The Walt Disney Co. and its Pixar branch led the nominations for the 40th Annie Awards, honoring the year's best animation projects and individuals, with 27 separate nominees, the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, announced on Monday.

In the most-coveted best picture category, the animation house won three nods with "Brave" (Pixar), "Frankenweenie" (Disney) and "Wreck-It Ralph" (Disney). DreamWorks Animation's "Rise of the Guardians," Laika/Focus' "ParaNorman," Sony Animation's "Hotel Transylvania," Aardman Animations' "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" and GKIDS' "The Rabbi's Cat" rounded out a field of strong picks.

DreamWorks Animation, also a darling with voters, trailed with 13 nods.

"I am very excited about this year's slate of nominees," ASIFA- Hollywood president Frank Gladstone said in a prepared statement. "We had more submissions to choose from than for any prior year in Annie Award history, running the gamut from big studio features to indie films, television series to Internet shows, games, shorts and, for the first time, student films -- all showcasing the huge variety of venues, creativity, technical innovation and story- telling that our art form has to offer."

The awards ceremony will be held at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles Feb. 2, 2013. Awards from 30 categories including film, TV production, commercials, short subjects, video games, student films, honorary and achievement honors will be handed out.

Although the Annie Awards can hardly be seen as a precursor for the results of the best animated feature in the Academy Awards, but this year's winner, "Rango," went on to take the Academy Award. Endi

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