VES Awards: ‘The Lion King,’ ‘Toy Story 4,’ ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ Lead With 5 Nominations
Nominations have been announced for the 18th annual VES Awards, recognizing outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials, and video games.
Disney’s The Lion King and Pixar’s Toy Story 4 lead the animation pack with five nominations apiece. Disney’s Frozen 2 and Laika’s Missing Link have four each, while 20th Century Fox’s hybrid Alita: Battle Angel also has five. In the broadcast categories, Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian — the Disney+ streaming service’s flagship series — and HBO’s Game of Thrones lead with six nominations each.
The nominees for best overall vfx in a photoreal (i.e. hybrid or live action) film are Alita: Battle Angel, Avengers: Endgame, Gemini Man, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and The Lion King. (All of those bar Gemini Man are Disney properties.) The equivalent category for animated films consists of Frozen 2, Klaus, Missing Link, The Lego Movie 2, and Toy Story 4.
Predictably, The Lion King has been classed as a photoreal entry. With the exception of the Golden Globes, major awards have consistently gone along with Disney’s campaign to present the film as a vfx contender, not the work of animation it really is. The ploy by Disney to falsely label The Lion King as not animated enables The Lion King to compete for awards separately from the company’s two other animated big hitters, Frozen 2 and Toy Story 4.
As of this year, animation productions were eligible in the three compositing categories, although none ended up being nominated. The VES committee also opened up the award for outstanding virtual cinematography to animation works, stating: “This decision reflects industry trends where live action and animation production are blending.” The Lion King and Toy Story 4 are both nominated in the category.
Interestingly, the hybrid reboot of Lady and the Tramp — the first Disney remake to be released exclusively on Disney+ — has been classed in the broadcast categories. It is a standalone feature film.
The winners in the 25 categories will be determined by members of the Visual Effects Society, which hosts the awards, and will be announced on January 29 at the Beverly Hilton in L.A. In addition, Martin Scorsese, whose The Irishman has two nominations, will be presented with the VES Lifetime Achievement Award. The VES Visionary Award will go to Roland Emmerich, and the VES Award for Creative Excellence will be presented to vfx supervisor Sheena Duggal.
The nominees for the 18th VES Awards are as follows:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
Alita: Battle Angel
Richard Hollander
Kevin Sherwood
Eric Saindon
Richard Baneham
Bob Trevino
Avengers: Endgame
Daniel DeLeeuw
Jen Underdahl
Russell Earl
Matt Aitken
Daniel Sudick
Gemini Man
Bill Westenhofer
Karen Murphy-Mundell
Guy Williams
Sheldon Stopsack
Mark Hawker
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Roger Guyett
Stacy Bissell
Patrick Tubach
Neal Scanlan
Dominic Tuohy
The Lion King
Robert Legato
Tom Peitzman
Adam Valdez
Andrew R. Jones
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
1917
Guillaume Rocheron
Sona Pak
Greg Butler
Vijay Selvam
Dominic Tuohy
Ford v Ferrari
Olivier Dumont
Kathy Siegel
Dave Morley
Malte Sarnes
Mark Byers
Joker
Edwin Rivera
Brice Parker
Mathew Giampa
Bryan Godwin
Jeff Brink
The Aeronauts
Louis Morin
Annie Godin
Christian Kaestner
Ara Khanikian
Mike Dawson
The Irishman
Pablo Helman
Mitchell Ferm
Jill Brooks
Leandro Estebecorena
Jeff Brink
Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature
Frozen 2
Steve Goldberg
Peter Del Vecho
Mark Hammel
Michael Giaimo
Klaus
Sergio Pablos
Matthew Teevan
Marcin Jakubowski
Szymon Biernack
Missing Link
Brad Schiff
Travis Knight
Steve Emerson
Benoit Dubuc
The Lego Movie 2
David Burgess
Tim Smith
Mark Theriault
John Rix
Toy Story 4
Josh Cooley
Mark Nielsen
Bob Moyer
Gary Bruins
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
Game of Thrones; “The Bells”
Joe Bauer
Steve Kullback
Ted Rae
Mohsen Mousavi
Sam Conway
His Dark Materials; “The Fight to the Death”
Russell Dodgson
James Whitlam
Shawn Hillier
Robert Harrington
Lady and the Tramp
Robert Weaver
Christopher Raimo
Arslan Elver
Michael Cozens
Bruno Van Zeebroeck
Lost in Space; “Ninety-Seven”
Jabbar Raisani
Terron Pratt
Niklas Jacobson
Juri Stanossek
Paul Benjamin
Stranger Things; “Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum”
Paul Graff
Tom Ford
Michael Maher Jr.
