‘The Wild Robot’ And ‘Dune: Part Two’ Lead 2025 VES Award Nominations
The Visual Effects Society (VES) has revealed the nominees for the upcoming 23nd edition of the annual VES Awards, recognizing outstanding visual effects in film, television, commercials, and video games.
The Wild Robot is the most-nominated animation production with five nods. The heartwarming science fiction story — based on a children’s book by Chris Brown about a lonely giant automaton washed ashore on an island — was directed by Chris Sanders, produced by Jeff Herrmann, and animated by Dreamworks Animation, with head of animation Jacob Hjort Jensen and visual effects supervisor Jeff Budsberg featuring among the nominees. The Wild Robot’s featured categories include nominations in the main category (outstanding visual effects), as well as character (Roz, the robot), environment (The Forest), effects simulations, and compositing & lighting.
Director Denis Villeneuve’s science fiction adaptation Dune: Part Two led the live-action feature categories with seven nominations, while the James Clavell historical drama Shōgun and the HBO/DC Comics series The Penguin tied in the episodic television field, each receiving four nominations.
The VES award categories for Dune: Part Two include nominations for outstanding visual effects in a photoreal feature, as well as outstanding environment (The Arrakeen Basin), cg cinematography, several model nominations, compositing & lighting, and an emerging technology award nomination for the project’s Nuke CopyCat compositing tool.
The 2025 VES Awards feature nominees in 25 categories that were selected by Society members during 49 in-person and virtual nomination events hosted worldwide over a 30-hour continuous process.
As previously announced, special honorees this year include actor-producer Hiroyuki Sanada, receiving the VES Award for Creative Excellence; director and vfx supervisor Takashi Yamazaki receiving the VES Visionary Award; and virtual reality/immersive technology pioneer Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie receiving the VES Georges Méliès Award.
The 23rd Annual VES Awards Gala will be presented Tuesday, February 11, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.
Below is the complete list of 2024 nominees.
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Better Man
Luke Millar, Andy Taylor, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs
Dune: Part Two
Paul Lambert, Brice Parker, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Erik Winquist, Julia Neighly, Paul Story, Danielle Immerman, Rodney Burke
Mufasa: The Lion King
Adam Valdez, Barry St. John, Audrey Ferrara, Daniel Fotheringham
Twisters
Ben Snow, Mark Soper, Florian Witzel, Susan Greenhow, Scott Fisher
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Blitz
Andrew Whitehurst, Sona Pak, Theo Demiris, Vincent Poitras, Hayley Williams
Civil War
David Simpson, Michelle Rose, Freddy Salazar, Chris Zeh, J.D. Schwalm
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
Jason Neese, Armen Fetulagian, Jamie Neese, J.P. Jaramillo
Nosferatu
Angela Barson, Lisa Renney, David Scott, Dave Cook, Pavel Ságner
Young Woman and the Sea
Richard Briscoe, Carrie Rishel, Jeremy Robert, Stéphane Dittoo, Ivo Jivkov
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Inside Out 2
Kelsey Mann, Mark Nielsen, Sudeep Rangaswamy, Bill Watral
Moana 2
Carlos Cabral, Tucker Gilmore, Ian Gooding, Gabriela Hernandez
The Wild Robot
Chris Sanders, Jeff Hermann, Jeff Budsberg, Jacob Hjort Jensen
Transformers One
Frazer Churchill, Fiona Chilton, Josh Cooley, Stephen King
Ultraman: Rising
Hayden Jones, Sean M. Murphy, Shannon Tindle, Mathieu Vig
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
Fallout; “The Head”
Jay Worth, Andrea Knoll, Grant Everett, Joao Sita, Devin Maggio
House of the Dragon; Season 2; “The Red Dragon and the Gold”
Daði Einarsson, Tom Horton, Sven Martin, Wayne Stables, Mike Dawson
Shōgun; “Anjin“
Michael Cliett, Melody Mead, Philip Engström, Ed Bruce, Cameron Waldbauer
