Mar 27, 2020

"Sean the Sheep", "Moominvalley" wins the British Animation Award (full list of winners)

On Thursday, March 12, the U.K.'s animation industry gathered in London to celebrate its recent achievements at the British Animation Awards. And just in time: within days, sweeping measures to combat the coronavirus had been implemented, ensuring that nobody will be publicly celebrating much for a while.

The awards, which have been held every two years since 1996, recognize work across the industry. This year's winners list was dominated by the stalwart Aardman Animations, which picked up four awards, including best long-form animation (A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon) and the children's choice award (“Squirreled Away” from Shaun the Sheep). They made for fitting winners of the statuettes, which feature sheep (as a nod to the “BAA” acronym). In addition, the inaugural Lamb Award, which honors rising stars, was presented to Roxy Linklater, an Aardman rigger.

The award for best children's series went to Moominvalley, a cg revival of Tove Jansson's classic stories directed by Aardman veteran Steve Box (who we spoke to about the show last October). The Adventures of Paddington was named best preschool series, and Jonathan Hodgson's BAFTA-winning Roughhouse best short film.

Helen Brunsdon, who recently took over as director from BAA founder Jayne Pilling, 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.”

Here's a full list of winners:

Best Longform

A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (dir. Will Becher, Richard Phelan; prod. Aardman Animations)

Best Voice Performance

Sally Hawkins as The Snail - The Snail and the Whale (dir. Max Lang, Daniel Snaddon; prod. Magic Light Pictures)

Best Children's Series

Moominvalley (dir. Steve Box; prod. Gutsy Animations)

Best Children's Pre-School

The Adventures of Paddington (dir. Adam Shaw, Chris Drew; prod. Studio Canal, Heyday Films)

Best Music Video

Coldplay - “Daddy” (dir. Asa Lucander; prod. Aardman)

Writers Award

The Amazing World Of Gumball - “The Agent” (dir. Mic Graves; prod. Great Marlborough Productions Limited for Cartoon Network)

Best Postgraduate Student Film

Music and Clowns (dir. Alex Widdowson; RCA)

Best Original Short-form Content

A Whale's Tale (dir. Giovanna Utichi, Robin Celebi; prod. Cartoon Network for Hope Works)

Best Original Music

The Tiger Who Came to Tea (composer David Arnold; lyrics Don Black; dir. Robin Shaw; prod. Lupus Films)

Best Social Good

New Mindset (dir. Danny Capozzi; prod. Aardman)

Best Commissioned Animation

Conception: Catie + Jen (dir: Moth Studio; prod. Moth Studios for The New York Times)

Best Film or TV Graphics/Motion Design

Da Vinci Learning (dir. Chris Randall; prod. Second Home Studios)

Best Undergraduate Student Film

Border/Line (dir. Megan Earls; UCA)

Best Short Film

Roughhouse (dir. Jonathan Hodgson; prod. Papy3d Productions, Hodgson Films, ARTE France)

Children's Choice

Shaun The Sheep - “Squirreled Away” (dir. Carmen Bromfield Mason; prod. Aardman)

Best Use of Sound

The Amazing World of Gumball – “The Future” (dir. Mic Graves; prod. Great Marlborough Pictures Limited for Cartoon Network)

Public Choice Award for Best Short Film

Grandad was a Romantic (dir. Maryam Mohajer)

Lamb Award

Roxannah (Roxi) Linklater (rigger and armatures, Aardman)

(Image at top, left to right: “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon,” “Moominvalley.”)