Martin Pelletier
Andy Sowers
The Mandalorian; “The Child”
Richard Bluff
Abbigail Keller
Jason Porter
Hayden Jones
Roy K. Cancion
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
Chernobyl; “1:23:45”
Max Dennison
Lindsay McFarlane
Clare Cheetham
Paul Jones
Claudius Christian Rauch
Living with Yourself; “Nice Knowing You”
Jay Worth
Jacqueline VandenBussche
Chris Wright
Tristan Zerafa
See; “Godflame”
Adrian de Wet
Eve Fizzinoglia
Matthew Welford
Pedro Sabrosa
Tom Blacklock
The Crown; “Aberfan”
Ben Turner
Reece Ewing
David Fleet
Jonathan Wood
Vikings; “What Happens in the Cave”
Dominic Remane
Mike Borrett
Ovidiu Cinazan
Tom Morrison
Paul Byrne
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project
Call of Duty Modern Warfare
Charles Chabert
Chris Parise
Attila Zalanyi
Patrick Hagar
Control
Janne Pulkkinen
Elmeri Raitanen
Matti Hämäläinen
James Tottman
Gears 5
Aryan Hanbeck
Laura Kippax
Greg Mitchell
Stu Maxwell
Myth: A Frozen Tale
Jeff Gipson
Nicholas Russell
Brittney Lee
Jose Luis Gomez Diaz
Vader Immortal: Episode I
Ben Snow
Mike Doran
Aaron McBride
Steve Henricks
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial
“Anthem Conviction”
Viktor Muller
Lenka Likarova
Chris Harvey
Petr Marek
“BMW Legend”
Michael Gregory
Christian Downes
Tim Kafka
Toya Drechsler
“Hennessy: The Seven Worlds”
Carsten Keller
Selcuk Ergen
Kiril Mirkov
William Laban
“PlayStation: Feel The Power of Pro”
Sam Driscoll
Clare Melia
Gary Driver
Stefan Susemihl
“Purdey’s: Hummingbird”
Jules Janaud
Emma Cook
Matthew Thomas
Philip Child
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project
Avengers: Damage Control
Michael Koperwas
Shereif Fattouh
Ian Bowie
Kishore Vijay
Curtis Hickman
Jurassic World: The Ride
Hayden Landis
Friend Wells
Heath Kraynak
Ellen Coss
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Asa Kalama
Rob Huebner
Khatsho Orfali
Susan Greenhow
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Jason Bayever
Patrick Kearney
Carol Norton
Bill George
Universal Sphere
James Healy
Morgan MacCuish
Ben West
Charlie Bayliss
Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature
Alita: Battle Angel; Alita
Michael Cozens
Mark Haenga
Olivier Lesaint
Dejan Momcilovic
Avengers: Endgame; Smart Hulk
Kevin Martel
Ebrahim Jahromi
Sven Jensen
Robert Allman
Gemini Man; Junior
Paul Story
Stuart Adcock
Emiliano Padovani
Marco Revelant
The Lion King; Scar
Gabriel Arnold
James Hood
Julia Friedl
Daniel Fortheringham
Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature
Frozen 2; The Water Nøkk
Svetla Radivoeva
Marc Bryant
Richard E. Lehmann
Cameron Black
Klaus; Jesper
Yoshimichi Tamura
Alfredo Cassano
Maxime Delalande
Jason Schwartzman
Missing Link; Susan
Rachelle Lambden
Brenda Baumgarten
Morgan Hay
Benoit Dubuc
Toy Story 4; Bo Peep
Radford Hurn
Tanja Krampfert
George Nguyen
Becki Rocha Tower
Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project
Lady and the Tramp; Tramp
Thiago Martins
Arslan Elver
Stanislas Paillereau
Martine Chartrand
Stranger Things 3; Tom/Bruce Monster
Joseph Dubé-Arsenault
Antoine Barthod
Frederick Gagnon
Xavier Lafarge
