Oscars 2017: Predicting The Winners
9. Best Visual Effects
Will Win: The Jungle Book Should Win: The Jungle Book Surprise Win: Doctor Strange
Another live-action adaptation of a classic Disney animation, The Jungle Book exceeded expectations and grossed almost a billion dollars at the global box office. But all that anyone was talking about were the stunning visual effects work on Baloo, Bagheera, Shere Khan et al. Never have animals been realised in such breathtaking detail, further blurring the line between what is digital and what isn't.
People have anticipated The Jungle Book would win Best Visual Effects since its release, and it is unstoppable. Breaking new ground, every frame of the film is a remarkable achievement, showing us the future of realtisic VFX. There's no going back, and trailblazers have always been awarded in this category. Despite being a remake, the visual effects will be remembered in years to come even if the film isn't.
However, the trippy, M.C. Escher-style visuals of Doctor Strange are the closest thing that The Jungle Book has to a competitor. If there's going to be an upset, it will come from Marvel's 14th film. The MCU hasn't yet won this gong, and there is a precedent for VFX like these winning if you look back to Inception's victory.
But as imaginative and striking as its visual effects are, they are not any kind of revolutionary breakthrough in the way that The Jungle Book's effects are.