Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature


The Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Visual Effects Society starting from 2002. Since its inception, the award's title has gone through six different title changes, and one major category shift. First awarded in 2002, the award was titled "Outstanding Character Animation in a Live Action Motion Picture" and given to the best character animation in a live action film, with no specific character cited. This would change in 2004, when the category was re-titled "Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture", and given to visual effects artists for work on a specified character. The category was again re-titled in 2008, this time to "Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture". In 2014, it was titled "Outstanding Performance of an Animated Character in a Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture", but changed in 2016 to "Outstanding Animated Performance in a Photoreal Feature" and once again in 2017 to its current title.

Winners and nominees

2000s

Outstanding Character Animation in a Live Action Motion Picture
YearFilmCharacterNominee
2002
Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Ken McGaugh and Bay Raitt
2002
Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsDobby's FaceDavid Andrews, Steven Rawlins, Frank Gravatt and Doug Smythe
2002
'Rob Coleman, Hal Hickel, Chris Armstrong and James Tooley
2003Steven Hornby, Andy Serkis, Matthias Menz, and Greg Butler
2003HulkScott Benza, Jamy Wheless, Kevin Martel and Aaron Ferguson
2003'Susan Campbell, James Tooley, Geoff Campbell and Dugan Beach

Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture
YearFilmCharacterNominee
2004]
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanHippogriffMichael Eames, David Lomax, Felix Balbas and Pablo Grillo
2004]
HellboySammaelDovi Anderson, Todd Labonte, Sven Jensen and Paul Thuriot
2004]
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate EventsSunnyRick O'Connor, Martin Murphy, Indira Guettieri and Sam Breach
2005
King KongKing KongAndy Serkis, Christian Rivers, Atsushi Sato, Guy Williams
2005
'AslanRichie Baneham, Erik De Boer, Matt Logue, Joe Ksander
2005
Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireDragonSteve Rawlins, Eric Wong, Robert Weaver and Steve Nichols
2006
Davy JonesSteve Walton, Jung-Seung Hong, Marc Chu and James Tooley
2006
Charlotte's WebTempletonTodd Labonte, Jason Armstrong, Sven Jensen and David Richard Nelson
2006
Charlotte's WebWilburGrant Adam, Daniel Fotheringham, Avi Goodman and Paul Buckley
2007
Davy JonesHal Hickel, Marc Chu, Jakub Pistecky, Maia Kayser
2007
EnchantedPipTom Gibbons, James W. Brown, David Richard Nelson and John Koester
2007
I Am LegendInfected LeaderDavid Schaub, Marco Marenghi and Josh Beveridge
2007
Spider-Man 3SandmanChris Yang, Bernd Anger, Dominick Cecere and Remington Scott
2007
TransformerOptimus PrimeRick O'Connor, Doug Sutton, Keiji Yamaguchi and Jeff White
2007
'CrusoeRichard Francis-Moore, Martin Hill, Marco Revelant and Daniel Barrett

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
YearFilmCharacterNominee
2008
The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonBenjamin ButtonSteve Preeg, Matthias Wittmann, Tom St. Amand and David McLean
2008
'Elemental SequenceColin McEvoy and Christoph Ammann
2008
Iron ManIron ManHal Hickel, Bruce Holcomb, James Tooley and John Walker
2008
The Spiderwick ChroniclesHogsquealTodd Labonte, Michael Brunet, Nathan Fredenburg and Aharon Bourland
2009
AvatarNeytiriJoe Letteri, Andrew R. Jones, Jeff Unay and Zoe Saldana'
2009
District 9Christopher JohnsonSteve Nichols, Jeremy Mesana, Vera Zivny and Brett Ineson
2009
G-ForceBuckyBenjamin Cinelli, Dustin Wicke, Peter Tieryas and Ryan Yee
2009
Watchmen''Doctor ManhattanKeith Smith, Kevin Hudson, Victor Schutz and Aaron Campbell

2010s

Outstanding Performance of an Animated Character in a Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture
YearFilmCharacterNominee
2014
Dawn of the Planet of the ApesCaesarPaul Story, Eteuati Tema, Andrea Merlo and Emiliano Padovani
2014
Dawn of the Planet of the ApesKobaDaniel Barrett, Alessandro Bonora, Mark Edward Allen and Masaya Suzuki
2014
Guardians of the GalaxyRocketKevin Spruce, Rachel Williams, Laurie Brugger and Mark Wilson
2014
MaleficentThistlewitDarren Hendler, Matthias Wittmann, Jeremy Buttell and Elliot Rosenstein

Outstanding Animated Performance in a Photoreal Feature
YearFilmCharacterNominee
2015
The RevenantThe BearMatt Shumway, Gaelle Morand, Karin Cooper and Leandro Estebecorena
2015
'The HulkJakub Pistecky, Lana Lan, John Walker and Sean Comer
2015
ChappieChappieChris Harvey, Mark Wendell and Robert Bourgeault
2015
'Maz KanataJoel Bodin, Arslan Elver, Ian Comley and Stephen Cullingford
2016
The Jungle BookKing LouiePaul Story, Dennis Yoo, Jack Tema and Andrei Coval
2016
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemNifflerLaurent Laban, Gabriel Beauvais-Tremblay, Luc Girard and Romain Rico
2016
The Jungle BookShere KhanChris Harvey, Mark Wendell and Robert Bourgeault
2016
Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryGrand Moff TarkinSven Jensen, Jee Young Park, Steve Walton and Cyrus Jam
2016
WarcraftDurotanSunny Wei, Brian Cantwell, Brian Paik and Jee Young Park

Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature
YearFilmCharacterNominee
2017
War for the Planet of the ApesCaesarSunny Wei, Dennis Yoo, Ludovic Chailloleau, Douglas McHale and Tim Forbes
2017
Blade Runner 2049RachaelAxel Akkeson, Stefano Carter, Wesley Chandler and Ian Cooke-Grimes
2017
'King KongLaurent Laban, Gabriel Beauvais-Tremblay, Luc Girard and Romain Rico
2017
War for the Planet of the ApesBad ApeEteuati Tema, Aidan Martin, Florian Fernandez and Mathias Larserud
2018
ThanosJan Philip Cramer, Darren Hendler, Paul Story and Sidney Kombo-Kintombo
2018
Christopher RobinTiggerArslan Elver, Kayn Garcia, Laurent Laban and Mariano Mendiburu
2018
'IndoraptorJance Rubinchik, Ted Lister, Yannick Gillain and Keith Ribbons
2018
Ready Player OneArt3misDave Shirk, Brian Cantwell, Jung-Seung Hong and Kim Ooi
2019
AlitaMichael Cozens, Mark Haenga, Olivier Lesaint, Dejan Momcliovic
2019
Smart HulkKevin Martel, Ebrahim Jahromi, Sven Jensen, Rober Allman
2019
Gemini ManJuniorPaul Story, Stuart Adcock, Emiliano Padovani, Marco Revelant
2019
The Lion KingScarGabriel Arnold, James Hood, Julia Friedl, Daniel Fortheringham

Superlatives

Films with Multiple Nominations

;2 Nominations
;3 Wins
;2 Wins