad"
Thomas Newman -- "Finding Nemo"

MUSIC IN AN ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION

Alf Clausen, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Ken Keeler -- "The Simpsons: Dude, Where's My Ranch?"
Robert Kral, Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd -- "Duck Dodgers: Shiver Me Dodgers"
Ken Keeler -- "Futurama: The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings"
Lolita Ritmanis, Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion, Andy Sturmer -- "Teen Titans: Divide & Conquer"

PRODUCTION DESIGN IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION

Ralph Eggleston -- "Finding Nemo"
Seth Engstrom -- "Sinbad"
Bill Perkins -- "101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure"
Robh Ruppel -- "Brother Bear"
Raymond Zibach -- "Sinbad"

PRODUCTION DESIGN IN AN ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION

Seonna Hong -- "My Life as a Teenage Robot"
Joseph Holt -- "My Life as a Teenage Robot"
Scott Wills -- "Samurai Jack -- The Birth of Evil"
Mark Whiting -- "Duck Dodgers"

STORYBOARDING IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION

Holly Forsyth -- "The Jungle Book 2"
Sharon Forward -- "The Jungle Book 2"
Chris Otsuki -- "The Jungle Book 2"
Dave Prince -- "The Jungle Book 2"
Dean Roberts -- "101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure"

STORYBOARDING IN AN ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION

Tim Divar -- "He Man & the Masters of the Universe: Power of Grayskull"
Enrique Braxton May -- "ChalkZone: Pumpkin Love"
Kyle Menke -- "Spider-Man: Keeping Secrets"
Dave Thomas -- "The Fairly OddParents: Pipe Down"
Matt Youngberg -- "Teen Titans: Switched"

VOICE ACTING IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION

Joe Alaskey as the voice of Daffy Duck -- "Looney Tunes: Back in Action"
Jim Cummings as the voice of Kaa -- "The Jungle Book 2"
Ellen DeGeneres as the voice of Dory -- "Finding Nemo"
Miyoko Shoji as the voice of Chiyoko Fujiwara -- "Millennium Actress"
Jeremy Suarez as the voice of Koda -- "Brother Bear"

VOICE ACTING IN AN ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION

Bob Bergen as the voice of Eager Young Space Cadet -- "Duck Dodgers"
Jeff Garcia as the voice of Sheen Estevez -- "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Nightmare in Retroville"
Janice Kawaye as the voice of Jenny -- "My Life as a Teenage Robot"
Candi Milo as the voice of Mrs. Wakeman -- "My Life as a Teenage Robot"
Tara Strong as the voice of Dannon O'Mallard -- "Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks"

WRITING IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION

Sylvain Chomet -- "Triplets of Belleville"
Satoshi Kon, Sadayuki Murai -- "Millennium Actress"
Jim Kammerud, Brian Smith -- "101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure"
Tab Murphy, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton, Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman -- "Brother Bear"
Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, Dave Reynolds -- "Finding Nemo"

WRITING IN AN ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION

Paul Dini -- "Justice League: Comfort & Joy"
Tony Gama-Lobo, Rebecca May -- "King of the Hill: Reborn to be Wild"
Patric Verrone -- "Futurama: The Sting"
William Waldner -- "Captain Sturdy: The Originals"
Matt Warburton -- "The Simpsons: Three Gays of the Condo"

JURIED AWARDS

JUNE FORAY AWARD -- SIGNIFICANT AND BENEVOLENT OR CHARITABLE IMPACT ON THE ART AND INDUSTRY OF ANIMATION

Martha Sigall

WINSOR MCCAY AWARD -- RECOGNITION OF LIFETIME OR CAREER CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ART OF ANIMATION

Gene Deitch, John Hench & Thurl Ravenscroft

UB IWERKS AWARD

Scott Johnston

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT

David Derks & Mike Judge/Don Hertzfeldt (team)