Disney vs. the Annie Awards

The Annie Awards are the annual kudo-fest for animated features.  And now there appears to be trouble afoot as the Walt Disney corporation has seemingly bowed out of the organization.  Official statement from Disney-Pixar president Ed Catmull:

“We believe there is an issue with the way the Annies are judged, and have been seeking a mutually agreeable solution with the board.

Although some initial steps have been taken, the board informed us that no further changes would be made to address our concerns.”

It's been addressed that membership requirements for the Annies are purchased, not voted on by governing peers, and gossip appears to have surfaced that DreamWorks Animation has bought each new employee a membership.  Perhaps it's unsurprising when in 2008 the animated feature category was awarded to DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda, despite the competition of the vastly superior in every way triumph that was WALL-E.  It seemed that voting practices were changed after that year, but apparently not enough for Disney.  It remains to be seen what may come about for this years animated selection, which might potentially be free of Toy Story 3, now the highest grossing animated feature of all time, and what should be seen as a frontrunner, as well as Disney's fall animated film, Tangled.

Annie Awards at a glance:

2009- Up
2008- Kung Fu Panda
2007- Ratatouille
2006- Cars
2005- Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
2004- The Incredibles
2003- Finding Nemo
2002- Spirited Away
2001- Shrek
2000- Toy Story 2

Could this potentially just be sour grapes-- the Disney track record has been pretty strong this past decade.