Auli’i Cravalho has reason to celebrate…
The 16-year-old part-Puerto Rican actress picked up the Voice Acting in an Animated Feature award at this year’s Annie Awards, the highest honor given for excellence in animation.
Cravalho took home the award for her voice acting debut as the title character in the Disney’s Moana, sharing the prize in a tie with Jason Bateman for his work on Zootopia.
In the film, Cravalho plays Moana Waialiki, the high-spirited daughter of the chief of a mystical Polynesian island, who sets sail to an island with a demigod named Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) to help save her family from disaster. The story is full of Disney fantasy, but Cravalho says her character’s journey toward self-discovery — and the fact that she makes that journey alone — is relatable to everyone.
Cravalho, who was discovered almost by accident when Disney talent scouts saw her sing in a YouTube video, is a natural.
“I’m kind of an animated person,” she adds. “I was given this really big blessing that my voice just kind of carries the emotion.”
Meanwhile, Carlos Alazraqui picked it the award for Voice Acting in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production.
The 54-year-old Latino stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, singer and impressionist won the award for his role as Ponce de León on DreamWorks Animation Television’s The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show.
It’s Alazraqui’s first win in three nominations.
Here’s a look at the big winners:
Best Animated Feature
ZOOTOPIA
Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Byron Howard, Rich Moore
ZOOTOPIA
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Directing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production
Patrick Osborne
PEARL
Google Spotlight Stories/Evil Eye Pictures
Best Animated Feature-Independent
THE RED TURTLE
Studio Ghibli – Wild Bunch – Why Not Productions
Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production
BOB’S BURGERS
Episode: Glued, Where’s My Bob?
Bento Box Entertainment
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Children
ADVENTURE TIME
Episode: Bad Jubies
Bix Pix Entertainment Cartoon Network Frederator Studios
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children
TUMBLE LEAF
Episode: Mighty Mud Movers / Having a Ball
Amazon Studios and Bix Pix Entertainment
Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Jared Bush, Phil Johnston
ZOOTOPIA
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Writing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Lizzie Molyneux, Wendy Molyneux
BOB’S BURGERS
Episode: The Hormone-iums
Bento Box Entertainment
Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
(tie)
Auli’i Cravalho as Moana
MOANA
Walt Disney Animation Studios
and
Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde
ZOOTOPIA
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Voice Acting in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Carlos Alazaraqui as Ponce de León
THE MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN SHOW
Episode: Ponce de León
DreamWorks Animation Television
Best Animated Television/Broadcast Commercial
LOTERIA, “NIGHT SHIFT”
Passion Pictures Ltd
Best Animated Special Production
PEAR CIDER AND CIGARETTES
Massive Swerve Studios and Passion Pictures Animation
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Nelson Lowry, Trevor Dalmer, August Hall, Ean McNamara
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
Laika
Production Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Tuna Bora
PEARL
Google Spotlight Stories/Evil Eye Pictures
Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production
Jan Maas
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
Laika
Character Animation in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Mike Chaffe
DREAMWORKS TROLLHUNTERS
Episode: Becoming, Part 1
DreamWorks Animation Television
Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Andrew R. Jones, Peta Bayley, Gabriele Zucchelli, Benjamin Jones
THE JUNGLE BOOK
Walt Disney Pictures
Character Animation in a Video Game
Jeremy Yates, Almudena Soria, Eric Baldwin, Paul Davies, Tom Bland
UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END
Naughty Dog
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Cory Loftis
ZOOTOPIA
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Character Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Victor Maldonado, Alfredo Torres, Jules Rigolle
DREAMWORKS TROLLHUNTERS
Episode: Win, Lose or Draal
DreamWorks Animation Television
Music in an Animated Feature Production
Hans Zimmer, Richard Harvey, Camille
THE LITTLE PRINCE
Netflix and On Animation Studios
Music in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Scot Stafford, Alexis Harte, JJ Wiesler
PEARL
Google Spotlight Stories/Evil Eye Pictures
Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Georg Kaltenbrunner, Michael Marcuzzi, Thomas Bevan, Andrew Graham, Jihyun Yoon
DOCTOR STRANGE – MIRROR DIMENSION
Marvel Studios
Animated Effects in an Animated Feature Production
Marlon West, Erin V. Ramos, Blair Pierpont, Ian J. Coony, John M. Kosnik
MOANA
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Best Animated Short Subject
PIPER
Pixar Animation Studios
Best Student Film
CITIPATI
Director: Andreas Feix
Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
Christopher Murrie
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
Editorial in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Illya Owens
DISNEY MICKEY MOUSE
Episode: Sock Burglar
Disney Television Animation
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Dean Wellins
ZOOTOPIA
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production
Hyunjoo Song
DREAMWORKS TROLLHUNTERS
Episode: Win, Lose or Draal
DreamWorks Animation Television
Winsor McCay Awards
Dale Baer
Caroline Leaf
Mamoru Oshii.
Ub Iwerks Award
Google Spotlight’s Virtual Reality Platform
June Foray Award
Bill & Sue Kroyer
Special Achievement Award
Life, Animated