The Mandalorian; The Child; Mudhorn
Terry Bannon
Rudy Massar
Hugo Leygnac
The Umbrella Academy; Pilot; Pogo
Aidan Martin
Craig Young
Olivier Beierlein
Laurent Herveic
Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial
“Apex Legends”; Meltdown; Mirage
Chris Bayol
John Fielding
Derrick Sesson
Nole Murphy
“Churchill”; Churchie
Martino Madeddu
Philippe Moine
Clement Granjon
Jon Wood
“Cyberpunk 2077”; Dex
Jonas Ekman
Jonas Skoog
Marek Madej
Grzegorz Chojnacki
“John Lewis”; Excitable Edgar; Edgar
Tim van Hussen
Diarmid Harrison-Murray
Amir Bazzazi
Michael Diprose
Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature
Aladdin; Agrabah
Daniel Schmid
Falk Boje
Stanislaw Marek
Kevin George
Alita: Battle Angel; Iron City
John Stevenson-Galvin
Ryan Arcus
Mathias Larserud
Mark Tait
Motherless Brooklyn; Penn Station
John Bair
Vance Miller
Sebastian Romero
Steve Sullivan
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker; Pasaana Desert
Daniele Bigi
Steve Hardy
John Seru
Steven Denyer
The Lion King; The Pridelands
Marco Rolandi
Luca Bonatti
Jules Bodenstein
Filippo Preti
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature
Frozen 2; Giants’ Gorge
Samy Segura
Jay V. Jackson
Justin Cram
Scott Townsend
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World; The Hidden World
Chris Grun
Ronnie Cleland
Ariel Chisholm
Philippe Brochu
Missing Link; Passage to India Jungle
Oliver Jones
Phil Brotherton
Nick Mariana
Ralph Procida
Toy Story 4; Antiques Mall
Hosuk Chang
Andrew Finley
Alison Leaf
Philip Shoebottom
Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
Game of Thrones; The Iron Throne; Red Keep Plaza
Carlos Patrick DeLeon
Alonso Bocanegra Martinez
Marcela Silva
Benjamin Ross
Lost in Space; Precipice; The Trench
Philip Engström
Benjamin Bernon
Martin Bergquist
Xuan Prada
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance; The Endless Forest
Sulé Bryan
Charles Chorein
Christian Waite
Martyn Hawkins
The Mandalorian; Nevarro Town
Alex Murtaza
Yanick Gaudreau
Marco Tremblay
Maryse Bouchard
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project
Alita: Battle Angel
Emile Ghorayeb
Simon Jung
Nick Epstein
Mike Perry
The Lion King
Robert Legato
Caleb Deschanel
Ben Grossmann
AJ Sciutto
The Mandalorian; The Prisoner; The Roost
Richard Bluff
Jason Porter
Landis Fields IV
Baz Idione
Toy Story 4
Jean-Claude Kalache
Patrick Lin
Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project
Lost in Space; The Resolute
Xuan Prada
Jason Martin
Jonathan Vårdstedt
Eric Andersson
Missing Link; The Manchuria
Todd Alan Harvey
Dan Casey
Katy Hughes
The Man in the High Castle; Rocket Train
Neil Taylor
Casi Blume
Ben McDougal
Chris Kuhn
The Mandalorian; The Sin; The Razorcrest
Doug Chiang
Jay Machado
John Goodson
Landis Fields IV
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature
Dumbo; Bubble Elephants
Sam Hancock
Victor Glushchenko
Andrew Savchenko
Arthur Moody
Spider-Man: Far from Home; Molten Man
Adam Gailey
Jacob Santamaria
Jacob Clark
Stephanie Molk
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Don Wong
Thibault Gauriau
Goncalo Cababca
