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While just about every movie uses some form of computer animation today, it wasn’t that long ago where that wasn’t the case. The first major film to go all-in with computer animation was 1995’s Toy Story, which put Pixar on the map and changed the landscape of filmmaking, especially animated films, forever.
While it wasn’t as big a thing before Toy Story came out, computer animation was far from a new concept for Hollywood. In truth, a number of now-classic films helped pave the way for computer animation, and many times no one outside of the industry was very aware of it. These are the movies that broke new ground and set a course for the importance of CGI and computer animation in Hollywood that we see today.
10 Westworld Kicked Things Off
While there had been a few short films that used computer animation in the 1960s, it was 1973’s Westworld that brought the art style to mainstream cinemas for the first time. The sci-fi classic that would later be turned into a popular series for HBO, Westworld featured Yul Brynner as the Gunslinger, an android programmed to instigate gunfights.
To capture the look of the Gunslinger’s POV in the movie, 2D computer animation was used. Compared to today’s CG, the work in Westworld looks prehistoric, but for audiences in 1973, it was mindblowing.
9 Star Wars Plotted The Destruction Of The Deathstar With Computer Graphics
George Lucas completely changed the world of filmmaking when he created Star Wars, and part of that was the way he built up his own special effects company, Industrial Light and Magic, to bring things to the big screen that had never been seen before.
One major moment for the future of special effects was ILM’s use of 3D wire-frame graphics for the scene where Luke Skywalker and the other X-Wing pilots are given a briefing on the planned trench run of the Deathstar. While 2D wire-frame graphics had been used in previous films, this was the first time they were done in 3D.
8 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Showed Off ILM’s Particle Systems
ILM once again broke new ground while working on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan when computer graphics artist Bill Reeves and his team created a new graphics technique they named “Particle Systems.” It was used for the scene where Captain Kirk and Mister Spock watch a video showing what Project Genesis can do to an uninhabited planet.
Audiences in 1982 had never seen anything like that before, and the impressive work of ILM helped to make Wrath of Khan a huge hit for Star Trek, giving the franchise new life.
7 Tron Showed Just How Great CGI Could Be
While ILM’s Particle Systems that were shown off in Wrath of Khan were impressive, it was Tron‘s use of CGI that stole the show in 1982. Tron was the first film to use 3D CGI for large portions of the film, most notably the Light Cycle scene that still stands out to this day.
Tron‘s CGI work was done by four different companies, Information International, Inc., MAGI, Robert Abel and Associates of California, and Digital Effects. The work done in the film still works today, something that can’t be said for a lot of 1980s and 1990s CGI.
6 The Last Starfighter Brought CGI To Space
While ILM may have been working to improve computer animation ever since 1975, they still relied on models for spaceships like the Enterprise in Star Trek and the Star Destroyers in Star Wars. It was 1984’s The Last Starfighter that decided to do away with practical models for spacecraft and replace them all with CGI created by Digital Productions.
The Last Starfighter is one of the earliest uses of integrated CGI—when computer-created models and items are mixed in with physical sets or actors. While the effects may not hold up as well today as they did in 1984, it hasn’t stopped The Last Starfighter from becoming a cult classic.
5 Young Sherlock Holmes Brought The Realism
All but forgotten these days, Young Sherlock Holmes was supposed to be a big hit when it came out in December 1985. It was written by Chris Columbus, who was coming off of the smash hits of Gremlins and Goonies, and directed by Barry Levinson fresh from directing the baseball classic The Natural.
Young Sherlock Holmes turned out to be a box office dud, but it did get an Academy Awar nomination for visual effects, thanks to ILM’s creation of the Stained Glass Knight, the first photorealistic CGI character to ever appear in a film.
4 Flight of the Navigator Was All About Reflecting
Another box office dud, but one that has found a vocal fanbase in the years that followed, 1986’s Flight of the Navigator heavily relied on CGI for its special effects.
Along with some early uses of morphing in a motion picture, Flight of the Navigator was the first film to use reflection mapping to create the reflections cast on the simulated chrome ship, helping to sell audiences on the ship being a physical construct. These days, reflection mapping is standard, even for movies with the least amount of CGI possible.
3 Labyrinth Wasn’t All Puppets
While Jim Henson’s Labyrinth may be a classic today, it failed to make a mark when it premiered in theaters in 1986. The film is filled with a variety of puppets created by the director’s Muppet Workshop. While the vast majority of special effects in the movie were done in-camera, the now-beloved fairytale is actually the first film to feature a realistic animal completely created with CGI.
The owl that appears at the opening of the film was created by animators Larry Yaeger and Bill Kroyer, who worked for Omnibus at the time.
2 The Abyss Made A Splash
The man behind Terminator, Aliens, and Avatar, James Cameron is known for pushing the limits of special effects to new heights. With his fourth film, The Abyss, Cameron envisioned a story revolving around water-based aliens, and to pull that off he needed Visual Effects Supervisor John Bruno to do something that seemed impossible; make CGI water that looked real.
Bruno and his team not only pulled off the request, but they also did such an amazing job that they won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Without their work, films like Aquaman, The Shape of Water, and even Finding Nemo may not have been possible.
1 Jurassic Park Changed Everything
The original plan for Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park was to use animatronic dinosaurs created by special effects icon Stan Winston for the film with some CGI to help make the creatures look better. However, when the director saw ILM animators Mark Dippé and Steve Williams computer-generated T. rex chasing a herd of Gallimimus, the decision was made to forego most of the animatronic work and rely on more CGI.
Jurassic Park went on to become a massive box office hit and the first film to make over $500 million overseas. Not only that, the movie’s merchandise, from shirts to toys to video games, were all big sellers as well. Thanks to the CGI dinosaurs, a cultural phenomenon was created.
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