British Animation Awards Finalists Announced
February 23, 2016

British Animation Awards Finalists Announced

LONDON — Finalists were announced for the British Animation Awards 2016. Held every two years, the British Animation Awards (BAAs) reward the best in British animation across a variety of categories. This year’s ceremony will be held at London’s BFI Southbank on March 10th. 
Finalists include internationally acclaimed actors Martin Freeman and Chris O’Dowd, who are up for a BAA in the Best Voice Performance category for their work on Stick Man and Puffin Rock respectively. They face stiff competition from William Vanderpuye for his lively voice performances in hugely popular children’s animation Rastamouse. 

Magic Light Pictures’ epic Christmas story Stick Man is also up for honors in the Best Long Form category where it takes on Aardman Animations’ joyful Shaun The Sheep: The Movie and Fettle Animation’s moving film for BBC Learning Children of the Holocaust. 

In the children’s categories Coolabi Productions & Factory The Clangers will be over the moon if they pick up the award for Best Pre-school Series.  Other contenders in the category include Studio AKA’s Hey Duggee and Sixteen South’s Lily’s Driftwood Bay.  Meanwhile, the Best Children’s Series category will be contested by Coolabi Productions & Factory’s Scream Street, Three Stones Media/The Rastamouse Company’s Rastamouse and Turner Broadcasting’s multi-award winning The Amazing Adventures of Gumball.

Sainsburys’ adorable festive feline Mog The Cat is hoping to spring to success in the Best Use of Animation in a Commercial category but faces competition from Anchor Butter’s Little Elephants and the Mariposa sofa family.

In the Best Music Video Benjamin Scheuer: Cookie-tin Banjo,  James: Moving On and Amaro and Walden’s Joyride are up for honors while the Best Short Film category will be contested by Daniel Gray and Tom Brown’s Teeth, Robert Bradbrook’s Dead Air and Kristian Andrews’ Let’s Play Nomad X.

Several animation studios are in the running for multiple awards this year. Magic Light Pictures and Moth Collective, a rapidly rising young studio set up by  recent graduates, have both been nominated for three awards, while Coolabi Productions & Factory and Three Stones Media/The Rastamouse Company each have two nominations.  And The Royal College of Art in London and the University of Creative Arts in Farnham have each produced two finalists in the Student Award categories. 

The animation students and fans will also have a chance to reward their favorite work in the Public Choice Awards for Favorite Short Film and Music Video and the very youngest viewers will also have their say in the Children’s Choice Award, where a panel of young children will choose from the finalists in both the children’s categories.  

BAA Director, Jayne Pilling says: “We are incredibly excited to be putting on this wonderful celebration of British animation in the 20th year since the British Animation Awards began.  We’ve had some fantastic winners over the years but the calibre of this year’s finalists prove that the animation industry is in better health than ever!”

The BAAs are the only awards to recognize all forms of animation and reward the work of both new and established animators for short films, animated graphics for film and television, children’s series, music videos and commercials.  

The awards themselves (the BAAs) are unique artworks, featuring sheep, created especially for the occasion by a range of leading international and UK animation artists: a measure of the world-wide respect felt for British animation. Artists contributing BAAs this year include: Oscar-winning animators Nick Park and Daniel Greaves and award-winning author/illustrator David Melling. 

The Full List of Finalists in All 13 Categories Can Be Found Below:

Best Long Form Animation 

Stick Man 
Directors Jeroen Jaspaert & Daniel Snaddon 
Producers Michael Rose & Martin Pope 
Produced by Magic Light Pictures

Children of the Holocaust 
Director Zane Whittingham Animation Ryan Jones, Oana Nechifor & Laura Tattersfield     
Producer Kath Shackleton 
Produced by Fettle Animation for BBC Learning

Shaun the Sheep: The Movie 
Directors/Script Mark Burton & Richard Starzak 
Producers Julie Lockhart & Paul Kewley 
Produced by Aardman Animations for Studio Canal

Best Voice 

Rastamouse: Discovery Day 
Voice William Vanderpuye as Zoomer, Professor, Brandston, Rubba (Twin), Spike Cheez, FATS, Bagga-T and Signora G. 
Director Derek Mogford 
Producers Eugenio Perez & Gregory Boardman 
Produced by Three Stones Media/The Rastamouse Company for CBeebies

Stick Man 
Voice Martin Freeman as Stick Man
Director: Jeroeon Jaspaert and Daniel Snaddon
Producers Michael Rose & Martin Pope 
Produced by Magic Light Pictures

Puffin Rock: Night Lights 
Producers Paul Young, John McDaid, Nora Twomey  & Laura Campbell 
Produced by Dog Ears Ltd for Nick Jr.

