2017 VES Awards: ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ Breaks 19-In-A-Row Disney Win Streak [Full List of Winners]
Animated features by the Walt Disney Company have won 19 animation awards in a row during the last five years of the VES Awards (including three tonight), but the streak was finally broken by Laika’s Kubo and The Two Strings which won the top prize for outstanding visual effects in an animated feature.
Despite leading the animation pack with six nominations, Kubo lost its first five nominations earlier in the evening to Moana (winner of two awards) and Finding Dory (which won for best animated performance). It salvaged the evening at the last moment by taking the final award, marking the first time since 2012 that a non-Disney animated feature had been honored by members of the Disney-leaning Visual Effects Society.
On the photoreal front, Disney’s The Jungle Book dominated the evening with five awards, and Game of Thrones led the way as usual on the broadcast side, also with five awards.
For commercials, this John Lewis holiday spot won three honors:
The VES Awards were handed out this evening at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. In addition to the competitive categories, a lifetime achievement honor was presented to vfx veteran Ken Ralston, who we interviewed on Cartoon Brew earlier today, and the Visionary Award was given to Marvel Studios executive vice president of physical production Victoria Alonso, also profiled on the Brew a few months ago.
A complete list of winners can be found below.
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
The Jungle Book
Robert Legato
Joyce Cox
Andrew R. Jones
Adam Valdez
JD Schwalm
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
Deepwater Horizon
Craig Hammack
Petra Holtorf-Stratton
Jason Snell
John Galloway
Burt Dalton
Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature
Kubo and the Two Strings
Travis Knight
Arianne Sutner
Steve Emerson
Brad Schiff
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards
Joe Bauer
Steve Kullback
Glenn Melenhorst
Matthew Rouleau
Sam Conway
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode
Black Sails; XX
Erik Henry
Terron Pratt
Aladino Debert
Yafei Wu
Paul Stephenson
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project
Uncharted 4
Bruce Straley
Eben Cook
Iki Ikram
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial
John Lewis; Buster the Boxer
Diarmid Harrison-Murray
Hannah Ruddleston
Fabian Frank
William Laban
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project
Pirates of the Caribbean; Battle for the Sunken Treasure
Bill George
Amy Jupiter
Hayden Landis
David Lester
Outstanding Animated Performance in a Photoreal Feature
The Jungle Book; King Louie
Paul Story
Dennis Yoo
Jack Tema
Andrei Coval
Outstanding Animated Performance in an Animated Feature
Finding Dory; Hank
Jonathan Hoffman
Steven Clay Hunter
Mark Piretti
Audrey Wong
Outstanding Animated Performance in an Episode or Real-Time Project
Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards; Drogon
James Kinnings
Michael Holzl
Matt Derksen
Joeseph Hoback
Outstanding Animated Performance in a Commercial
John Lewis; Buster the Boxer
Tim van Hussen
David Bryan
Chloe Dawe
Maximillian Mallman
Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature
Doctor Strange; New York City
Adam Watkins
Martijn van Herk
Tim Belsher
Jon Mitchell
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature
Moana; Motonui Island
Rob Dressel
Andy Harkness
Brien Hindman
Larry Wu
Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards; Meereen City
Deak Ferrand
Dominic Daigle
François Croteau
Alexandru Banuta
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project
The Jungle Book
Bill Pope
Robert Legato
Gary Roberts
John Brennan
Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project
Deepwater Horizon; Deepwater Horizon Rig
Kelvin Lau
Jean Bolte
Kevin Sprout
Kim Vongbunyong
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature
The Jungle Book; Nature Effects
Oliver Winwood
Fabian Nowak
David Schneider
Ludovic Ramisandraina
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature
Moana
Marc Henry Bryant
David Hutchins
Ben Frost
Dale Mayeda
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project
Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards; Meereen City
Thomas Hullin
Dominik Kirouac
James Dong
Xavier Fourmond
Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Feature
The Jungle Book
Christoph Salzmann
Masaki Mitchell
Matthew Adams
Max Stummer
Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode
Game of Thrones; Battle of the Bastards; Retaking Winterfell
Dominic Hellier
Morgan Jones
Thijs Noij
Caleb Thompson
Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Commercial
John Lewis; Buster the Boxer
Tom Harding
Alex Snookes
David Filipe
Andreas Feix
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project
Breaking Point
Johannes Franz
Nicole Rothermel
Thomas Sali
Alexander Richter