Awards triumph for Gromit movie

The film was nominated for 15 awards at the Annies

Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit has dominated Hollywood's annual animation awards, the Annies, winning nine prizes.

The British-made film was named best animated feature, beating fellow Oscar contenders Corpse Bride and Howl's Moving Castle to the top prize.

The film also picked up directing honours for Nick Park and Steve Box, plus awards for music and writing.

Actor Peter Sallis, the voice of Wallace, won an award for voice acting.

Sallis, 85, has been the voice of Wallace since Park began making films as a student.

The film picked up further awards in character animation, effects, storyboarding and production design.

Sallis is best-known for his role in TV's Last of the Summer Wine

Produced by Aardman Animations, The Curse of the WereRabbit marks Wallace and Gromit's first appearance in a feature-length film.

It pits the cheese-obsessed inventor and his faithful dog against a monster rabbit ravaging the town's vegetable gardens.

The claymation duo have previously earned creator Nick Park two Oscars.

Stop-motion animation

It is Aardman's second feature-length production with US studio Dreamworks, following the 2000 box office hit Chicken Run.

The awards, presented by the International Animated Film Society, often predict the winner of the best animated film category at the forthcoming Academy Awards.

Wallace and Gromit's success mirrors the Oscar nominations, where the Academy signalled a move away from computer-animated films.

Both Park's film and the Corpse Bride favour the stop-motion technique, while the third Academy Award nominee is the hand-drawn Howl's Moving Castle, from Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki.