Benchmarks in CGI History
Futureworld to Luxo Jr. - Eureka Moments in Computer Imagery History
Nov 14, 2007
After reading Premiere's "20 Benchmark Films in Computer Animation History" I realized that, although writer Stephen Saito compiled a fascinating look at CGI's development, he overlooked a number of brilliant animated films and shorts that furthered the art and craft of computer generated imagery.
To that end, I've compiled my own list of 20 crucial films and shorts that mark CGI's emergence into the movie making force it is today. I've thrown in both live-action and animated films, since many people in CGI worked on both styles of movies.
Therefore, I humbly submit what I believe to be my 20 Benchmarks in CGI History, placed in chronological order. Enjoy, and feel free to argue with my selections.
#20 - Futureworld (1976):
This sequel to 1973's Westworld didn't exactly set moviedom on fire when it came out in theatres. The story of evil robots attempting to clone world leaders in a bid for global domination was a B-movie concept dressed up in A-movie clothes.
However, it's important for our history because it featured a computer-generated hand and face created by then-University of Utah graduate students Edwin Catmull and Fred Parke. Catmull would eventually end up as one of the three founders of Pixar (along with John Lasseter and Steve Jobs), and is the current president of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Fun Fact: Futureworld was actor Yul Brynner's last appearance on film, as he immediately returned to Broadway to play his iconic The King and I character, a role he would interpret for the rest of his life. Brynner is also famous for recording a public service announcement, to be played after his 1985 death from lung cancer, denouncing smoking as the cause of his demise.
#19 - Tron (1982):
This Disney film was moderately successful at the box office ($33 million in domestic box office, which doubled its studio costs). It is crucial to our history in that it was the first film to really combine CGI footage and live-action. However, due to the era's limitations, there are actually only 20 minutes of computer generated footage on the screen.
The story (genius computer programmer finds himself trapped in his own creation) contained some superficial resemblance to Star Wars, and Jeff Bridges (The Fisher King) and Bruce Boxleitner (Babylon 5) struggled to make their roles work But the flick has since become a cult classic.
Fun Fact: Director Steven Lisberger claims that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences blocked a technical nomination for the film.
"In the year it was released," he says, "the Motion Picture Academy refused to nominate Tron for special effects because they said we 'cheated' when we used computers which, in the light of what happened (since), is just mind-boggling."
#18 - The Last Starfighter (1984):
This was another attempt to use CGI in order to create a sci-fi hit in the post-Star Wars era, this time by Universal Pictures. The storyline (whiz computer gamer finds out that his favourite game is actually a training module for an interstellar star fleet) is twee as all get out, and the characters are straight from the Star Wars cookie-cutter mould. However, it topped Tron by having a whole 27 minutes of computer generated footage, mostly of space scenes and battles.
The Last Starfighter was also a moderate hit ($28 million in domestic box office) but didn't make enough coin to justify making a sequel, or the promised video game from Atari.
Fun Fact: The film's special effects scenes were created on a Cray XMP, which contained a then-whopping 16 - 28 megabytes of RAM.
#17 - Luxo Jr. (1986):
Pixar was originally the Graphics Group, a subsidiary of Industrial Light & Magic's Computer Division. The group was formed around Dr. Ed Catmull, who ILM founder George Lucas had lured from the New York Institute of Technology. While under ILM, the Graphics Group created computer-generated footage for films like Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Young Sherlock Holmes. In 1986, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs bought the company from ILM, renamed it Pixar Animation Studios and installed himself, Catmull and former Disney animator John Lasseter as the chief executives.
While 1984's Adventures with André and Wally B. was Lasseter's first successful foray into CGI animation, Luxo Jr. is considered Pixar's first officially-released CGI short. Lasseter, who would later developthe Toy Story franchise, wrote and directed the tale of a tiny lamp's misadventures while playing with a rubber ball. It was an immediate hit, earning an Academy nomination for Best Animated Short Film.
Luxo Jr.'s technical accomplishments were legion. Not only did it apply the classic animator concept of "squash and stretch" to computer animation, but it also used shifting light and shade to make the lamps' movements more realistic.
But secondary to the short's technical achievements was that Luxo Jr. signaled the first time that CGI animation was wedded to a decent story. The short charmingly demonstrated Pixar's "Story First" ethos, an attitude that has served the Emeryville-based studio well in its later years.
Fun Fact: Luxo Jr. has since become Pixar's mascot, appearing on the company's logo.
