The Top 10 CGI Characters From Live Action Movies

5. Velociraptors – Jurassic Park and Sequels

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Most people would argue that the T-Rex is the real star of Jurassic Park – and I suppose there’s some merit to that – but how many people even knew what a velociraptor was before the movie was released?  The raptors in Jurassic Park didn’t look silly; they were living, breathing, and terrifying animals and were brought to life with some of the best CGI ever created.  The high-pitched squeal of the raptors, their pack-like mentality, and the fact that they became so popular that an NBA franshice was named after them vaults these vicious dinos into the top five.

4. T-1000 – Terminator 2: Judgment Day

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Allow me to clarify: Robert Patrick played the T-1000, but even if you consider just the liquid metal “phase” of the T-1000 to be a CGI character, it deserves to be included in this article.  The CGI used for T2 was absolutely stunning when the film was released; people were seeing things on the screen that had never been seen before.  Putting aside the technological accolades for a minute, though, the T-1000 is a great character simply for what it is: a literal killing machine that does not need any weapons, is nearly impervious to gunfire, can take the form of any person it comes in contact with, and operates at a higher intelligence than prior Terminator models.  Quite simply, it’s the perfect killing machine, and CGI brought it to life.

3. General Grievous – Revenge of the Sith

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Personally, I think that The Phantom Menace is utter garbage (I know I’m not alone), Attack of the Clones is bearable, even decent, and Revenge of the Sith is actually really f*cking good.  Part of the reason I’m such a fan of Revenge is because of the cyborg leader of the droid army, General Grievous.  Grievous is trained in the Jedi arts by Count Dooku and, like his mentor, has a totally bad ass voice.  When Grievous split his two arms into four and started twirling around those lightsabers in Obi-Wan’s face,  I sharted and ruined the movie for everyone in my row.

2. King Kong – King Kong

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The CGI on Kong was near perfect; he looked like a giant, living ape, right down to each individual strand of hair.  As king of Skull Island, Kong simply wanted to be left alone, occasionally appearing for a sacrifice in his honor.  So when he’s captured and taken to New York City, he’s understandably pretty pissed off.  Nevertheless, he remains loyal to Ms. Darrow, showing the type of unconditional love that you’d normally receive from the family dog.  Really though, what’s cooler than a giant ape biting off a Tyrannosaur’s tongue? Not too much, and Kong’s combination of being a total bad ass and a loyal, loving companion land him at number to on this list.

1. Gollum – Lord of the Rings Trilogy

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Without a doubt, Gollum is the most complex, fully-realized, and intriguing CGI character of all time.  Hell, he’s one of the more interesting movie characters, period.  I remember hearing some buzz that Andy Serkis (who served as the model for Gollum’s movements – Kong’s too, actually) was going to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor.  It never came to fruition, but I didn’t think it was such a bad suggestion.  Gollum fit in with “real life” actors and settings seamlessly, and his tragic tale certainly made one of the greatest trilogies of all time even better.  As far as CGI characters go, nobody can touch Gollum.

Honorable Mention: Dr. Manhattan’s Blue….you know

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Anyone who saw Watchmen surely remembers Dr. Manhattan’s member, swinging between his legs like a fleshy blue pendulum.  Not Dr. Manhattan, HIS DONG.  That’s what I’m talking about!

Any CGI characters from live action movies you think should have made the Top 10?  Let me know!

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15 Comments

  1. @inda

    I actually considered the Starship bugs but they didn’t make the cut. They were pretty cool-looking, though.

    Maybe I should have included Sonny from I-Robot, too…

  2. I heard something about Cloverfield having a sequel..but this sequel is about someone else’s camera…like a diff angle of the whole situation lol?

  3. Madison:
    Thanks for another fun list.
    For the record, the velociraptors were definitely the stars of Jurasic Park in my book!
    When I ready your introduction, I immediately thought of Gollum and Yoda from Stars Wars I, II, III … but then that Yoda faded from my mind and Yoda-the-puppet from Empire Strikes back swam into view. The puppet was more memorable, hands down. Is that why you omited CGI Yoda or did you have another reason?

  4. @ Alex

    Yes, CGI Yoda was omitted because that’s not Yoda. The puppet Yoda is the one that everyone remembers. Glad we’re on the same page.

    Thanks for reading.

  5. “but how many people even knew what a velociraptor was before the movie was released?”

    Well. Technically, those aren’t velociraptors at all, they’re more like deinonychus. Velociraptors were only a couple feet long, “turkey-sized” according to wikipedia, compared to a 10 foot long deinonychus. I think I read that it was Crichton who made the mistake on purpose, because “velociraptor” sounds cooler, basically. But they’re actually nowhere near the same animal.

  6. @ borrowedcrime

    That’s true, but either way, Jurassic Park introduced a type of dinosaur to everyone – whether it was accurately portrayed or not. Everyone knows T Rex, Triceratops, etc…but before JP, no one had heard of a velociraptor (or deinonychus for that matter).

  7. Gollum, surely is the best CGI character till-date!! 🙂
    Maybe Ceaser-Rise fo The Planet of The Apes must be into the updated version of this list!! That makes Andy Serkis portraying 3 out of the top-10 CGI characters of all time!! 😀
    Love you Andy!! 🙂

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