The Annie Awards, which recognise excellence in the animation shown in cinema and television, will be virtual for a second consecutive year. According to Deadline, the board of ASIFA-Hollywood announced that the live ceremony for its 49th annual trophy show has been cancelled and replaced by the live-streamed virtual format. Filmmaker Spike Lee to Be Honoured With DGA Lifetime Achievement Award.

The show also is moving from its announced February 26 date to March 12 at 7 pm PT. The board said the changes are due primarily to the growing concern over the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of Covid. "When we announced that the Annies would be in-person this year on February 26, the Omicron variant was not even on the horizon," said Frank Gladstone, ASIFA's executive director. Grammy Awards 2022 Rescheduled for April in Las Vegas Due to a Spike in COVID-19 Cases.

"But now it is here and so highly infectious that, after much debate and discussion, ASIFA's board of directors has decided, in an abundance of caution, to once again move to a virtual ceremony. We've also moved the date of the event by two weeks to give our production crew time to gather and edit the huge amount of additional material it takes to construct the virtual ceremony," added Gladstone.

As per Deadline, the free link for the Annies live stream will be available to everyone, and a full recording will be available on the Annie Awards website the following day. The date change means the Annie Awards will be held the same night as the DGA Awards. Walt Disney Animation Studios' 'Raya and the Last Dragon' and 'Encanto' scored a leading 10 and nine Annie nominations, respectively, followed by Pixar's Luca with eight.

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