Academy Award for Best Visual Effects facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Academy Award for Best Visual Effects |
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| Presented by | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) |
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | Wings (1929) |
| Currently held by | Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer Dune: Part Two (2024) |
The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is a super cool award given out every year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It celebrates the movies that have the most amazing and realistic visual effects. Since 1980, this award has been given to the four main people who created these awesome effects for a film.
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History of Visual Effects Awards
The Academy first started recognizing special effects way back in 1929. They gave a special award for "Best Engineering Effects" to the movie Wings, which was also the first film to win the Best Picture Oscar. This movie was about flying in World War I.
Later, in 1933, a producer named David O. Selznick wanted the Academy to honor Willis H. O'Brien for his amazing work on the original King Kong. But at that time, there wasn't a specific award for visual effects.
It wasn't until 1938 that a film actually won an award for its effects. The movie Spawn of the North received a "Special Achievement Award for Special Effects." The next year, "Best Special Effects" became an official category. For many years, this award covered both visual effects (what you see) and audio effects (what you hear). So, sometimes two people would win, one for visuals and one for sound. For example, in 1949, Willis H. O'Brien won for his work on Mighty Joe Young.
In 1964, the award changed to focus only on visual effects. The next year, it was renamed "Best Special Visual Effects." In 1977, it got its current name: "Best Visual Effects." For a long time, a special committee picked the movies that would be considered for the award. Now, the visual effects experts in the Academy choose them.
Some animated films have even been nominated for this award! These include The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), and The Lion King (2019). Movies that mix animation with live-action have also won, like Mary Poppins (1964), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). In 2024, Godzilla Minus One made history by becoming the first non-English movie to win this award!
How Winners Are Chosen
In 1979, five movies were nominated for Best Visual Effects. For the next 30 years, usually three films were nominated each year, though sometimes there were only two, or even just one film was given the award.
Since 2010, the Academy first picks a list of ten movies that are considered the best in visual effects. Then, they vote to choose five final nominees. No more than four people can be nominated for their work on a single film.
The official rules for this award say that judges look at two main things:
- How much the visual effects help the movie overall.
- How artistic, skillful, and realistic the visual tricks are.
Amazing Filmmakers
Many famous filmmakers have had their movies honored for their incredible visual effects. For example, director James Cameron (who started his career working on effects!) has had six of his films win or be nominated. George Pal produced five films that were recognized, and director/producer George Lucas also had five. Other directors like Richard Fleischer, Steven Spielberg, and Peter Jackson have had four films each.
Only two directors have actually won this award themselves: Stanley Kubrick for his groundbreaking movie 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968, and Takashi Yamazaki for Godzilla Minus One in 2023. For 2001, many people felt that the actual effects artists should have won, but the rules at the time meant Kubrick's name was submitted.
Early Awards for Effects
Here are some of the first films and people who won or were nominated for special effects awards.
1920s
| Year | Film | Nominees |
|---|---|---|
| 1927–28 (1st) |
Wings | Roy Pomeroy |
| Ralph Hammeras (photographic) | ||
| Nugent Slaughter (photographic) | ||
1930s
| Year | Film | Nominees |
|---|---|---|
| 1938 (11th) |
Spawn of the North | For outstanding achievement in creating Special Photographic and Sound Effects in the Paramount production Spawn of the North. Special Effects by Gordon Jennings, assisted by Jan Domela, Dev Jennings, Irmin Roberts and Art Smith. Transparencies by Farciot Edouart, assisted by Loyal Griggs. Sound Effects by Loren Ryder, assisted by Harry Mills, Louis Mesenkop and Walter Oberst. |
| 1939 (12th) |
The Rains Came | Fred Sersen (photographic); E. H. Hansen (sound) |
| Gone with the Wind | Jack Cosgrove (photographic); Fred Albin and Arthur Johns (sound) | |
| Only Angels Have Wings | Roy Davidson (photographic); Edwin C. Hahn (sound) | |
| The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex | Byron Haskin (photographic); Nathan Levinson (sound) | |
| Topper Takes a Trip | Roy Seawright (photographic) | |
| Union Pacific | Farciot Edouart and Gordon Jennings (photographic); Loren Ryder (sound) | |
| The Wizard of Oz | A. Arnold Gillespie (photographic); Douglas Shearer (sound) |
1940s
| Year | Film | Nominees |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 (13th) |
The Thief of Bagdad | Lawrence Butler (photographic); Jack Whitney (sound) |
| The Blue Bird | Fred Sersen (photographic); E. H. Hansen (sound) | |
| Boom Town | A. Arnold Gillespie (photographic); Douglas Shearer (sound) | |
| The Boys from Syracuse | John P. Fulton (photographic); Bernard B. Brown and Joseph Lapis (sound) | |
| Dr. Cyclops | Gordon Jennings and Farciot Edouart (photographic) | |
| Foreign Correspondent | Paul Eagler (photographic); Thomas T. Moulton (sound) | |
| The Invisible Man Returns | John P. Fulton (photographic); Bernard B. Brown and William Hedgcock (sound) | |
| The Long Voyage Home | R. T. Layton and R. O. Binger (photographic); Thomas T. Moulton (sound) | |
| One Million B.C. | Roy Seawright (photographic); Elmer Raguse (sound) | |
| Rebecca | Jack Cosgrove (photographic); Arthur Johns (sound) | |
| The Sea Hawk | Byron Haskin (photographic); Nathan Levinson (sound) | |
| Swiss Family Robinson | Vernon L. Walker (photographic); John O. Aalberg (sound) | |
| Typhoon | Farciot Edouart and Gordon Jennings (photographic); Loren Ryder (sound) | |
| Women in War | Howard J. Lydecker, William Bradford, and Ellis J. Thackery (photographic); Herbert Norsch (sound) |
Visual Effects Awards (Modern Era)
The award for "Best Visual Effects" has been given to many incredible films over the years. Here are some of the winners from recent decades.
