Academy Award for Best Visual Effects facts for kids

The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is a special prize given each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It celebrates the very best visual effects in movies. Since 1980, this award has been given to four people who were directly responsible for creating these amazing effects in a film.

History of the Visual Effects Award

How the Award Started

The Academy first recognized special effects way back in 1929. They gave a special award for "Best Engineering Effects" to the movie Wings. This film was also the first to win the Best Picture Oscar.

Later, in 1933, a producer named David O. Selznick wanted the Academy to recognize the amazing work of animator Willis H. O'Brien for the movie King Kong. But at that time, there wasn't a specific award category for visual effects.

Becoming an Official Category

It wasn't until 1938 that a film, Spawn of the North, received a "Special Achievement Award for Special Effects." The next year, "Best Special Effects" became an official award category. For many years, from 1939 to 1963, this award covered both visual effects and sound effects. This meant it was often given to two people.

In 1964, the award focused only on visual effects. The following year, its name changed to "Best Special Visual Effects." In 1977, it finally got its current name: "Best Visual Effects."

Notable Winners and Nominees

Over the years, some animated films have been nominated for this award. These include The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), and The Lion King (2019).

Some movies that mix animation with live-action have also won. These are Mary Poppins (1964), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).

In 2024, Godzilla Minus One made history. It became the first non-English language film to win the Best Visual Effects Oscar.

Rules for Visual Effects Awards

How Films Are Chosen

In 1979, five films were nominated for Best Visual Effects. For many years after that, there were usually three nominees. Sometimes, only two films were nominated, or just one film received the award directly.

Since 2010, the process has become more structured. First, a list of ten films is chosen as finalists. Then, using a special voting method, five films are selected as the official nominees. No more than four people can be nominated for their work on a single film.

What the Judges Look For

The official Academy Award rules state that judges consider two main things:

• How much the visual effects help the movie overall.
• How artistic, skillful, and realistic the visual tricks are.

Filmmakers and Visual Effects

Many famous filmmakers have had their movies honored for amazing visual effects. For example, director James Cameron (who started as an effects technician) has had six of his films recognized. George Lucas has had five films, and Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson have each had four.

Only two directors have actually won this award themselves. Stanley Kubrick won for his movie 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. More recently, Japanese filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki won for Godzilla Minus One in 2023. For 2001, many people felt that the visual effects artists deserved the award more than Kubrick, but at the time, only three people could be nominated, and Kubrick's name was submitted.

Artists with Many Awards

Some visual effects artists have won this award multiple times:

• Dennis Muren has won the most, with 8 awards.
• Gordon Jennings, Ken Ralston, and Joe Letteri have each won 5 awards.
• L. B. Abbott, Richard Edlund, Paul Lambert, and Glen Robinson have each won 4 awards.
• Many others have won 2 or 3 awards, showing their consistent talent in the field.

Franchises with Top Visual Effects

Some movie series, or "franchises," have won or been nominated for many visual effects awards:

Multiple Wins

• The Middle-earth movies (like The Lord of the Rings) have won 3 times.
• The Star Wars movies have also won 3 times.
• The Alien, Avatar, Dune, Indiana Jones, and King Kong franchises have each won 2 times.

Multiple Nominations

• The MCU films have the most nominations, with 14!
• Star Wars movies have been nominated 10 times.
• Alien and Middle-earth films have 5 nominations each.
• The Planet of the Apes movies have 4 nominations.
• Many other popular franchises like Avengers, Batman, Guardians of the Galaxy, James Bond, Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man, and Wizarding World have 3 nominations each.

Interesting Facts About the Award

• Most awards: Dennis Muren has won 8 times.
• 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 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.

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
• List of Academy Award–nominated films
• Visual Effects Society Awards