The 53rd Annie Awards, presented by ASIFA-Hollywood at UCLA’s Royce Hall on February 21, 2026, highlighted the year’s standout achievements in animation. The evening centered on a clear frontrunner: KPop Demon Hunters, the Netflix release produced by Sony Pictures Animation, which walked away with the ceremony’s most prestigious honor and a string of craft awards that underscored its broad industry impact.
Alongside the competitive categories, the show recognized individual careers and technical advances with juried prizes, underscoring how the awards balance celebration of singular productions with acknowledgement of long-term contributions to the field.
Top winners and the feature race
KPop Demon Hunters won Best Feature and captured nine other competitive trophies, including awards for direction, character animation, production design, music, writing, editorial, character design, FX, and voice acting for Arden Cho as Rumi. Those results reinforce the film’s momentum across awards season and position it as a major contender in the wider industry conversation.
The film’s success at the Annies reflects both its technical achievements and the strength of its creative team: co-directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans were honored with the Best Direction prize, and the editorial and music wins highlighted the project’s collaborative craft work across departments.
Independent and television highlights
In the independent feature category, debut filmmaker Ugo Bienvenu claimed Best Independent Feature for Arco, a recognition that spotlights smaller-budget storytelling and auteur-driven animation. The Annies continued to honor diversity in production scale, from major studio tentpoles to intimate festival favorites.
Television and streaming categories were competitive and split among high-profile projects. Adult Swim’s thriller Common Side Effects performed strongly, winning four awards including Best TV/Media — Mature, best writing, best direction, and best editorial. Meanwhile, Netflix’s anthology Love, Death + Robots earned multiple craft prizes, and Pixar’s Win or Lose continued to be recognized in limited-series categories.
Shorts, students and sponsored work
The short-form categories also highlighted a range of creators. Aaron Blaise’s Snow Bear won Best Short Subject, a notable achievement after the short missed an Oscar nomination. Student and sponsored categories celebrated emerging talent and commercial creativity, with A Sparrow’s Song taking Best Student Film and Olipop Yeti honored in the sponsored category.
Juried awards and industry recognition
The ceremony included several juried prizes that emphasize lifetime achievement and technical innovation. The Winsor McCay Award, which recognizes lasting creative contribution to animation, was presented to Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Chris Sanders, and Michaël Dudok de Wit. These recipients reflect a mix of commercial and auteur success across generations.
The June Foray Award went to Sandy Rabins for her leadership of the AnimAID relief fund that supported those affected by the 2026 Los Angeles wildfires, illustrating how the community aspect of animation extends beyond production. The Ub Iwerks Award for technical achievement recognized Wacom for its hardware contributions, and the Special Achievement Award acknowledged LightBox Expo for its role in industry development. ASIFA-Hollywood also presented Merit Awards to Jeffrey New and Haley Mirren Douthit.
What the results mean for awards season
The Annies frequently serve as a bellwether for other awards contests, and KPop Demon Hunters sweeping craft categories suggests strong industry support for the project’s aesthetic and technical strengths. A film that dominates at the Annies often carries that momentum into subsequent ceremonies, creating expectations among critics and voters across the awards calendar.
However, the variety of winners across television and independent film categories demonstrates the breadth of contemporary animation: festival darlings, streaming anthologies, and experimental shorts all found recognition alongside major studio releases. The combined competitive and juried results portray an ecosystem that values innovation, technical excellence, and community service.
Full list highlights
Beyond the headline winners, the evening honored work across dozens of categories, from FX and storyboarding to voice acting and design. Notable category winners included The Bad Guys 2 for feature storyboarding, Robert Valley for character design on Love, Death + Robots, and Dan Mintz for voice work on Bob’s Burgers. The range of acknowledgments underlines the collaborative nature of animation production.