The Oscars nominations are out, and as always, there are reasons to celebrate and reasons to get angry because [insert your movie/actor here] wasn't nominated. For a lot of people, the most obvious snub was Wonder Woman, which many thought had a solid chance at Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director. While Wonder Woman was without question a success, becoming one of the most beloved films of 2017 by fans and earning oodles of cash, was it well made enough to be nominated for Best Picture? Not in this writer's opinion, but an award isn't just a measure of a movie's worth or legacy. It's also a measure of what film industry types think about it based on merits of filmmaking.
That being said, it's not like Wonder Woman shouldn't have gotten nominated for any Oscars whatsoever. There are more than just three categories for the Academy Awards, after all. Superhero films don't tend to get much of a serious push for the "bigger" categories, but they do to earn spots in a lot more of the technical fields. I'm not saying that Wonder Woman did any of these better than what ended up being nominated, but it deserves a spot alongside the nominated films, at the very least. Here are three Oscar categories that Wonder Woman should have been nominated for. Do you agree?
Visual Effects
The Visual Effects category is usually the one that a superhero film or blockbuster is most likely going to be nominated for. This is mostly due to the high level of CGI used throughout these movies, and with the typically high production budgets, studios can afford to make these effects look really good. While the use of CGI in Wonder Woman was not as strong in movies like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 or War for the Planet of the Apes, it still boasted some impressive technology. Elements of the visual effects were certainly strong, like in the No Man's Land sequence or the final fight with Ares. While the latter is too reliant on CGI, this category isn't about judging the amount of CGI.
Costume Design
More often than not, the Costume Design category is populated by period films, which is pretty easy to understand why. There's a challenge in recreating the clothes of decades past, and the level of detail and research that goes into making the movie as believable as possible is extremely impressive. This year saw nominations like Darkest Hour and Phantom Thread, but we can't forget that Wonder Woman is also a period film. The movie is set during the events of World War I, and thus characters are dressed in appropriate attire. Not only is there impressive costuming for casual citizens and soldiers, but the Amazons are also a sight to behold in their armor, and clearly a lot of work went into to designing their look. And of course, there's Diana herself and her Wonder Woman armor.
Production Design
Production design is essentially creating the visual look of everything you see in a movie. As opposed to say, the cinematographer, who oversees the camera and lighting departments, the production designer is in charge of the art. Everything from the location, the sets, all the props and dressings you see in the set, is the production designers responsibility. It's a key part of any film, and Wonder Woman has some pretty nice production design. Again, the number of details that went into creating an accurate looking wartime London and battlefields are great, but arguably the main attraction is Themyscira. The island and its people feel vibrant and lived in, and though we don't get to spend much time there, it leaves a strong impression. That's not an easy thing to do.
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