Annie Awards Winners: ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Leads

Variety

by Payton Turkeltaub

February 22, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

The Annie Awards, often hailed as animation’s equivalent of the Oscars, celebrated its 53rd edition with a grand ceremony at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles. The event honored outstanding achievements in the animation industry, with **“KPop Demon Hunters”** leading the charge by winning an impressive ten awards**, including best feature, character animation, direction, and production design. This Netflix Original Series solidified its position as a standout in the realm of animated entertainment, showcasing exceptional storytelling and technical prowess. Other notable winners included “Arco,” which claimed the Best Independent Feature award under the guidance of director Ugo Bienvenu. In the television category, Adult Swim’s “Common Side Effects” dominated with four wins, earning accolades for best editorial, writing, mature TV/media, and direction. Meanwhile, Netflix’s “Love, Death + Robots” secured three awards, including best character design and production design, further cementing its reputation as a trailblazer in animated media. The ceremony also featured several juried awards that recognized individual contributions to the industry. Michaël Dudok de Wit, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, and Chris Sanders were honored with the Winsor McCay Award for their exceptional creative work. Wacom received the Ub Iwerks Award for its technical

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Originally published on Variety on 2/22/2026