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; “Episode 5″
John Knoll, Pablo Molles, Jhon Alvarado, Jeff Capogreco
The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; “Eldest”
Jason Smith, Tim Keene, Ann Podlozny, Ara Khanikian, Ryan Conder
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
Expats: “Home”
Robert Bock, Glorivette Somoza, Charles Labbé, Tim Emeis
Lady in the Lake; “It Has to Do With the Search for the Marvelous“
Jay Worth, Eddie Bonin, Joe Wehmeyer, Eric Levin-Hatz, Mike Myers
Masters of the Air “Part Three; The Regensburg-Schweinfurt Mission”
Stephen Rosenbaum, Bruce Franklin, Xavier Matia Bernasconi, David Andrews, Neil Corbould
The Penguin; “Bliss”
Johnny Han, Michelle Rose, Goran Pavles, Ed Bruce, Devin Maggio
The Tattooist of Auschwitz; “Pilot:
Simon Giles, Alan Church, David Schneider, James Hattsmith
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT
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Fabio Silva, Matthew Sherman, Caleb Essex, Bob Kopinsky
Destiny 2: The Final Shape
Dave Samuel, Ben Fabric, Eric Greenlief, Glenn Gamble
Star Wars Outlaws
Stephen Hawes, Lionel Le Dain, Benedikt Podlesnigg, Bogdan Draghici
What If…? – An Immersive Story
Patrick N.P. Conran, Shereif Fattouh, Zain Homer, Jax Lee
Until Dawn
Nicholas Chambers, Jack Hidde Glavimans, Alex Gabor
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL
YouTube TV NFL Sunday Ticket: “The Magic of Sunday”
Chris Bayol, Jeremy Brooks, Lane Jolly, Jacob Bergman
Disney; “Holidays 2024”
Adam Droy, Helen Tang, Christian Baker-Steele, David Fleet
Virgin Media; “Walrus Whizzer”
Sebastian Caldwell, Ian Berry, Ben Cronin, Alex Grey
Coca-Cola; “The Heroes”
Greg McKneally, Antonia Vlasto, Ryan Knowles, Fabrice Fiteni
Six Kings Slam; “Call of the Kings”
Ryan Knowles, Joe Billington, Dean Robinson, George Savvas
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT
D23; Real-Time Rocket
Evan Goldberg, Alyssa Finley, Jason Breneman, Alice Taylor
The Goldau Landslide Experience
Roman Kaelin, Gianluca Ravioli, Florian Baumann
MTV Video Music Awards; Slim Shady Live
Jo Plaete, Sara Mustafa, Cameron Jackson, Andries Courteaux
Tokyo DisneySea; Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure
Michael Sean Foley, Kirk Bodyfelt, Darin Hollings, Bert Klein, Maya Vyas
Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony; Run
Benjamin Le Ster, Gilles De Lusigman, Gerome Viavant, Romain Tinturier
OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Better Man: Robbie Williams
Milton Ramirez, Andrea Merlo, Seoungseok Charlie Kim, Eteuati Tema
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Noa
Rachael Dunk, Andrei Coval, John Sore, Niels Peter Kaagaard
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Raka
Seoungseok Charlie Kim, Giorgio Lafratta, Tim Teramoto, Aidan Martin
Mufasa: The Lion King; Taka
Klaus Skovbo, Valentina Rosselli, Eli De Koninck, Amelie Talarmain
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Inside Out 2; Anxiety
Alexander Alvarado, Brianne Francisco, Amanda Wagner, Brenda Lin Zhang
The Wild Robot; Roz
Fabio Lignini, Yukinori Inagaki, Owen Demers, Hyun Huh
Thelma The Unicorn; Vic Diamond
Guillaume Arantes, Adrien Montero, Anne-Claire Leroux, Gaspard Roche
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl; Gromit
Jo Fenton, Alison Evans, Andy Symanowski, Emanuel Nevado
OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Secret Level; Armored Core: Asset Management; Mech Pilot
Zsolt Vida, Péter Krucsai, Ágnes Vona, Enric Nebleza Pañella
Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred; Neyrelle
Chris Bostjanick, James Ma, Yeon-Ho Lee, Atsushi Ikarashi
John Wick: Chapter 4; Place de L’Étoile
Manuel Gaudreau, Fabrice Vienne, Vignesh Ravi, Laurent Makowski
Disney; Holidays 2024; Octopus
Alex Doyle, Philippe Moine, Lewis Pickston, Andrea Lacedelli
Ronja the Robber’s Daughter; Vildvittran the Queen Harpy
Nicklas Andersson, David Allan, Gustav Åhren, Niklas Wallén
OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Civil War; Washington, D.C.
