Computer Graphics World

December 2008 37 VFX/Animation ■ ■ ■ ■ derstand, it's been done excellently." Barnes is already betting on Benjamin Button to win. "ey created a CG hu- man from the shoulders up, and it looks phenomenal," he says. "It's mind-blowing what they did with facial animation. It's so hard it's almost impossible to do this. It takes so much time and so much finesse, and so much love and care." "Every time you see the character, it's a monumental undertaking," agrees Look Ef- fects' Ivins. "is is the most difficult chal- lenge in VFX and animation. e tidbits I've seen are an indication that it'll do really well and be judged so by the Academy." Wall-e Release date: June 27 (wide release) Production companies: Pixar Anima- tion Studios, Walt Disney Pictures e opening scenes of Wall-e are spec- tacular, says Sony Pictures Imageworks' An- drews. "e beautiful yet terrifying view of our planet in the future is so well done," he adds. VFX supervisor McGovern applauds it as some of the best animation in terms of lighting and atmosphere. "It was one of the most intelligent films done for kids," he notes. Adds CafeFX/e Syndicate's Barnes: "Wall-e looked amazing. It was just so beau- tiful. Everything felt like a piece of art." Producer Don Hahn from Walt Disney Pictures notes the challenge of Wall-e's first half. "It was brave to do 30 minutes of a movie without dialog and to create that much empathy for a character that doesn't speak," he says. ILM's Hickel called it "a gorgeous and sweet film." "I admire what they did with the lack of dialog and the cinematic look of the film," he says. "I believe a cinema- tographer consulted with them to get that anamorphic, wide-screen look, and it really paid off." Kung Fu Panda Release date: June 6 Production companies: DreamWorks Animation, PDI, Shine is animated feature is popular among animators for a wealth of reasons. "I loved the whole thing!" enthuses animation his- torian/writer Jerry Beck. "e fantastic 2D dream sequence, Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman…the characters were strong, and it was an original story. e art direction, animation, and acting were all wonderful. e characters weren't dolls but [gave] full performances. e humor was great, and the action was fantastic. It was a parody of Hong Kong films but respected the genre at the same time. It was a satisfying, fun film that really got me." Keith Robinson, Perspective Studios' head of animation production, also pin- points the 2D/3D hybrid opening se- quence as worthy of attention. "It's done so well, and the mixture works," he says. "is was my favorite movie overall. e art, the backgrounds, the style of the char- acters, character development, and story- telling were all done well." Sony Pictures Imageworks' Andrews notes the perfect meld between the panda and actor Jack Black's voice performance. "e character was palpable," he says. "I could not distinguish between Jack Black and the character. He evaporated within the panda bear. It was movie magic and perfect." Andrews praises other characters, especially the tiger. "Animation takes you to a place of believability and complete and ut- ter fantasy," he says. "e kung fu sequences were as far out there as [they are] in Chinese kung fu movies. e end battle was such good, clean fun. And there was a great title sequence with mixed media. It's a full cin- ematic experience and my top pick." The mantra while creating Kung Fu Panda: If it's easy, it's been done before, so look further. Disney/Pixar artists gave the CG feature Wall-e a unique, cinematic, out-of-this-world feel.

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