2000s
- In the 2000s, movies like Gladiator (2000) and the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003) won for their amazing effects. Spider-Man 2 (2004) and King Kong (2005) also took home the Oscar. The Pirates of the Caribbean series won in 2006, and The Golden Compass (2007) was recognized for its magical creatures. The decade ended with wins for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and the groundbreaking Avatar (2009).
2010s
- The 2010s continued to showcase incredible visual effects. Inception (2010) won for its mind-bending visuals, followed by Hugo (2011) and Life of Pi (2012), which featured a stunning tiger. Gravity (2013) impressed with its space scenes, and Interstellar (2014) won for its realistic black hole. Ex Machina (2015) was recognized for its lifelike robot. The Jungle Book (2016) brought animals to life, and Blade Runner 2049 (2017) created a futuristic world. First Man (2018) showed us the moon landing, and 1917 (2019) looked like one continuous shot.
2020s
- In the 2020s, Tenet (2020) won for its time-bending effects. Dune (2021) was honored for its alien landscapes and sandworms, and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) amazed with its underwater world. Most recently, Godzilla Minus One (2023) won for its impressive monster effects, and Dune: Part Two (2024) continued the saga's visual excellence.
Artists with Many Awards
Some visual effects artists have won the Academy Award multiple times!
- 8 awards
- Dennis Muren
- 5 awards
- Gordon Jennings
- Ken Ralston
- Joe Letteri
- 4 awards
- L. B. Abbott
- Richard Edlund
- Paul Lambert
- Glen Robinson
- 3 awards
- Randall William Cook
- Farciot Edouart
- John P. Fulton
- Alex Funke
- A. Arnold Gillespie
- Andrew Lockley
- Louis Mesenkop
- Gerd Nefzer
- Carlo Rambaldi
- Jim Rygiel
- Stan Winston
- Robert Legato
Artists with Many Nominations
Some artists have been nominated for this award many times, showing how consistently good their work is!
- 15 nominations
- Dennis Muren
- 13 nominations
- Dan Sudick
- 12 nominations
- A. Arnold Gillespie
- 11 nominations
- John Frazier
- Joe Letteri
- 10 nominations
- Richard Edlund
- Farciot Edouart
- Gordon Jennings
Movie Series with Multiple Awards
Some movie series are so good at visual effects that they've won multiple awards!
- 3 Wins
- Middle-earth (The Lord of the Rings films)
- Star Wars
- Alien
- Avatar
- Dune
- Indiana Jones
- King Kong
Super Cool Facts
Here are some interesting facts about the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects:
- Most awards: Dennis Muren has won 8 awards!
- Most nominations: Dennis Muren has been nominated 15 times!
- Most nominations without a win: Dan Sudick has been nominated 13 times but hasn't won yet.
- Oldest winner: L. B. Abbott was 68 years old when he won for Logan's Run in 1976.
- Oldest nominee: John Frazier was 69 years old when he was nominated for The Lone Ranger in 2013.
- Youngest winner: Tatsuji Nojima was 25 years old when he won for Godzilla Minus One in 2023.
- Youngest nominee: Tatsuji Nojima was also the youngest nominee at 25 years old for Godzilla Minus One in 2023.
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See Also
In Spanish: Anexo:Óscar a los mejores efectos visuales para niños
- Saturn Award for Best Special Effects
- BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects
- Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Visual Effects
