‘The Wild Robot’ Sweeps the 2025 Annie Awards

This past Saturday night (Feb. 8), artists and creators from all corners of the animation world convened at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles to celebrate excellence in animation at the 52nd annual Annie Awards. The Wild Robot, helmed by acclaimed writer-director and CalArts alum Chris Sanders (Film/Video BFA 84), solidified its position as an awards season darling with wins across multiple categories.

Sanders earned his fifth-ever Annie Award by winning the Best Direction – Feature category. During his speech, he credited those with whom he’d worked on various films throughout his career. 

“The Wild Robot is my first solo animated feature, and I was only able to get through it because of the gifts I’ve received from everyone along the way,” Sanders said during his acceptance speech. “I’m a story artist first and last. I stay in my lane and I let everyone do what they do best, and my crew was the very very best.”

[Acceptance speech livestream timestamp: 2:44:16]

Sanders continued to recognize his collaborators when The Wild Robot was announced as the winner of the coveted Best Feature category, requesting that members of his “exceptionally beautiful crew” join him on the stage. He lauded their efforts in bringing what he described as “the film of a lifetime” to the silver screen. Sanders also shared his appreciation for his colleagues in the room—people who recognize, he noted, the “immense acts of talent and perseverance” often overlooked by those outside the industry, but are necessary to bring their films to fruition.

“I understand what it’s like to look at a blank page and have to fill it with words and hope,” said Sanders. “Your films inspired and humbled me. I know what your crews did, we all do. Like all of us here, who does this thing that fills our audiences’ hearts with hope and unlocks joy and helps people find their way. Take a moment to applaud the faith and art of all of this.”

[Acceptance speech livestream timestamp: 2:52:41]

All told, The Wild Robot earned nine Annies; the film also won Best FX – Feature, Best Character Animation – Feature, Best Character Design – Feature, Best Music – Feature, Best Production Design – Feature, Best Voice Acting – Feature, and Best Editorial – Feature.

Fellow CalArtian Pete Docter (Film/Video BFA 90) also took home an Annie on Saturday night. Docter and Disney historian Don Peri received a juried Special Achievement Award for their book Directing at Disney: The Original Directors of Walt’s Animated Films, a collection of the studio’s untold history, chronicling the progression of the animation director role from the 1920s through the ‘70s.

“We owe so much to so many people who helped us unearth material for this book,” said Peri. “Our many interviewees, family members, fellow historians, and many archives. There are too many to mention by name.”

“We are all so lucky to work in this art form and in this business, but nothing we do comes from nowhere,” continued Docter. “We are all products of the stuff that we watched, and of the people who made that work. Writing this book gave us so much appreciation for that first generation of animators and directors—specifically the directors. Whether you know their names or not, we all benefited from their work. So if you see anybody here tonight who you feel influenced your work, please go up and thank them. We didn’t have the chance to do that.”

[Acceptance speech livestream timestamp: 1:06:44]

See the complete list of 2025 winners at the Annie Awards website, and watch the full ceremony livestream on YouTube (also embedded above).