Winners Unveiled for 2020 British Animation Awards

The winners have been crowned for the British Animation Awards 2020 (BAAs), with Sally Hawkins being recognized for her voice performance as Snail in The Snail and the Whale among the honorees.

Held last night, March 12, at London’s BFI Southbank, the BAAs were hosted by comedian and actor Miles Jupp. Held every two years, the BAAs reward the best new and established British animators across a variety of categories, including short films, animated graphics for film and television, children’s series, music videos and commercials.

The award for best long-form animation went to A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmaggedon (directed by Will Becher and Richard Phelan), the children’s choice award went to an episode of the CBBC series Shaun the Sheep: Squirreled Away (directed by Carmen Bromfield-Mason) and best music video went to Coldplay’s “Daddy” (directed by Asa Lucanda).

Staying in the children’s TV categories, Adam Shaw and Chris Drew picked up the nod for best children’s preschool series for their Nick Jr. series The Adventures of Paddington, which features the voice of Ben Wishaw as Paddington and a song written and performed by Gary Barlow. The Amazing Adventures of Gumball, meanwhile, added another two BAAs to its collection, picking up the best use of sound award and the writers’ award for Richard Overall, Mic Graves and Tony Hull. The best children’s series was awarded to Gutsy Animations’ Sky One series Moominvalley (directed by Steve Box).

The best original music award went to multi-award-winning duo David Arnold and Don Black for Lupus Films’ The Tiger Who Came to Tea. The score featured the song “Hey Tiger” sung by Robbie Williams. Meanwhile, the award for best original short-form content went to Giovanna Utichi and Robin Celebi for Cartoon Network U.K.’s animated short for the Hope Works Project, A Whale’s Tale.

The winner of the all-female-nominated best undergraduate student film category was Megan Earls for Border/Line, and the victor of the best postgraduate student film was Alex Widdowson for his film Music and Clowns.

In other categories, the best short film was awarded to Jonathan Hodgson for Roughhouse; best animation in a commercial award went to Thomas Harnett O’Meara and Matthew Day for their take on The Wind in the Willows for The Wildlife Trusts; best film or TV graphic, motion design award went to Second Home Studios for DaVinci Learning; the best commissioned animation was picked up by Moth Studio for Conception: Catie & Jen; the best immersive category was won by Marshmallow Laser Feast for We Live in an Ocean of Air; and, in a new category for 2020, the best social good award rewarded Danny Capozzi for his animation for United for Global Mental Health, New Mindset.

There were two public choice awards, for favorite short film and favorite music video, which were voted for by audiences at screenings held across the U.K. in early 2020. The winners were Maryam Mohajer for her short film Grandad Was a Romantic and Alasdair Brotherston and Jock Mooney for their music video The Beatles—Glass Onion.

And, finally, the brand-new Lamb Award, which bridges the gap between current student and general best-in-class awards and recognizes rising stars in the industry was presented to Roxy Linklater for rigger and armatures.

BAA Director Helen Brunsdon said: “This is my first year at the helm of the BAAs and I was blown away by the quality of the entries this year. The BAAs are a brilliant way to showcase the incredible talent we have here in the U.K. and help cement Britain’s position as one of the leading countries in the world for animation.”