Variety reports that Disney is saying good-bye to ASIFA Hollywood and the Annie awards.
I have to say I am not particularly surprised by this move, as there have been a number of questionable votes in recent years, mostly at Pixar’s expense.
Oh my goodness, really? This will be really interesting. It’s sad that there are so much politics with this award, when it should just be given to the best animated feature. Can’t wait to see how this turns out.
I’m actually kinda glad they did this. Pixar has been outright snubbed many times. (especially in 2008 with Kung Fu Panda winning best picture.) I blame Jeffrey Katzenberg. He never seems to play nice.
Good. The vote system is totally corrupt.
Yeah, I cannot believe WALL-E lost to Kung Fu Panda. Absolutely absurd.
This is certainly a big move by Pixar and Disney.
I know. It was totally a WTF?!? moment for me there. 
At any event, I’m actually rather pleased with how Disney handled this situation. Something about the voting system for this award ceremony never seemed right to me, especially with what happened with WALL-E. And at least they still have the Oscars and the Golden Globes.
Ditto.
Here’s what SlashFilm says:
slashfilm.com/2010/08/25/dis … y-story-3/
Personally, I don’t think it is because they think HTTYD would win, but rather that the voting is corrupt. Disney and Pixar don’t back down because they are scared, as far as I know.
What, are there people actually assuming that Disney and Pixar both dropped out of the Annies because of fear? SERIOUSLY? 
That’s a rather absurd thing to assume, because Disney and Pixar movies have won a whole ton of Annie Awards throughout the years, and Pixar has literally beaten Dreamworks to death at that ceremony. What makes them think that they’re dropping out because they’re scared? 
Pity, I would’ve love to see Woody and the Gang go up against Hiccup and the Dragons. I love both movies equally.
But a very bold and righteous move by Pixar/Disney. If you can’t beat 'em, don’t join 'em. Now the next step is to snub the Oscar Academy…
Because people think its fun to go “LOOKIE, ISN’T DISNEY STUPID!? HATE ON DISNEY! HARDY HARDY HAR!” Most people are a lot quicker to criticize Disney more than any other company.
Still, I think this is a smart move, and I’m glad that they were brave enough to do it. Maybe this will open their eyes some.
Hmm, well there are 2 really, really good movies that would have been butting heads with Pixar/Disney this year: the Dragon and Despicable Me. It’s been a year of highly unusual competition. Now last year every any ninny could predict that Up would take the Annie. It was color-ific (cartoony), without the washed out colors and photorealism of Wall-E. And its story was super original.
But this year there was a probability that TS3 would not have gotten the Annie, just my amateur opinion. It just didn’t win in the originality dept., and that goes a long way. The dragon’s characterization was magnificent, it was perfect for the new 3D format, and yeah the ending was kinda flat and stereotyped, but overall the winner IMHO. Despicable Me is a close 2nd. This movie built the story tension beautifully, and my interest in those yellow (Wall-E colored!) minions just grew and grew. What a great ending!! So my feeling is that Disney’s decision was indeed heavily influenced by a probable outcome not to their liking. If they had withdrawn last year, then they would be more credible…
Sorry guys, but they might have not won and there were excellent reasons why.
Personally, I’m indifferent to this news. The Annie awards is blatantly rigged and its perceived prestige doesn’t seem to hold up, compared to other major awards of this category, such as the Oscars.
I’m fine for the Annies to continue, because it seems just to be a ego boost to Katzenberg, and no-one really cares.
I agree with DarkHand. Last year (and even in 2008), there were really only one contestant to Pixar’s claim to awesomeness, so snubbing the Annies would’ve made a better ‘statement’ then. Doing it this year, with worthy opponents like HTTYD and Despicable Me, and regardless of whether it was on principles or because Pixar lacked the cajones, just makes 'em look bad.
Like I said, it’s a shame they didn’t do it last year, right after the Wall-E snub, when it was obvious that Up was the superior animated film of the year. And we’ll never know if it was because they had self-doubts or if they were really trying to prove a point.
The last thing that guy needs is an ego boost.
Something you guys might like to see. A little writeup from Dice Tsutsumi on his opinion. Gives a nice POV. Also, some funny Toy Story 3 production birthday cards. 
Thanks for posting that article Bryko, I really enjoyed reading it.
I’m glad Disney and Pixar dropped out. They don’t deserve to be treated in that way.
Wow, I didn’t know of this Dice Tsutsumi person… seems he’s worked at Blue Sky before with the Robots concept art as his banner… Oh, and the birthday cards are totally wicked!
I’ll reiterate what I said before. It was a pretty audacious move on Pixar’s part, but it’s too bad that this boycott was done in a year of great competitors. I guess they never would’ve known that they were going to be snubbed in Wall-E’s year, but Up did win last year, which just makes Pixar look like a sore loser instead of a ‘martyr’.
It’s also a shame that this awards has been given out since 1972, and has only recently garnered controversy because of balloting issues for the past two years, that its entire legacy has been flushed down the drain.
Interesting. I highly doubt they left out of fear, but everybody has their haters who love to say stuff. Most of these awards shows have gotten corrupt and/or political to varying degrees.