The Harry Potter movies are still making it’s mark in history (of course, it will probably continue for quite some time to come) with 3 more nominations in the 84th Annual Academy Awards.   Unfortunately, our wonderful actors have been passed over for others in the acting achievements, most likely due to the genre of the film than anything else, because frankly, Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) surely deserved a nomination at the least.

But here are the nominations that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2 are up for:

• Best Achievement in Art Direction – Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan (others nominated: The Artist, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, War Horse)
• Best Achievement in Makeup – Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin (others nominated: Albert Nobbs, The Iron Lady)
• Best Achievement in Visual Effects – Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler, John Richardson (others nominated: Hugo, Real Steel, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Transformers: Dark of the Moon)

Let’s break this down, shall we?

Art Direction – basically meaning the best set decoration.  I surmise that it’s based on how good and how realistic the actual sets are on film.  There obviously were a lot of sets used in Harry Potter, from the forest to the Ministry of Magic, to the school.  I think it stands a chance, however, I can never really tell what exactly they’re looking for when it comes to set decoration, and to be honest, War Horse and Hugo looked pretty good, too.

Bellatrix Lestrange's Vault

Makeup – So, Harry Potter’s contenders are a woman made to look like a man, and a woman made to look like an historical/political figure.  I’m not sure what other makeup is in the other movies as I have not seen them, so we might stand a chance here what with everyone having to look pretty ragged at the end of it all.  But never underestimate the academy’s fascination with sexual or age changes.

Goblins of Gringotts

Visual Effects – Okay, so you might think that HP has this one in the bag.  Not so fast, I say.  I’d have to say the biggest contenders for HP is Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.  With Weta at work for Rise and the ability to make Caesar’s face look uncomfortably more human, and more amazing transforming in the robot flick, this can be a tough one to lose in.  Still, the final battle provided an immense amount of visually stunning work.

Ukranian Ironbelly in Deathly Hallows II

Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Driller in Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Regardless of what happens and if the final movie gets any Oscars, it has been an amazing year for Harry Potter already.   Here’s a list of the awards DH2 has already received:

• AFI Special Award (The entire HP Series)
• ART DIRECTOR’S GUILD Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award
• BAFTA Children’s Award for Best Feature Film
• BROADCAST FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION Critics Choice Award for Best Sound & Best Makeup
• NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW Special Achievement Award for the entire HP series
• PEOPLE’S CHOICE for Favorite Action Movie, Favorite Book Adaptation, Favorite Ensemble Movie Cast, and Favorite Movie
• SAN DIEGO FILM CRITICS SOCIETY for Best Ensemble Performance and Best Score
• TEEN CHOICE for Choice Summer Movie, Choice Summer Female Movie Star (Emma Watson), and Choice Summer Male Movie Star (Daniel Radcliffe)
• WORLD SOUNDTRACK for Film Composer of the Year (Alexandre Desplat)

Good luck to Harry Potter on February 26, 2012.