Best Children’s Series and Children’s Choice Award

Scream Street: Resus Rocks
Director Geoff Walker Animation 
Producer Phil Chalk 
Produced by Coolabi Productions & Factory, in  association with ZDF Enterprises for CBBC Co-funded by the European Union

The Amazing World of Gumball: The Shell
Directors Mic Graves & Ben Bocquelet 
Producer Sarah Fell Animation 
Produced by Turner Broadcasting for Cartoon Network

Rastamouse: School of Rock Director Derek Mogford 
Producers Eugenio Perez & Gregory Boardman 
Produced by Three Stones Media/The Rastamouse Company for CBeebies

Best Pre-School Series 

HEY DUGGEE: The Omelette Badge 
Director Grant Orchard 
Producer Janine Voong 
Produced by Studio AKA for CBeebies

Clangers: I am the Eggbot 
Directors: Mole Hill and Chris Tichborne 
Series Producer Dan Maddicott 
Produced by Coolabi Productions Ltd & Factory for CBeebies

Lily’s Driftwood Bay: Goodbye Seabird 
Directors Colin Williams & Darren Vandenburg 
Producer: Colin Williams 
Produced by Sixteen South for Nick Jr. 

Best Music Video 

Amaro & Walden’s Joyride 
Director Tim McCourt & Max Taylor 
Producers Electric Theatre Collective 
Produced by The Line in collaboration with Hugo Chegwin & Fred Berry

James: Moving On 
Directed and produced by Ainslie Henderson 
Produced by An Independent Production for BMG

Benjamin Scheuer: Cookie-tin Banjo 
Directed and produced by Peter Baynton  
Produced by Radish Pictures for Escapist Records

Best Commissioned Animation: Promotional 

HIAS: For The Refugees 
Directors Moth Collective 
Producer Sovev Media 
Produced by Moth Collective for HIAS

What Do You See? 
Director Sally Arthur  
Producer Melissa Blackburn 
Produced by Unchosen for Unchosen

Forest 500 
Directors Moth Collective  
Producer Moth Collective 
Produced by Moth Collective for the Global Canopy Programme

Best Commissioned Animation: Documentary

Hiroshima 
Director Angus McKeown 
Producer Lewis James (BBC)  
Produced by Made in Colour for CBBC/BBC Newsround

Modern Love: A Kiss 
Director Moth Collective 
Producer Nicholas van der Kolk  
Produced by Moth Collective for The New York Times

Animated Minds: Stories of Postnatal Depression 
Series Directed and produced by George Sander-Jackson 
Produced by Mosaic Films for Wellcome Trust  & Maudsley Charity

Best Short Film 

Teeth 
Directors Daniel Gray & Tom Brown 
Produced by Holbrooks Films

Dead Air 
Director Robert Bradbrook 
Producer Casey Herbert 
Produced by Bright Cold Day Films & Bradbrook Films  with support from the Arts Foundation

Let’s Play Nomad X 
Directed and produced by Kristian Andrews 
Produced by Kristian Andrews Production

Best Animation in a Commercial 

Sainsbury’s: Mog Christmas Calamity 
Director James Rouse (Outsider) 
Senior Producer Heather Kinal (Framestore) & Benji Howell (Outsider) 
Produced by Outsider & Framestore for AMV BBDO

Anchor: Little Elephant 
Directors Kyra & Constantin 
Producer Matt Saxton 
Produced by Passion Picture for Creature London

Mariposa: Family 
Director nextdoor (Jack Cunningham)  
Producer Jo Bierton 
Produced by Nexus Productions for Barber Osgerby

Best Film/TV Graphics 

Food Network: Criminal Baking 
Director Andrew Kelleher 
Producer David Anderson 
Produced by Dog & Rabbit for Food Network

The Power of Privacy 
Directors: Callum Cooper & Matthias Hoegg
Producer Carrie Budge 
Produced by Carrie Budge for The Guardian

Hiroshima: Bun’s Story 
Director Angus McKeown 
Producer Lewis James (BBC)  
Produced by Made in Colour for CBBC/BBC Newsround

Best Use of Sound 

Stick Man 
Sound Designer & Mixer Adrian Rhodes Music René Aubry 
Directors Jeroen Jaspaert & Daniel Snaddon 
Producers Michael Rose & Martin Pope
Produced by Magic Light Pictures

Dead Air 
Sound Barnaby Templer, Fonic 
Director Robert Bradbrook
Producer Casey Herbert 
Produced by Bright Cold Day Films & Bradbrook Films  with support from the Arts Foundation

Sarah & Duck: Paisley Sea 
Music Tanera Dawkins 
Audio Effects & Mix Ben Hood at Platform Post 
Director: Tim O’Sullivan 
Producer Jamie Badminton 
Produced by Karrot Entertainment for CBeebies  & BBC Worldwide

Best Student Film: Undergraduate 

Coupling 
Director Cat Hayes 
Produced at Staffordshire University

Pollock 
Director Henry Dunbar Animation 
Produced at University of the Creative Arts, Farnham

Man Up You 
Director Katie Lenton 
Produced at University of the Creative Arts, Farnham

Best Student Film: Postgraduate

The Bigger Picture 
Director Daisy Jacobs 
Produced at the National Film & Television School

Small People with Hats
Director Sarina Nihei 
Produced at the Royal College of Art

Mr Madila
Director Rory Waudby-Tolley  
Produced at the Royal College of Art