King Kong won the Visual Effects Oscar, dwarfed by Ben Stiller's appearance in a green bodysuit playing a special effect gone very awry. The idea may have looked good on paper, but didn’t really work; it certainly wasn't as amusing as Stiller was trying to sell it. Spielberg's dismayed reaction to Stiller's floundering was actually funnier.

"Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" won Best Animated Picture. To underscore the category's cartoonishness, director Nick Park and his producing partner wore silly, outsized bow ties and affixed same to their trophies. Not nearly as funny as the movie itself.