How to Train Your Dragon 2 wins Annie

It's the Year of the dragon, as DreamWorks Animation's “How to Train Your Dragon 2″ took home the top prize at the  at the 42nd annual Annie Awards, honouring the best in film and TV/broadcast animation for 2014. “Dragon” helmer Dean DeBlois nabbed directing honors at Saturday's kudos, presented by ASIFA-Hollywood at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus.

 “How to Train Your Dragon 2″ also picked up awards for feature character design (Fabio Lignini), storyboarding (Truong “Tron” Son Mai) and music (John Power, Jonsi).

While DWA has bragging rights for the best animated feature, Disney came away with the most awards, nine for Disney Television Animation alone and 11 overall. “Big Hero 6″ added an award to the Disney's total for animated effects in an animated production that went to Michael Kaschalk, Peter DeMund, David Hutchins, Henrik Falt, John Kosnik. And “Feast”, the animated short that precedes “Big Hero 6″ on the big screen -- won the prize for short film.

Ben Kingsley's turn as the villain Snatcher in Focus Features/Laika's “The Boxtrolls” won him the Annie for voice acting in a feature production. “The Boxtrolls” also picked up an award for feature production design.

Warner Bros.' popular “The Lego Movie” didn't go home empty-handed. Filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller picked up an Annie for feature writing.

Other winners include “The Simpsons” for general audience animated TV/broadcast production; “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” for special production; Mike Mennillo for character animation in a videogame for “Assassin's Creed Unity”; “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” for character animation in a live-action production; “The Edge of Tomorrow” for animated effects in a live-action production; Ubisoft's “Valiant Hearts: The Great War” for best videogame amd Nickelodeon's “Legend of Korra, Venom of the Red Lotus” for TV/broadcast production storyboarding.

Source: Variety