Submissions are now being accepted for the Pulcinella Awards 2026 being awarded at the International Festival of Animation and Transmedia that takes place in Pescara, Italy May 27-30.
Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Netflix’s blockbuster feature took home 10 wins, including Best Feature, while ‘Arco’ won for Best Independent Feature; ‘Common Side Effects’ led all TV shows with 4 wins, followed closely by ‘Win or Lose’ and ‘Love, Death + Robots’ with 3 each, at the animation industry’s gala event held last night at Royce Hall in Los Angeles.
The Baer Animation studio founder whose more than 50 years of work spanned numerous well-known animated shows, commercials, and projects, including the Toontown scenes in ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit,’ passed away on February 16.
2026 season themed ‘Capture the Original’ introduces expanded categories across Animation, Generative AI and Creator spaces.
Selections include 53 titles from 8 countries; the official list of nominees will be announced March 5 in São Paulo, Brazil.
‘Wicked: For Good,’ ‘Andor,’ ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash,’ and ‘Stranger Things’ also win at The Advanced Imaging Society celebration, often called the ‘Oscars for Geeks,’ held earlier this afternoon at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
James Cameron’s latest epic garnered 10 nominations, while ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ ‘Elio,’ and ‘Zootopia 2’ each snagged 5, as nominees are announced in 25 categories across film, television, real-time, and special venue projects; ceremony set for February 25 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in LA.
‘Elio,’ ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ ‘The SpongeBob Move: Search for SquarePants,’ ‘The Bad Guys 2,’ and ‘Zootopia 2’ among the nominees for excellence in production design, covering film / animated film, TV, commercials, and music videos; ceremony set for February 28.
Animated Company founder and CEO Douglas McGinness III examines how AI tools are reshaping traditional visual effects workflows, from concept design and previs through roto, matchmove, and final delivery, while raising critical questions about authorship, copyright, and the preservation of storytelling craft.
ASIFA-East president Doug Vitarelli looks at Robby Gilbert’s expansive new book, the ‘definitive’ look at the key animators, studios, projects and happenings that defined the incredibly prolific and influential 3-decade period of NYC’s ever-vibrant animation community.
The NFL Network will air the new 2D spot, from Richard O’Connor’s Ace & Son Moving Picture Co., through the upcoming NFL Draft; the initiative pairs strangers with opposing beliefs for one-on-one conversations to rediscover their shared humanity.
Best Animated Feature nominees ‘Elio,’ ‘Little Amélie or the Character of Rain,’ ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ ‘The Bad Guys 2,’ and ‘Zootopia 2’ top the expansive list of category nominations; animation’s biggest awards ceremony is scheduled to return live on Saturday, February 21 at UCLA’s Royce Hall
The festive spot, styled like a 1950s stop-mo Christmas special, opens on Christmas Eve at the restaurant.
A bite-sized hero takes center stage in the children’s book and commercial, narrated by Mindy Kaling; supports the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation.
Directed by Kyra Buschor and Constantin Paeplow, the CG animated short is the latest chapter in the continuing story of Finn and his family for Swiss supermarket Migros’ annual campaign.
Directors Andy Biddle and Adeena Grubb teamed with model makers at Sculpt-Double for the spot, which follows a furry rabbit family as they discover the joy of staying connected.
The 2-day conference takes place March 2-3, 2026, in Birmingham, England; this year kicks off the Animation Business Awards, a new celebration honoring the business of animation.
Directed by Yoriaki Mochizuki, the 10-minute piece from Intertrend Communications marks the final chapter in the car company’s GRIP series and the brand’s first-ever anime film.
Software introduces Pose Mode, Hand Pose presets, and a series of community-suggested workflow mods to make storyboarding and scene creation more expressive and precise.
Directed by Johnny Kelly and created in partnership with +61 and Bear Meets Eagle on Fire, the commercial features the animators’ visible hands for a ‘behind-the-scenes’ feel.
Milk and Lola Post join the previously acquired Tippett Studio, PhantomFX, and Spectre Post under the new PMG creative collective; each studio will retain its approach and creative leadership, ensuring consistent experiences for clients across film, episodic, commercial and immersive content.
Christian Irles transfers from Image Engine to London HQ, while Andy Walker joins the Montreal team from Image Engine New York.
The awards ceremony, set for April 17, 2026, will recognize the best Ibero-American animation works in 10 categories; the call is open to animated projects released between June 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025.
Pierre-Luc Granjon’s short about a child’s magical inner world takes the top prize; ‘Kafka in Love’ wins for Best Nordic-Baltic Short, while ‘Papillon’ wins for Best Global Short.
AWN is now a media partner with the leading award that recognizes excellence in video and TV across all screens; submissions now being accepted through December 12.
