Happy Feet was a huge hit at the cinema box office

The animated musical beat off competition from Flushed Away, Bridge to Terabithia, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

But Happy Feet lost out to The Simpsons Movie in a separate category in which under-16s voted for their favourite film of the year.

The awards ceremony, now in its 12th year, was held in London.

Breakthrough talent

The junior version of the British Academy's annual awards was hosted by Keith Chegwin, and included computer games for the first time.

PlayStation 2 quiz game Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party received the gong, defeating Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on the Xbox 360, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga on the Nintendo DS, and Crash of the Titans for the Wii.

Other winners included CBeebies, which was named best channel, and Aardman - the team behind Wallace and Gromit - was named independent production company of the year.

Barney Harwood was named best presenter

Barney Harwood, host of now-cancelled BBC Sunday morning programme Smile, won the category for best presenter.

The award for breakthrough talent went to Charles Martin, who debuted last year as lead director of ITV comedy My Life As A Popat.

CBBC Newsround's The Wrong Trainers, which turned real stories about child poverty into short animated films, won the factual category.

That Summer Day, a BBC drama which dealt with the 7 July attacks on London from a child's perspective, received the award for the year's best drama.

The evening's special award went to Mick Robertson, presenter of ITV children's show Magpie in the 1970s and now a multi-award winning producer.

He said: "I am hugely proud to be receiving my Bafta award. My television career has been entirely spent in making programmes for children. There is no more important audience.

"All my programmes have been in the factual entertainment genre which is fast disappearing from children's screens because of its minority appeal.