Matthew Chandler, James Harmer, Robert Moore, Adrien Zeppieri
Dune: Part Two; The Arrakeen Basin
Daniel Rhein, Daniel Anton Fernandez, Marc James Austin, Christopher Anciaume
Gladiator II; Rome
Oliver Kane, Stefano Farci, John Seru, Frederick Vallee
Wicked; The Emerald City
Alan Lam, Steve Bevins, Deepali Negi, Miguel Sanchez López-Ruíz
OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Kung Fu Panda 4; Juniper City
Benjamin Lippert, Ryan Prestridge, Sarah Vawter, Peter Maynez
The Wild Robot; The Forest
John Wake, He Jung Park, Woojin Choi, Shane Glading
Transformers One; Iacon City
Alex Popescu, Geoffrey Lebreton, Ryan Kirby, Hussein Nabeel
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl The Aqueduct
Matt Perry, Dave Alex Riddett, Matt Sanders, Howard Jones
OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Dune: Prophecy; Pilot; The Imperial Palace
Scott Coates, Sam Besseau, Vincent l’Heureux, Lourenco Abreu
Dune: Prophecy: Two Wolves; Zimia Spaceport
Nils Weisbrod, David Anastacio, Rene Borst, Ruben Valente
Shōgun; Osaka
Manuel Martinez, Phil Hannigan, Keith Malone, Francesco Corvino
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Doomed to Die; Eregion
Yordan Petrov, Bertrand Cabrol, Lea Desrozier, Karan Dhandha
OUTSTANDING CG CINEMATOGRAPHY
Better Man
Blair Burke, Shweta Bhatnagar, Tim Walker, Craig Young
Dune: Part Two; Arrakis
Greig Fraser, Xin Steve Guo, Sandra Murta, Ben Wiggs
House of the Dragon; Season 2; The Red Dragon and the Gold; Battle at Rook’s Rest
Matt Perrin, James Thompson, Jacob Doehner, P.J. Dillon
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Egg Climb
Dennis Yoo, Angelo Perrotta, Samantha Erickstad, Miae Kang
OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT
Alien: Romulus; Renaissance Space Station
Waldemar Bartkowiak, Trevor Wide, Matt Middleton, Ben Shearman
Deadpool & Wolverine; Ant-Man Arena
Carlos Flores Gomez, Corinne Dy, Chris Byrnes, Gerald Blaise
Dune: Part Two; The Harkonnen Harvester
Andrew Hodgson, Timothy Russell, Erik Lehmann, Louie Cho
Gladiator II; The Colosseum
Oliver Kane, Marnie Pitts, Charlotte Fargier, Laurie Priest
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Dune: Part Two; Atomic Explosions and Wormriding
Nicholas Papworth, Sandy la Tourelle, Lisa Nolan, Christopher Phillips
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Burning Village, Rapids and Floods
Alex Nowotny, Claude Schitter, Frédéric Valleur, Kevin Kelm
Twisters
Matthew Hanger, Joakim Arnesson, Laurent Kermel, Zheng Yong Oh
Venom: The Last Dance; Water, Fire & Symbiote Effects
Xavi Martin Ramirez, Oscar Dahlen, Hedi Namar, Yuri Yang
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Kung Fu Panda 4
Jinguang Huang, Zhao Wang, Hamid Shahsavari, Joshua LaBrot
Moana 2
Zoran Stojanoski, Jesse Erickson, Shamintha Kalamba Arachchi, Erin V. Ramos
The Wild Robot
Derek Cheung, Michael Losure, David Chow, Nyoung Kim
Ultraman: Rising
Goncalo Cabaca, Zheng Yong Oh, Nicholas Yoon Joo Kuang, Praveen Boppana
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Avatar: The Last Airbender; Legends; Koizilla
Ioan Boieriu, David Stopford, Per Balay, Saysana Rintharamy
Shōgun; Broken to the Fist; Landslide
