Handicapping VFX Candidates For The Little Gold Man

... as regards "Best Visual Effects".

... Members of the Academy’s visual effects branch will have their work cut out for them in narrowing this year’s wide-ranging field of big-screen spectacles down to 10 semi-finalists for the bakeoff stage in a few weeks, let alone settling on five nominees. ...

Two films are all but locked for recognition, one of them “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” Also strong in the category is another Disney film, Jon Favreau’s “The Jungle Book" and might as well be considered the front-runner in the category. ...

A notable latter-year entry is Marvel’s “Doctor Strange,” which dazzled audiences with “Inception”-like mind-bending effects. Speaking of which, “Captain America: Civil War” deserves a mention. ...

Duncan Jones’ “Warcraft” could be a favored son in ILM’s ranks. It may have met disastrous reviews but it was a grueling undertaking. A great effects reel at the bakeoff could easily sell it. ...

“Passengers” could be top of mind. The work was diverse and included a huge spaceship build, various environments within the ship, outer space, and, of course, the zero-gravity swimming pool sequence seen in trailers. ...

Steven Spielberg’s “The BFG” was a box office bust, [but] it still featured expert visual effects that transported the viewer to a world of giants. ... “Allied.” Robert Zemeckis’ World War II spy craft drama, feels like it was shot on location in 1940s London, and that’s thanks to the digital trickery Zemeckis loves so much. ...

Peter Berg’s “Deepwater Horizon” is an impressive entry this year, capturing the horrific disaster on the eponymous oil rig with aplomb. ... But some surprises could nose into the bakeoff list, like “Deadpool,” “A Monster Calls,” “Pete’s Dragon” or “Sully.” And movies like “Arrival,” “Star Trek Beyond” and “X-Men: Apocalypse” have obvious strengths as well. ...

An obvious question looms up here: if The Jungle Book is going to be considered for a Visual Effects Oscar, then why the hell aren't' Zootopia, Finding Dory and especially Moana (with all those dazzling ocean and wave effects) contenders?

There really isn't a compelling argument for excluding CG animated features from the category, since they're using the same hardware, software and often the same personnel to achieve identical images on-screen. Live-action and animated features compete together in other Academy categories. There's no reason that the Little Gold Man for VFX shouldn't encompass both kinds of movie-making. Seems only right.