Several modern anime classics are getting their rep on in Hollywood.

Earlier today, ASIFA-Hollywood, the International Animated Film Society, unveiled its nominees for the 45th annual Annie Awards. This year, several anime titles stand among the numerous nominees:

  • In This Corner of the World (Best Animated Feature – Independent)
  • Napping Princess (Best Animated Feature – Independent)
  • Mary and the Witch’s Flower (Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production)
  • Mary and the Witch’s Flower (Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production)
  • Pig: The Dam Keeper Poems (Best Animated Special Production)

Napping Princess and In This Corner of the World are squaring off against The Breadwinner, The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales, and Loving Vincent in their category.

In addition to the film nominations, several anime staffers are in the running for awards this year:

  • Satoko Nakamura, Tomotaka Kubo, & Tomoya Imai (Production Design)
  • Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Riko Sakaguchi, David Freedman, and Lynda Freedman (Writing in an Animated Feature Production)

In This Corner of the World

In This Corner of the World is rated PG-13. The film is based on Fumiyo Kono’s manga of the same name. Sunao Katabuchi (Black Lagoon, Mai Mai Miracle) directed the film and penned the scripts at MAPPA, while Hidenori Matsubara (Ah! My Goddess, Sakura Wars) provided character designs. Masao Maruyama and Taro Maki were attached to the project as producers.

Napping Princess

Napping Princess is an original project from Production I.G. Kenji Kamiyama (Eden of the East, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) directed the film at I.G. Port’s newest anime subsidiary studio, Signal.MD. Kamiyama also wrote the film’s script. Satoko Morikawa (Eden of the East, Tico and Friends) provided character designs, while Yoko Shimomura (Xenoblade Chronicles, Kingdom Hearts) scored the soundtrack. Shigeto Koyama (Michiko & Hatchin, Moribito – Guardian of the Spirit) was in charge of mechanical designs.

Mary and the Witch’s Flower

Mary and the Witch’s Flower is based on Mary Stewart’s book The Little Broomstick. The feature was helmed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (When Marnie Was There) at Studio Ponoc. Yonebayashi co-wrote the script with Riko Sakaguchi (The Tale of Princess Kaguya), while Takatsugu Muramatsu (When Marnie Was There) scored the soundtrack. Studio Ponoc founder Yoshiaki Nishimura is listed as the film’s producer.

This is the first feature film by Studio Ponoc. The company, which includs several former Studio Ghibli members, previously produced animated commercials for West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in 2015.

Source: Cartoon Brew