‘Paw Patrol,’ ‘Pinecone & Pony,’ ‘Wild Kratts’ and ‘Super Wish’ Vie for Canadian Screen Awards (2024)

Now in its 11th year, the Canadian Screen Awards (CSA) is Canada’s equivalent to the Oscars and Emmys in the US and BAFTAs in the UK. The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television – the largest non-profit professional media arts organization in Canada – will air the winners, including those in the animation and visual effects categories, tomorrow, May 31 at the CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto.

Turns out, the CSA is just saving the best for last.

Among the animated shows, artists on Keith Chapman’s PAW Patrol, Stephanie Kaliner’s Pinecone & Pony, The Kratt Brothers’ Wild Kratts, and Adrian Thatcher and Vanessa Esteves’ Super Wish have received the most recognition with various individual category nominations, with Wild Kratts and Pinecone & Pony scoring nominations in the “Best Animated Series or Program” category. In Flames, The King Tide, One Summer, Infinity Pool, and Blackberry have been nominated for best visual effects. BlackBerry, which documented the rise and fall of the BlackBerry phone, broke the record for the most nominations for a film in the history of the Canadian Screen Awards with 17.

“Being included in the Canadian Screen Awards brings important industry awareness and recognition to our shows, since winners are determined through a nationwide voting process from our industry peers,” says Neil Parfitt, nominated with Ryan Araki, Evan Turner, Andrew McDonnell, and Richard Spence-Thomas for “Best Sound, Animation” and “Best Music, Animation” for Super Wish’s “The Ballooniverse Pageant / The Way Back Home.”

He continues, “Plus, it’s always exciting to see our projects, colleagues and industry partners be celebrated for all their hard work.”

The awards were first presented in 2013 as the result of a merger of the Gemini Awards and Genie Awards — the Academy's previous awards presentations for television (English-language) and film productions. Parfitt has previously been nominated for sixother CSAs: “Best Music, Animation” once with The Remarkable Mr. King, twice for Ranger Rob, and once for Super Wish; and “Best Sound, Animation” once for Ranger Rob, and once for Super Wish, all Nelvana projects.

“I think Super Wish has garnered so much recognition because it’s one of those magical circ*mstances where every step of the process has the crew bringing in their A-game and most importantly, having fun working on it,” says Parfitt. “And with the universal appeal of birthdays, the charm of a grumpy balloon villain and a great season finale story, Super Wish just stirs up that inner birthday magic.”

Super Wish, created by Adrian Thatcher and Vanessa Esteves for Nelvana Studios, centers on a young boy named Jesse who is sucked into an alternate dimension with his friends after accidentally "wishing" that his birthday party would disappear. They then have to figure out how to get back home while traveling through a fantasy land where they discover a different international birthday-related tradition in each episode. Last year, the series was nominated for three CSAs – “Best Visual Effects,” “Best Sound in an Animated Program or Series” and “Best Original Music for Animation.”

For Cory Doran, Balloonicus in Super Wish and one of Canada’s busiest animation performers, his nomination, “Best Performance in an Animated Program or Series” will mark his first awards season with CSA. The show’s Jamie Ebata and Kirk Hudson are also nominated for Best Editing in an Animated Program or Series.

“Being nominated for a Canadian Screen Award is such an honor and can be hard to come by,” shares Doran, whose previous animation acting credits include My Little Pony, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Thomas and Friends, Blue’s Clues, and CSA-nominated shows Wild Kratts and Rubble & Crew. “It’s rare that we, as performers, get so much support from a production let alone one that is willing to put your performance forward for recognition. In particular, I was honored to have been contacted by one of our show creators, Vanessa Esteves, to help create cool behind-the-scenes videos to help promote the nomination, including videos of me in the studio, recording one of the songs in the booth, spliced with the completely animated finished result. That was a lot of fun, and the fan response has been nothing short of amazing.”

The videos can be seen on the highlights of Doran’s Instagram channel: @half_animated.

He adds, “Being nominated alongside my peers, Jayne Eastwood, Patty Sullivan, and Sara Garcia is also humbling. But this year I’m also nominated alongside a friend of mine, Ana Sani, so it’s great to share this experience. I wish all the nominees in all the categories success and a huge congrats to them all.”

A full list of the nominees in the animation and visual effects categories can be found below. More info can be found on the awards website, here.

