Zootopia Leads 2017 Annie Awards Nominations

2016 has been an excellent for animation wherever you look. The medium has been touted in Hollywood with releases like Finding Dory while other markets like Japan have seen anime bust box-office records. With so many praised feature films and television series having been released this year, competition between projects is fierce - and the newly released nominees list for the 2017 Annie Awards proves just that.

This year, Disney racked up 11 nominations alone for Zootopia. Kubo and the Two Strings garnered 10 nominations, a number which fell just short of Zootopia's staggering count. Other films such as Finding Dory, Kung Fu Panda 3, and Moana also received various award nominations.

When it comes to independent nominees, fans are looking to CoMix Wave Films' Your Name as top contender. The acclaimed anime feature has taken Japan by storm and become one of the highest-grossing animated features to debut in the country. The film even managed to outdo Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke in terms of total box-office revenue. The anime feature will be facing off against Long Way North, Miss Hokusai, My Life As A Zucchini, and The Red Turtle.

For television projects, series like Bob's Burgers, Trollhunters, Adventure Time, Disney Mickey Mouse, Puffin Rock, The Simpsons, Star Wars Rebels, and more have received nods.

If you are not familiar with the Annie Awards, the organization is associated with ASIFA-Hollywood and acts as a predictor for the Academy Awards. The Annies have a long history of matching up Oscars winners as it did last year with Pixar's Inside Out.

At this year's Academy Awards, there will be plenty of quality animation projects for voters to ponder over. A record 27 features were submitted for consideration. You can check out the submissions below:

"The Angry Birds Movie"
"April and the Extraordinary World"
"Bilal"
"Finding Dory"
"Ice Age: Collision Course"
"Kingsglaive Final Fantasy XV"
"Kubo and the Two Strings"
"Kung Fu Panda 3"
"The Little Prince"
"Long Way North"
"Miss Hokusai"
"Moana"
"Monkey King: Hero Is Back"
"Mune"
"Mustafa & the Magician"
"My Life as a Zucchini"
"Phantom Boy"
"The Red Turtle"
"Sausage Party"
"The Secret Life of Pets"
"Sing"
"Snowtime!"
"Storks"
"Trolls"
"25 April"
"Your Name."
"Zootopia"