Disney+ wins streaming platform of the year in the Creative Bloq Awards 2022

Disney Plus has gone from a curiosity filled with old cartoons and 70's movies to one of the biggest streaming platforms in the world, it's not simply the place to find Star Wars and Marvel but the channel to find new Star Wars and Marvel. The list of hits includes She Hulk, The Mandalorian and Loki – and all promote new ways to create high-end CG on a TV budget.  

Disney Plus: What's on and how to sign up.

Turning Red is the first Pixar movie solely directed by a woman, Domee Shi, but it's more than a cursory footnote in the studio's diversity push. This animated movie is everything a Pixar movie needs to be: heartwarming, humorous and gracefully animated. It also takes Pixar into new culturally interesting areas and a female-focussed view of tumultuous adolescence.

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Another win for Disney Plus, this time for Ms Marvel. This series is based on the Marvel comic of the same name and introduces the first Muslim super hero to the MCU. But it's more than this, Ms Marvel is one of the most playful and charming shows Marvel has put out and explores the idea of being a fan as much as the pressures of superhero-ing. Our judges particularly loved the visual design of the show, its  graphic design approach plays on graffiti motifs to bring its world to life.

Disney Plus goes big with these Ms Marvel logos

Arcane is the hit Netflix animated series based on the world and characters of Riot Games' League of Legends. Created with Riot Games by French animation studio Fortiche, Arcane mixes 2D and 3D techniques to deliver a unique and lively style. It resembles beautiful hand-painted art but in motion it has a weight and impact of the best anime. 

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The Netflix juggernaut Stranger Things 4 arrived and it delivered everything fans wanted, including some astonishing VFX, which included work from DNEG, Scanline and Rodeo FX. Proving how small screen VFX has improved since the days of Babylon 5's Amiga graphics, one scene in Stranger Things 4 took two years to create; the shots where the Demobats fly over Hawkins and then land on the Creel House was a labour of love.

Stranger Things 4's posters impress.

Dune released to an avalanche of awards and plaudits, but a year on its production design that still captures our imagination. In an interview with our sister magazine ImagineFX, costume designer Jacqueline West talked about the mediaeval meets Star Wars designs that were influenced by Balenciaga and Goya. The result is one of the most striking world designs in recent years, and one that feels timeless and without place, ensuring Dune will remain relevant years from now.

Read about the Dune costume design.

It's back for the second Creative Bloq Award, this time it was Dune's VFX that wowed our judges. The 'unfilmable' book came to life under the direction of Denis Villeneuve, but just as importantly with the guidance of two-time Oscar winner Paul Lambert (who oversaw multiple studios, including DNEG and Rodeo FX).

The pair had worked together on Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival, and that chemistry showed on screen. The VFX for Dune is grounded and photoreal, with physical props and real world physics used where possible – for example a helicopter kicked up dust and was then replaced with a CG ship for authenticity.