British Animation Awards Unveils Finalists

The finalists have been revealed for the 2024 British Animation Awards, with ITV topping the broadcaster list with six nominations, while the BBC, Channel 5 and Netflix have five each.

Channel 4 has four and Sky has three. Amongst the animation studios, Lupus Films leads the way with seven nominations, while Aardman Animations has taken five and The Illuminated Film Company has scored three.

Competing for the best feature film category are Aardman Animation’s Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget; A Cat Called Dom, from Will Anderson and Ainslie Henderson; Lupus Films’ hand-drawn Kensuke’s Kingdom; Cartoon Saloon and Dog Ear’s Puffin Rock and the New Friends; and Sky Cinema’s fantasy comedy The Amazing Maurice.

Finalists for the best voice performance category include ensemble casts for Channel 4’s Mog’s Christmas; Apple Studios’ The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse; and The Amazing Maurice.

The best long-form category has The Illuminated Film Company’s A Bear Named Wojtek; Bad Robot/NoneMore Productions’ The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse; Blink Industry’s Peter and the Wolf; and Mog’s Christmas. The best short film finalists are Christopher at Sea by Tom C J Brown, The Debutante by Elizabeth Hobbs and All Gucci My Broski by Harry Plowden.

ITV series dominate the best children’s series category, with contenders including The Sound Collector—Harp Strings, The Rubbish World of Dave Spud—Moonbreaker and Lloyd of the Flies. Channel Five’s Milkshake!’s Tweedy and Fluff completes the nominations.

Up for the best animation in a commercial award are Blown Away for Admiral, The Great British Bake Off official trailer for Channel 4 and The Lords of Water for The Lords of Water. Animated films Carry You for Ruelle, Tell Me Where to Go for JPEGMAFIA x Danny Brown and Late Nights for Death byRomy/Adult Swim are competing for best music video.

In the best children’s preschool category are Hey Duggee, The Adventures of Paddington, The Very Small Creatures and Odo. The award for best international animated series is between Captain Fall, Milo, The Tiny Chef Show and Supa Team 4.

The best factual award is between Jeremy, My Father by Miranda Peyton Jones, Something More by Mary Martins, Another Presence by Simon Ball and A Taste for Music by Jordan Antonowicz-Behnan.

Nominations for the wildcard category include The Beatles vs The Stones (Andrew Kelleher), Two Gracious Uncles Smooched to the Beat (Jon Dunleavy) and Hairy Houdini (Trevor Hardy), while the social good award has nominations for Change the Ending, Ask Me How I Am and Inner Polar Bear.

Now in its 28th year, this year’s British Animation Awards ceremony is set to be held at London’s BFI Southbank on March 7.

Helen Brunsdon, British Animation Awards director, and Kieran Argo, producer, said in a joint statement: “Despite a myriad of changes and challenges facing the animation industry in the U.K. over the last couple of years, the sector remains thriving and productive. The quality and quantity of the work submitted to the British Animation Awards is evidence of the dedication and creative ingenuity of all who work in animation and is a great indication of how U.K. animation continues to punch above its body weight on the world stage.”