Seldom considered legitimate, sophisticated entertainment in mainstream cinema, animation has long since been heralded in the fringes as a powerful, provocative and challenging art form. And to celebrate animation's long-time role in the progress of cinematic and television arts, the Hollywood branch of the International Animated Film Society (Asifa - Association Internationale Du Film D'Animation) has held an annual awards ceremony recognizing achievement in the field of animation for the past 28 years.

"The Annie Awards are the highest honor given for excellence in animation," states the Asifa-Hollywood web site (http://www.asifa-hollywood.org/). "Each year, Annie Award trophies are awarded for the year's best feature film, video, television program, commercial, and animated interactive production; as well as individual achievement by artists, writers and voice talent."

However, other than a polite nod to director Hayao Miyazaki, the 2000 awards didn't rank Japanese animation among its nominees, nor, for that matter, did it include much else besides English language animation. Asifa members culled most of the nominees from works of animation marketed by the event's sponsors, which included, among others, Disney, Fox, and Warner Brothers.

Since its founding in 1957, Asifa membership has grown to over 1700 people hailing from over 55 countries. Asifa organizes international events such as animation festivals and seminars to advance the perception of animation as an art form. In its organization, national chapters maintain the link between individual members and Asifa, often producing monthly newsletters and hosting screenings. One of those chapters, Asifa-Hollywood, organizes the Annie Awards.

The reason anime, and international animation in general, is not recognized by the Annie Awards may be attributed to technicalities involved with the entry process. The main rules to enter a work for Annie consideration are as follows:

1. Submitted entries must be from productions originally aired or released between August 1 and July 31 of the previous year (ex: for the 2001 awards, Aug. 1, 2000 - July 31, 2001).

2. The person submitting the entry must be a member of Asifa-Hollywood, and an executive producer or producer of the nominated project must sign each entry form associated with the work.

The first rule clearly poses a problem for anime now being released in the United States. Typically anime originally airs in Japan long before it gets to the United States, thus automatically disqualifying from Annie consideration most of the anime shown in the US. Last year's Annie Awards tested this rule. Members nominated Hayao Miyazaki for the English language version of "Princess Mononoke" in the category of Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production despite the film's original release in 1997. Asifa-Hollywood president Antran Manoogian notes this discrepancy and explains that it was the Princess Mononoke nomination that really solidified the original airdate/release rule for future Annie Awards.