The nominees for the 2023 Irish Animation Awards have been announced today (Tuesday 25th April) by Animation Ireland, the trade association for Irish animation studios. This year’s ceremony takes place in Galway on Saturday 27th May. In a record year for the Irish animation sector, 53 Irish productions were nominated for an award.

Leading the way with seven nominations is Cartoon’s Saloon’s feature film produced for Netflix, My Father’s Dragon, directed by the Oscar-nominated Nora Twomey. The Preschool series Odo, produced for Channel 5 by Sixteen South has six nominations and RTÉ’s preschool series Ray of Sunshine, produced by Daily Madness has five nominations.

The biennial awards are the premier event in the Irish animation calendar and celebrate the creative brilliance and talent of the Irish animation sector. The ceremony will take place in person for the first time since the covid pandemic.

According to Animation Ireland’s Chief Executive, Ronan McCabe, the awards this year highlight the continued growth and creativity in the sector; ‘’It has been another superb year for Irish animation and we now have a record number of Irish productions being nominated. There are nominations from Oscar and Bafta winners alongside stunning work from student producers, and the quality across the board is immense. It’s really heartening that the future remains bright for Irish animation.’’

Ronan went on to say; ‘’It will be great to be back having our awards in person again for the first time since 2019 due to the pandemic. We are running a full day event with industry panels and discussions taking place in the morning, followed by the awards ceremony in the evening. Baz Ashmawy is back with us to host the awards ceremony again, so we’ll definitely enjoy that. I must also extend a huge thank you to all of our other sponsors who play such an important role in supporting Irish animation and making this event happen.’’

Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and RTÉ are the headline sponsors for the 2023 Irish Animation Awards. This year’s other sponsors include Northern Ireland Screen, Coimisiún na Meán, Creative Europe Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Nickelodeon and Milkshake.

Winners of each category will receive a statuette designed by animator, film maker and teacher Eimhín McNamara. The statuette resembles a Phenakistoscope, an early animation device used to create an illusion of motion.

Animation Ireland is the trade association for Ireland’s animation studios, representing forty-two member studios, who employ more than two thousand people on the island of Ireland. The sector has seen meteoric growth in recent years, with the industry now generating almost €200 million for the economy annually, as Irish animation projects are viewed in over 180 countries worldwide.

Nominees

Best Animated Preschool Series

Ada Twist, Scientist

Circle Square

Kiva Can Do!

Odo

Ray Of Sunshine

Best Animated Kids Series 6+

Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese

El Deafo

Karma's World

Tales From Dún Draíochta

The Cuphead Show!

Best Animated Short Film

Bardo

Lady Betty

Memento Mori

Nana's Terrifying Zoom Call

Soul Office

Best International Short Film

Cornucopia

Cha Cha

GMAN: a qixia in space

Signal

The Stranger

Best Writer For Preschool Animation

Fia’s Fairies - Chick A Bye Baby

Happy The Hoglet - Happy Hogfairy

Kiva Can Do! - Beach Ready Yeti

Odo - Doodle Song

Ray Of Sunshine - Under The Weather

Best Writer For An Animated Series

Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese- Junked

Tales from Dún Draíochta - Rocker and the Puca

Tales From Dun Draiochta- Lusmore And The Rapping Fairy

Tales From Dun Draiochta- The Scottish Giant

The Royals Next Door- Royal Re-Enactment

Best Animation For Apps, Games And Interactive

Cat Burglar

VOOKS- Life Of Pele

VOOKS- The Solar System With Ellen

Waggle

Best Art Direction And Design

Ada Twist, Scientist

Bardo

Empty Little People

Odo

The Imagination Machine

Best Director Of An Animated Series

El Deafo

Karma's World

Odo

Ray Of Sunshine

Transformers BotBots

Best Animation Sequence

Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese

Coming Home

My Father’s Dragon

The Cuphead Show!

Gas Networks Tommys Promo

Best Music

Critters Tv

Empty Little People

My Father's Dragon

Ray Of Sunshine

Red Rabbit

Best Sound Design

Bardo

Memento Mori

Monster Hunters: Legends Of The Guild

My Father's Dragon

My Little Pony

Best Irish Feature Or Special

Adam Saves Christmas

Pinkalicious And Peterrific

My Father’s Dragon

The Ghastly Ghoul

Best Innovation In Animation

A Thing Called Joy

Adventureverse

Face2Face - Charles & Camilla

Fias Fairies

Myth Masters

Best New Irish IP

Alva's World

Happy The Hoglet

Odo

The Imagination Machine

The Wee Littles

Best Student Film

Fall Of The Ibis King

His Dancing Shoes

Small Hours

Small Makings Of A Storm

Witch Of The Woods

Best Editing

Ada Twist, Scientist

Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese

El Deafo

Happy The Hoglet

My Father's Dragon

Best Storyboarding

El Deafo

Karma's World

My Father’s Dragon

Ray Of Sunshine

Transformers: BotBots

Best VFX in animation

Mimi's World

My Father’s Dragon

The Cup Head Show!

The Imagination Machine

Wendell And Wild