Best Animated Series or Program

• Interstellar Ella
• Pinecone & Pony
• Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie
• The Snoopy Show
• Wild Kratts

Best Sound Editing

• Pierre-Jules Audet, Marie-Miel Lacasse Hévey, Monique Vézina and Natalie Fleurant, Ru
• John Blerot, Hands That Bind
• Alex Bullick, Jill Purdy, Rob Bertola and Craig MacLellan, Infinity Pool
• Matthew Chan, Gabe Knox, Michelle Irving, Lucas Prokaziuk, Stefan Fraticelli and Jason Charbonneau, BlackBerry
• R. Fountain, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie

Best Visual Effects

• Jeff Bruneel, James Miligan, Tamara Young, Nick Winger and Adam Graves, In Flames
• Adam Graves, The King Tide
• Marie-Claude Lafontaine, JF (Jafaz) Ferland and Simon Beaupré, One Summer (Le temps d’un été)
• Andy Robinson, Infinity Pool
• Tristan Zerafa, Lou Gatti, Matthew Nayman and Mike Boers, BlackBerry

Best Animated Short

• Aphasia (Aphasie) — Marielle Dalpé, Marc Bertrand
• Miserable Miracle (Misérable Miracle) — Ryo Orikasa, Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, Pierre Baussaron, Jelena Popović, Nobuaki Doi, Rob McLaughlin, Michael f*ckushima
• Return to Hairy Hill (Retour à Hairy Hill) — Emily Paige, Daniel Gies
• The Temple (Le Temple) — Alain Fournier
• Where Rabbits Come From (D’où viennent les lapins) — Colin Ludvic Racicot, Bertrand Paquette, Simon Allard

Best Animated Pre-School Series or Program

• Builder Brothers Dream Factory
• Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood
• Dino Ranch
• PAW Patrol
• Aunty B’s House

Best Direction, Animation

• Diana Basso and Joey So, Rubble & Crew
• Martin Kratt and Louis Champagne, Wild Kratts
• Tammy Langton, Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood
• Wayne-Michael Lee, Pinecone & Pony
• Heejung Yun and Paul Riley, Rosie’s Rules

Best Writing, Animation

• Jocelyn Geddie, Pinecone & Pony: “Speak from the Art”
• Stephanie Kaliner, Pinecone & Pony: “The Sturdy Stone”
• Mar7tin Kratt, Wild Kratts: “Clever Raven”
• Corey Liu, Pinecone & Pony: “Pinecone and Horse”
• Louise Moon, PAW Patrol: “All Paws on Deck”

Best Writing, Pre-School

• Ken Cuperus, Aunty B’s House: “A Trip to Paris”
• Katherine Sandford, Mittens & Pants: “Bunny Family Wedding”
• Ashley Spires, Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe: “A Guide To Being the WURST”
• Tyra Sweet and Rennata López, Bestest Day Ever with My Best Friend: “Henry the Tortoise’s Bestest Day Ever”
• Richard Young, Dino Ranch: “The Odd Partners”

Best Picture Editing, Animation

• Jamie Ebata and Kirk Hudson, Super Wish: “The Ballooniverse Pageant / The Way Back Home”
• Paul Gitlin and Marc Brenzil, Daniel Spellbound: “The Tickle Pit”
• Joshua Guitar, Pinecone & Pony: “The Sturdy Stone”
• Carolina Tran-Yong, Red Ketchup: “Dope and the Red Rope”

Best Sound, Animation

• Ryan Araki, Evan Turner, Neil Parfitt, Andrew McDonnell and Richard Spence-Thomas, Super Wish: “The Ballooniverse Pageant / The Way Back Home”
• Gregorio Gomez, Greg Stewart, Angelo Nicoloyannis, John Franco, Bonnie Lambie and Rick Senechal, Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie
• Mike Mancuso, Joe Tetreau, Evan Turner, Ryan Eligh, Patrick Mallan and Matt McKenzie, Pinecone & Pony: “The Sturdy Stone”
• Ethan Myers, Julian Rudd, Art Mullin, Sebastian Biega, Chris Battaglia and Kevin Chamberlain, Unicorn Academy
• Richard Spence-Thomas, Tim Muirhead, Luke Dante, Katie Pagacz, Kyle Peters, Ryan Ongaro, Patton Rodrigues and Mitch Conners, PAW Patrol: “Aqua Pups Save a Floating Castle”

Best Music, Animation

• Caleb Chan and Brian Chan, Pinecone & Pony: “The Sturdy Stone”
• Jeremy Fisher and Matt Ouimet, Jeremy and Jazzy: “You Can Be Anything”
• Ian LeFeuvre and Earl Tomo, Builder Brothers Dream Factory: “Dancing Shoes”
• Neil Parfitt, Super Wish: “The Ballooniverse Pageant / The Way Back Home”
• Erica Procunier, Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go: “The Mystery of Lookout Mountain”

Celebrating Canadian Animation Excellence!

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