Top Story: ‘The Wild Robot’ And ‘Arcane’ Lead 52nd Annie Award Nominations

The ten remaining contenders for the best visual effects award at the Oscars have been announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The following films, whittled down from this initial list of 20 films, will go to the ‘vfx bake-off’ on January 7th. From the bake-off, five projects will become the nominees for the Academy Award. Cartoon Brew has already published extensive pieces on the vfx processes in four of those films, and those articles can be read by clicking on the linked titles:

The list includes a mix between major effects-driven blockbusters (Rogue One, Doctor Strange) and more subtle effects films (Arrival, Deepwater Horizon). A notable inclusion is Kubo and the Two Strings, which was marketed predominantly as a stop motion feature. (The last time a fully-animated film was nominated in the category was Henry Selick’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.)

Check out our previous run-down of the contenders here.

The final nominations are announced on January 24th, with the 89th Academy Awards to be held on February 26th.