Visual effects artists criticize the 2020 Oscars for a joke that blamed the failure of Cats on poor CGI. Released this past holiday season, director Tom Hooper’s adaptation of the famous musical became a rather infamous bomb to close out 2019. Widely panned by critics, Cats flopped at the box office and was on pace to lose a whopping $71 million. Things were so bad, Universal opted to pull award considerations for the film, focusing their efforts instead on better-received films like 1917.

While the studio didn’t campaign for Cats to receive Oscar nominations, the film still had a presence at the 92nd Academy Awards. Presenters James Corden and Rebel Wilson, both of whom starred in Cats, appeared onstage dressed in costumes as they handed out the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. The bit included a joke where the two said that since they were in Cats, they understood “the importance of good visual effects.” Cats, of course, was mocked for the “digital fur technology” used to make its actors look like CGI animals. Not everyone found this wisecrack funny, including the Visual Effects Society.

Per THR, the Visual Effects Society issued a statement criticizing the Oscars for the handling of the Best Visual Effects presentation. In it, they express hope future ceremonies will “properly honor… all of the crafts,” also alluding to Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ segment where they feigned misunderstanding the roles of the cinematographer and film editor. Read the full statement below:

Most general viewers probably found amusement in Corden and Wilson’s seemingly harmless jab, but it’s easy to see why the Visual Effects Society took offense to the gag. While it likely wasn’t the intention, the joke made doormats out of the Cats VFX department, overly-simplifying the many issues with the film. Cats was a movie with numerous problems that went beyond arguably questionable CGI work. As many have pointed out, the musical doesn’t really lend itself to a cinematic adaptation (it’s pretty plotless and hard to follow) and Hooper’s filmmaking sensibilities weren’t a great fit for this kind of material. Even if Cats was hailed as the latest groundbreaking evolution in visual effects, that wouldn’t have been enough to make up for the film’s other shortcomings. Case in point: Best Visual Effects nominees The Rise of Skywalker and The Lion King received mixed reviews despite their impressive visuals.

“The Visual Effects Society is focused on recognizing, advancing and honoring visual effects as an art form — and ensuring that the men and women working in VFX are properly valued.

Last night, in presenting the Academy Award for Outstanding Visual Effects, the producers chose to make visual effects the punchline, and suggested that bad VFX were to blame for the poor performance of the movie CATS. The best visual effects in the world will not compensate for a story told badly.

On a night that is all about honoring the work of talented artists, it is immensely disappointing that The Academy made visual effects the butt of a joke. It demeaned the global community of expert VFX practitioners doing outstanding, challenging and visually stunning work to achieve the filmmakers’ vision.

Our artists, technicians and innovators deserve respect for their remarkable contributions to filmed entertainment, and should not be presented as the all-too-convenient scapegoat in service for a laugh.

Moving forward, we hope that The Academy will properly honor the craft of visual effects — and all of the crafts, including cinematography and film editing — because we all deserve it.”

One of the best things about the Oscars is that it’s a celebration to spotlight several areas of filmmaking, acknowledging the hard-working crew members and their contributions to the medium. With that in mind, it is a little disheartening the Academy decided to single out one project and ridicule its visual effects in front of millions of people. There were probably other ways the Oscars could have injected humor into this spot; Corden and Wilson’s stunt was similar to Ben Stiller appearing in full Na’Vi makeup at the 2010 Oscars - only that was more self-deprecating in nature (Stiller joked about the Academy’s idea to have him show up in Na’Vi cosplay) and didn’t put down an individual movie’s department. Hopefully the Academy is a little more conscious of how barbs can be interpreted when next year’s Oscars rolls around.

More: The Weirdest Things That Happen in Cats

Source: THR