娱乐英语新闻:"Kung Fu Panda 2" leads Annie Award nominations with 12 nods

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- "Kung Fu Panda 2," DreamWorks Animation's blockbuster animated film about a Chinese culture-based panda, led a pack of 10 nominated films for the 39th Annual Annie Awards, ASIFA-Hollywood, the Los Angeles chapter of the International Animated Film Society, announced on Monday.

The film walked away with 12 nominations including animated effects,character animation, directing, production design, writing and editing. Direstec by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, the DreamWorks' tent pole has raked in more than 663 million U.S. dollars in ticket sales at the box office worldwide earlier this year.

"Puss in Boots," another Dreamworks production, picked up nine nominations for the studio which remained a constant victor at the awards scene.

Its main rival Disney has also made some inroads into the competition, with "Cars 2" and "Winnie the Pooh" grabbing seven and eight, respectively. However, "Winnie the Pooh" was not nominated for a best animated film.

"Rango," an animated Western comedy produced by Paramount Pictures, received nine nods.

"We are really excited about the expanded list of nominations this year ... in all 28 categories," said Frank Gladstone, president of ASIFA-Hollywood. "All of the major animation studios are represented, as are some of the independent productions from Europe and South America. This certainly is a testament to the wide reach and appeal of animation and the people who create it."

Rounding out the 10 nominated films are: "A Cat in Paris" (Folimage), "Arthur Christmas" (Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations), "Arrugas" (Perro Verde Films, S.L.), "Chico & Rita" (Chico & Rita Distribution), "Rio" (Blue Sky Studios) and "The Adventures of Tintin" (Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall).

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held on Feb. 4 in Los Angeles.