Patton Oswalt to Host Annie Awards

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Patton Oswalt will host the 39th annual Annie Awards on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

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"The Annies are where the real weirdos hang, and it's a visual feast just to have a drink with them,” said Oswalt. “I can't wait.” Oswalt’s own work in animation includes the voice for Remy the rat in Pixar’s Ratatouille, and also characters on Word Girl and Neighbors from Hell.

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“Patton’s comedic talent, audacious humor and love for animation will bring great energy and visibility, not to mention fun to this year’s ceremony,’’ says ASIFA-Hollywood President Frank Gladstone.

Recognizing the year's best in the field of animation, the Annie Awards cover 28 categories and include Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Special Production, Commercials, Short Subjects and Outstanding Individual Achievements.

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Presenters at the event include animation legend June Foray and Judy Greer, JK Simmons, James Hong, Jib Jab founders Greg and Evan Spiridellis, Nika Futterman, Ty Burrell, Kelly Stables, Tara Strong, Daran Norris, Dee Bradley Baker and Logan Grove.     

This year, DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda 2 leads the pack with 12 nods. Dreamworks Animation also picked up nine nominations for their Puss in Boots and Paramount's Rango also took nine nods. Pixar's Cars 2 received seven nominations and Disney's Winnie the Pooh grabbed eight.

This year’s Winsor McCay recipients are Walt Peregoy, Borge Ring and Ronald Searle. Searle’s award will be posthumous, as he passed late last year at the age of 91. The Winsor McCay Award stands as one of the highest honors given to an individual in the animation industry in recognition for career contributions to the art of animation.

Twitter: @Beccamford