Discover Disney’s Academy Award Nominees 2019

The 18th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe broke boundaries and box office records in 2018, and with a Best Picture nomination, it has become the first superhero movie to be in with a chance of winning the Academy’s highest honour.

Kevin Feige, Marvel President and sole producer of Black Panther, knew how important this comic book adaptation would be and set out to stay as true to the source material as possible. “When the Black Panther character debuted in the ‘60s it was a daring move for the Marvel bullpen of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to introduce this new character, an African character who is smarter than many of our other heroes and is stronger than most of our other heroes. To be able to put that on the big screen fifty years later is incredibly exciting for us,” he explained.

Production Design – Mary Poppins Returns - John Myhre (Production Design), Gordon Sim (Set Decoration)

With a film like Mary Poppins Returns, there are no boundaries or rules on the world the practically perfect nanny can create. With endless possibilities, the team decided to build as many real sets and props as they could, including Mary’s parrot head umbrella which can actually turn its head and blink.

“We’ve got three kids and we all felt like the kids [were] going to have a much better time talking to a parrot head umbrella that can actually talk to them,” John Myhre told OhMyDisney.com. “There’s one that’s been made that is completely auto-animatronic; I guess you could say it’s a little nod to the original Mary Poppins, but this one is very sophisticated.”

And instead of using traditional green screens, giant props were built first and then later painted green. “Director Rob Marshall wanted a stage design that was a reflection of the songs and covers, so there are giant books and all sorts of fantastic things that we actually built and painted green to let the cast interact in that world,” Myhre explains.

Costume Design – Black Panther - Ruth E. Carter

The American costume designer has over 40 films to her credit and two previous Academy Award nominations, but Ruth E. Carter’s amazing work creating the royal fashion of Wakanda brought her talents to an even bigger audience.

When it came to designing the look of the fictional Afrofuturistic nation of Wakanda, Carter looked to colours and materials. “They were very strict about the colour palettes: there are the River Tribe, which is green; the Border Tribe, which is blue; and the Panther and the Royal Palace, which is black and royal purple,” she explained to OhMyDisney.com.

“We had a very clear direction from [director] Ryan [Coogler]. With [production designer] Hannah [Beachler], her taste levels are through the roof, so I was constantly becoming aware - and still visiting - as they developed the sets, seeing what lanterns are going in, the furniture - and still getting a surprise when I got to set. This business is always morphing and you’re always tweaking when you see things finally coming together.”

Animated Feature Film – Incredibles 2 – Brad Bird, John Walker, Nicole Paradis Grindle

Following a 14-year wait since The Incredibles, hopes were high for this superhero sequel, but with critical acclaim, a record-breaking box office and very satisfied fans, Incredibles 2 was everything we hoped it would be.

Writer/director Brad Bird was keen to maintain the family element of the film as well as introducing new supers and villains. “These films are strangely personal to me, because they don’t look like personal films,” mused Bird to OhMyDisney.com.

“It’s a loud, fun, fast movie. I think all of us brought our feelings toward our family, either our feeling growing up or our feeling of having kids, to this film, and it makes it rich, because everyone’s families are represented.”

Short Film (Animated) – Bao - Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb