Oscars 2017: ‘The Jungle Book’ Wins For Best Visual Effects

Rob Legato, Adam Valdez, Andy Jones, and Dan Lemmon won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects last night for their work on Disney’s The Jungle Book. The remake of the Disney animated feature of the same name from 1967 is considered a live-action film although there is very little live action to be seen.

Best Visual Effects Goes To ‘The Jungle Book’

Director Jon Favreau (Elf, Iron Man, Chef), had his visual effects team build an entire world around the only live-action actor in the entire film – Neel Sethi who plays Mowgli. While filming the movie, Sethi acted on a green-screen stage, aided only by whatever piece of set he was standing or climbing on. The rest of the film – the jungle and the other characters – was entirely computer generated.

With this win, Legato added a third trophy to his Oscar collection, having previously won in the same category for his work on Hugo and Titanic. It was the second win for Jones who had won the same award in 2010 for his work on Avatar. It was the first win for both Valdez and Lemmon although Lemmon had been nominated in the past for his work on Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

The techniques that the visual effects team used in The Jungle Book will again be utilized in the undated sequel. Favreau is also slated to direct and produce Disney’s live-action remake of The Lion King and is expected to gather the same Academy Award winning team of visual effect artists.

Donald Glover and James Earl Jones, who voiced Mufasa in the original, are both expected to be part of the remake.

The Jungle Book beat out Deepwater Horizon, Doctor Strange, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story for the Best Visual Effects award.