This Saturday the Hollywood branch of the Association Internationale du Film D’ Animation (ASIFA – Hollywood) will honor the best of 2014’s animated films at the 42nd Annie Awards held at UCLAs Royce Hall in Los Angeles. ASIFA-Hollywood, will also be honoring The Walt Disney Family Museum with a Special Achievement Award for its unique and significant impact on the art and industry of animation. Ron Miller— Walt Disney’s son-in-law and the president of The Walt Disney Family Museum’s Board of Directors – will be on hand to receive the honor.

Those animation enthusiasts not able to attend the Black-Tie event will be able to stream the awards show live at the ASIFA website.

The nominees for Best Animated Feature this year are:

• Big Hero 6 – 
Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Cheatin’ – Plymptoons Studio
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 – DreamWorks Animation SKG
• Song of the Sea – GKIDS/Cartoon Saloon
• The Book of Life – Reel FX Animation Studios/Twentieth Century Fox
• The Boxtrolls – Focus Features/Laika
• The LEGO Movie -Warner Bros. Pictures
• The Tale of The Princess Kaguya – GKIDS/Studio Ghibli

This headliner category will be one to watch after the controversial omission of the popular LEGO Movie from the Oscar’s Best Animated Film category.

But as a professional organization, supporting all of the various crafts involved in the creation of animated film, the list of ASIFA – Hollywood’s individual Annie Award nominees is extensive.

The first Annie awards were presented in 1972, hosted by the legendary animator Grim Natwick. They honored animation pioneers Max and Dave Fleischer. ASIFA (Association Internationale du Film D’ Animation) was founded in 1957 in France, and chartered under UNESCO in 1960 as a membership organization devoted to the encouragement and dissemination of film animation as an art and communication form.

To stream the show, or learn more about the nominees, live visit annieawards.org/watch-it-live.

TimPat McRaven