You want to talk about a difficult list, well, this is a shining example. But it was different and interesting, so why not. You wouldn't think there were alot of these, but there are, especially now that digital effects have entered the picture. And just to clarify something, just because it's a special effect doesn't always make it a 'digitally animated actor.' For example, many of the real actors were animated for certain sequences in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, but that doesn't mean that Animated Ewan McGregor can be on this list. They have to be completely CGI characters. I'll also have explanations (as usual) to explain some of these.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
1. The film Dinosaur, mainly because it deserves to be on this list, but I don't think it counts as a live action film. The environments are all live action, but every single interaction with that environment was animated along with the characters, and they never interacted with any 'real' things. It just didn't seem to fit. But still worth noting...
2. The entire Looney cast of Space Jam, and while no one gave a stand out performance, still worth noting just because it was the first time they came to the big screen.
3. The rest of the cast of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. This movie is really amazing, and every single person even somewhat associated with this film deserves recognition. Even the kid that got the coffee for Robert Zemekis, somebody congratulate him, will ya.
EXPLANATIONS OF TOP 10:
1. Gollum.
2. Roger Rabbit
3. Drako
4. Jessica Rabbit
5. Yoda
6. Stuart Little
7. Holly Wood
8. Casper
9. Scooby Doo
10. Simone
That's it. Write me and tell me how much you hate me, love me, etc. Later
(Oh yeah, fuck you if you don't like me).
Many will argue that he doesn't count because he was actually "played" by Andy Serkis... yeah, so? No different than animating Drako in Dragonheart to mimic Sean Connery's facial expressions. It's the same as Ralph Bakshi animates all of his films. The same way all things are animated, by using real life people, things, etc to use as 'reality points' to focus on. Andy Serkis played him so they'd be able to animate Gollum more realistically. If Andy Serkis actually PLAYED him, like Tom Hanks played Forrest Gump, why do I not see Andy Serkis on the screen? Ok, then, with that out of the way, Gollum is, hands down, the finest job of bringing an animated character to the screen, and seamlessly integrating him into the real life action. It works 400,000,000 times (possibly more than that) more efficiantly than Jar Jar in Phantom Menace, and it used the same techniques. (By the way, in case you didn't notice, Mr. Binks did NOT make my list, because the animation of all the CGI characters in Phantom Menace sucked ass. Lucas went for quantity and hoped we wouldn't pay attention to quality. As for Attack well, I'll get to that...).
The original, the pioneer, the pure genius! I love this movie so much, and I'm so glad it's getting a Special Edition DVD (coming end of March!!!), just so I can watch all of the 'making of' things. Okay, Roger displayed every possible human emotion, and for an animated actor who's actually an animated actor in the film's story, he does an excellent job. A great character, and one of the most memorable screen presences ever.
You know what, Dragonheart is a very under-appreciated film. It's got an original story, and for one of the first times ever, next to Jurassic Park and T2 there's the technology to live up to the story's idea. Lots of stories require special effects of an insane magnitude for them to be pulled off, and many times the movies fail because the effects just aren't what they needed to be. This was one of the first completely CGI main character (second only to Casper), before Jar Jar, Stuart Little, Gollum, etc. and it didn't get any kind of recognition for it. It was nominated for the FX Oscar, but lost to... Independence Day, which is a cool movie and fun to watch, but every single effect was ripped off (or paying homage to) every other sci-fi movie ever made, which means the effects had been done before. Whatever, this probably isn't the time for me to go into my HATRED FOR THE OSCARS!!! (deep breathe...) Okay, better now.
Okay, name one other animated character that a real life actor lusts after (that's not a blatant rip off of this character). She was great, and I kind of wish they gave out special performance awards for actors who portray animated characters (Robin Williams as Genie should have also gotten one), because this is without a doubt Kathleen Turner's best performance, and it was just a voice. Great stuff, and one of the best ways that the movie brings us back into that era of Hollywood is by giving us such a perfect Golden-era leading lady.
I'm not gonna get into it about this film, just read my rant. What I do want to get into is why he's on the list, and it's because of many reasons, none of which have to do with his jedi 'force gymnastics.' It has to do with the other scenes, where he's thinking, and silently trying to figure out what is being blocked from his mind. Because for the first time in Star Wars history, Yoda can show us that he's thinking, without just squinting and putting his head down. Yoda's eyes can water up, his pupils can dilate. That's why I like this Yoda better than all the puppets, and that's why he's on the list. Because for the first time Yoda's performance is shown and not just heard, and they did a great job with him in this, too.
I'm not gonna lie, I don't really care for this movie. It's not that it's bad, and the actors (especially Fox) are great with this type of quirky material, I just found it tiresome and hard to get through, maybe because I'm uncomfortable in real life around the kind of people the Little's represent, these upper class Flanders/Brady/Soccer mom families. Anyway, Stuart flowed well, and even though the premise wasn't a realistic one, Stuart seemed to be more believable than he should have been, and it's thanks to the effects artists for making a talking mouse that was just like every other kid.
Cool World takes alot of crap, and I think it's because of the obvious similarities to another film on this list with a certain rabbit. Besides that, it's not a bad movie, not great and has some major plot-holes and the premise is just creepy, but not bad. And Kim Basinger is just as sexy as the animated Holly Wood as she is in real life. Her acting is campy, but that's the style of the whole movie, she was really good in it, and Holly Wood is what made the weird hair on Brad Pitt and attitude problem that Gabriel Byrne develops worth watching. She's sexy, she's funny, and the perfect mix of ruthlessness and naivity that the character represented.
I'm not gonna lie here, I really like watching this. I own it, I watch it often, and it's kinda weird too, cuz I've always hated the Casper character. All the old cartoons were too... dorky. Casper was a little goody-two-shoes, and in this he still is, but they play more on his 'tragic heo' side. They focus on the fact that this boy died, but wanted to stay with his parents because he loved them and didn't want to leave them. (I think I'm gonna cry...) No seriously, though, Casper was THE first of his kind, and it was a good performance. And unlike most of the characters on this list, he didn't really have a 'real life' model. He's really cartoonish, no similarities to a real boy at all, yet he acts that way. Great job by the animators, who left him just like he looks in the cartoon, yet acting alongside the superb (and gorgeous) Christina Ricci and being able to top her in some scenes.
So he doesn't have any real acting scenes, he was still Scooby, the same old Scooby, too. They made him do all the things we know him to do, and he acted 'em out in his trademark Scooby ways. The animators here paid careful attention not to make him real at all, and the other actors deserve props for being able to act just as, and sometimes more, cartoonish than their animated friend.
She makes the list mainly because when this first came out, many people were trying to figure out who played Simone. That sounds like the effects guys suceeded in their task. The character of Simone was, in the film, an animated actress, and to have her played by an animated actress was just brilliant, and very funny when you think about the story's premise and point. I love this film, and I don't understand why critics bashed it. I honestly think alot of people just didn't get it at all. Anyway, Simone rocked, and deserves special recognition by taking that final step that started with Tron, then Who Framed Roger Rabbit, then T2, then Toy Story, then Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, and now finally ends, appropriately with a film about using computerized actors. One day, we'll see them acting with the likes of Anthony Hopkins and Tom Hanks and we won't be able to tell the difference. People surely couldn't tell with Simone. A new age of filmmaking has now begun. Actors beware.
Page design by GARTH-ART.
Salty Cracker Pictures c. 2002. All rights reserved.
Contact The Salty Cracker Team