Dominic Tiedeken, Heinrich Löwe, Charles Guerton, Timmy Lundin
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Pilot; Spaceship Hillside Takeoff
Travis Harkleroad, Xiaolong Peng, Marcella Brown, Mickael Riciotti
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Shadow and Flame; Balrog Fire and Collapsing Cliff
Koenraad Hofmeester, Miguel Perez Senent, Miguel Santana Da Silva, Billy Copley
Three Body Problem; Judgement Day
Yves D’Incau, Gavin Templer, Martin Chabannes, Eloi Andaluz Fullà
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE
Better Man
Mark McNicholl, Gordon Spencer de Haseth, Eva Snyder, Markus Reithoffer
Dune: Part Two; Wormriding, Geidi Prime, and the Final Battle
Christopher Rickard, Francesco Dell’Anna, Paul Chapman, Ryan Wing
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Joerg Bruemmer, Zachary Brake, Tim Walker, Kaustubh A. Patil
The Wild Robot
Sondra L. Verlander, Baptiste Van Opstal, Eszter Offertaler, Austin Casale
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
Shōgun; Broken to the Fist; Landslide
Benjamin Bernon, Douglas Roshamn, Victor Kirsch, Charlie Raud
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Episode 6; Jaws
Rich Grande, Tomas Lefebvre, Ian Dodman, Rey Reynolds
The Boys; Season 4; Life Among the Septics
Tristan Zerafa, Mike Stadnyckyj, Toshi Kosaka, Rajeev BR
The Penguin; After Hours
Jonas Stuckenbrock, Karen Chang, Eugene Bondar, Miky Girón
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL
Virgin Media; “Walrus Whizzer”
Sebastian Caldwell, Alex Grey, Kanishk Chouhan, Shubham Mehta
Coca-Cola; “The Heroes”
Ryan Knowles, Alex Gabucci, Jack Powell, Dan Yarcigi
Corcept; “Marionette”
Yongchan Kim, Arman Matin, Yoon Bae, Rajesh Kaushik
Disney; “Holidays 2024”
Christian Baker-Steele, Luke Warpus, Pritesh Kotian, Jack Harris
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
Blitz
Hayley Williams, David Eves, Alex Freeman, David Watson
Constellation
Martin Goeres, Johara Raukamp, Lion David Bogus, Leon Mark
The Penguin; Safe Guns
Devin Maggio, Johnny Han, Cory Candrilli, Alexandre Prod’homme
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Dune: Part Two; Nuke CopyCat
Ben Kent, Guillaume Gales, Mairead Grogan, Johanna Barbier
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga; Artist-driven Machine Learning Character
John Bastian, Ben Ward, Thomas Rowntree, Robert Beveridge
Here; Neural Performance Toolset
Jo Plaete, Oriel Frigo, Tomas Koutsky, Matteo Oliviero Dancy
Mufasa: The Lion King;; Real-Time Interactive Filmmaking, From Stage To Post
Callum James, James Hood, Lloyd Bishop, Bruno Pedrinha
The Penguin; Phase Synced Flash-Gun System
Johnny Han, Jefferson Han, Joseph Menafra, Michael Pynn
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT
Dawn (entry from ESMA – École Supérieure Des Métiers Artistiques)
Noah Mercier, Apolline Royer, Lorys Stora, Marie Pradeilles
Student Accomplice (entry from Brigham Young University)
Spencer Blanchard, Lisa Bird, Anson Savage, Kiara Spencer
Pittura (entry from ARTFX – Schools of Digital Arts)
Lauriol Adam, Lassère Titouan, Vivenza Rémi, Marre Helloïs
Courage (entry from Supinfocom – Rubika)
Salomé Cognon, Margot Jacquet, Nathan Baudry, Lise Delcroix
