The International Animated Film Society-Hollywood has announced the nominees for the 52nd annual Annie Awards. As in years past, artists from California Institute of the Arts in Valencia are among those recognized for excellence and contributions in the field of animation across 37 categories and honors.

The Best Feature category is packed with CalArtian talent, with three of the six nominees boasting alumni connections: “Inside Out 2” (Pixar Animation Studios) and “Ultraman: Rising” (Netflix Presents in association with Tsuburaya Productions) and “The Wild Robot (DreamWorks Animation).

“Inside Out 2,” the sequel to the 2015 hit, is a continuation of the story of Riley Andersen as she navigates the complexities of high school life. Many CalArtians helped bring the film to life, including: Executive Producer Pete Doctor (Film/Video BFA 1990); Character Designers Crystal Kung (Film/Video BFA 2022) and Albert Lozano (Film/Video BFA 1994); Lead Storyboard Artist Louise Smyth (Film/Video BFA 2010) and animators Jeff Pidgeon (Film/Video BFA 1988), Bobby Podesta (Film/Video BFA 1997) and Ambika Luthra (Film/Video BFA 2019).

The Japanese “Ultraman” franchise finds new life in Netflix’s “Ultraman: Rising,” with Shannon Tindle (Film/Video BFA 1999) and John Aoshima (Film/Video BFA 2000) credited as writer/director and co-director, respectively. The film follows Ken Sato, a baseball superstar who returns to Japan to assume the role of Ultraman, defender of Earth. His journey takes an unexpected turn when he is forced to raise the offspring of his greatest foe, a newborn kaiju (a monster).

“Ultraman: Rising” also showcases the talents of CalArts alums Mayumi Nose (Film/Video BFA 2012) and Tony Siruno (Film/Video BFA 1995), who contributed to the character design. School of Film/Video faculty Christopher Mitchell and Andy Bialk are also credited in the film, lending their talents to story and visual development, respectively.

DreamWorks’ “The Wild Robot,” an adaptation of Peter Brown’s bestselling book, was helmed by acclaimed writer-director and CalArts alum Chris Sanders (Film/Video BFA 1984). The film tells the story of ROZZUM unit 7134, or “Roz,” a robot stranded on an uninhabited island who must navigate the harsh wilderness and form unexpected bonds with the animals of the island. Multiple CalArtians played key roles in bringing The Wild Robot to the big screen, including head of story Heidi Jo Gilbert (Film/Video BFA 2007); story artists Benjamin Balistreri (Film/Video MFA 1997) and Steven Macleod (BFA 2007); character designer Heidi Smith (Film/Video BFA 2008); animation supervisor Drew Adams (Film/Video BFA 1998) and animator Ed Bell (Film/Video BFA 1998).

Sanders is also nominated in the Best Direction – Feature category.

Marvel’s “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur” episode “The Molecular Level” earned a nod in the Best Editorial – TV/Media category. CalArts alum Sandra Powers (Film/Video MFA 2009) is named as a nominee, alongside Phil Lomboy, Ryan Burkhard, Neil Wilson III and Gabe Oh.

Among the prestigious juried awards is the Special Achievement Award, which will be given to “Directing at Disney:The Original Directors of Walt’s Animated Films,” written by Pete Docter (Film/Video BFA 1990) and Don Peri. The “historically important” book is a collection of the studio’s untold history, chronicling the progression of the animation director role from the 1920s through the ‘70s.

The 52nd annual Annie Awards will be held Saturday, Feb. 8 at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles. The ceremony will be free to watch on the Annie Awards livestream site.

Find the full list of nominees at the official Annie Awards website.