François-Maxence Desplanques
The Lion King
David Schneider
Samantha Hiscock
Andy Feery
Kostas Strevlos
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature
Abominable
Alex Timchenko
Domin Lee
Michael Losure
Eric Warren
Frozen 2
Erin V. Ramos
Scott Townsend
Thomas Wickes
Rattanin Sirinaruemarn
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World; Water and Waterfalls
Derek Cheung
Baptiste Van Opstal
Youxi Woo
Jason Mayer
Toy Story 4
Alexis Angelidis
Amit Baadkar
Lyon Liew
Michael Lorenzen
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
Game of Thrones; “The Bells”
Marcel Kern
Paul Fuller
Ryo Sakaguchi
Thomas Hartmann
“Hennessy: The Seven Worlds”
Selcuk Ergen
Radu Ciubotariu
Andreu Lucio
Vincent Ullmann
Lost in Space; “Precipice”; “Water Planet”
Juri Bryan
Hugo Medda
Kristian Olsson
John Perrigo
Stranger Things 3; “Melting Tom/Bruce”
Nathan Arbuckle
Christian Gaumond
James Dong
Aleksandr Starkov
The Mandalorian; “The Child”; “Mudhorn”
Xavier Martin Ramirez
Ian Baxter
Fabio Siino
Andrea Rosa
Outstanding Compositing in a Feature
Alita: Battle Angel
Adam Bradley
Carlo Scaduto
Hirofumi Takeda
Ben Roberts
Avengers: Endgame
Tim Walker
Blake Winder
Tobias Wiesner
Joerg Bruemmer
Captain Marvel; Young Nick Fury
Trent Claus
David Moreno Hernandez
Jeremiah Sweeney
Yuki Uehara
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Jeff Sutherland
John Galloway
Sam Bassett
Charles Lai
The Irishman
Nelson Sepulveda
Vincent Papaix
Benjamin O’Brien
Christopher Doerhoff
Outstanding Compositing in an Episode
Game of Thrones; “The Bells”
Sean Heuston
Scott Joseph
James Elster
Corinne Teo
Game of Thrones; “The Long Night”; “Dragon Ground Battle”
Mark Richardson
Darren Christie
Nathan Abbot
Owen Longstaff
Stranger Things 3; “Starcourt Mall Battle”
Simon Lehembre
Andrew Kowbell
Karim El-Masry
Miklos Mesterhazy
Watchmen; “Pilot”; “Looking Glass”
Nathaniel Larouche
Iyi Tubi
Perunika Yorgova
Mitchell Beaton
Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial
“BMW Legend”
Toya Drechsler
Vivek Tekale
Guillaume Weiss
Alexander Kulikov
“Feeding America: I Am Hunger in America”
Dan Giraldo
Marcelo Pasqualino
Alexander Koester
“Hennessy: The Seven Worlds”
Rod Norman
Guillaume Weiss
Alexander Kulikov
Alessandro Granella
“PlayStation: Feel the Power of Pro”
Gary Driver
Stefan Susemihl
Greg Spencer
Theajo Dharan
Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal or Animated Project
Aladdin; Magic Carpet
Mark Holt
Jay Mallet
Will Wyatt
Dickon Mitchell
Game of Thrones; “The Bells”
Sam Conway
Terry Palmer
Laurence Harvey
Alastair Vardy
Terminator: Dark Fate
Neil Corbould
David Brighton
Ray Ferguson
Keith Dawson
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance; “She Knows All the Secrets”
Sean Mathiesen
Jon Savage
Toby Froud
Phil Harvey
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project
Downfall
Matias Heker
Stephen Moroz
Bradley Cocksedge
Love and Fifty Megatons
Denis Krez
Josephine Roß
Paulo Scatena
Lukas Löffler
Oeil pour Oeil
Alan Guimont
Thomas Boileau
Malcom Hunt
Robin Courtoise
The Beauty
Marc Angele
Aleksandra Todorovic
Pascal Schelbli
Noel Winzen
