Editing Timeline of computer animation

{{short description|None}}
{{see also|History of computer animation}}

{{multiple issues |
{{update|date=July 2019}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2019}}
{{full citations needed|date=July 2019}}
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This is a chronological list of films and television programs that have been recognized as being pioneering in their use of [[computer animation]].

== 1950s ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Film
!Year
!Notes
|-
| ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]''
|1958
|To create the spirals seen in the opening credit sequence of his film, [[Alfred Hitchcock]] hired [[John Whitney (animator)|John Whitney]], who used a WWII anti-aircraft targeting computer called "The M5 [[gun director]]" mounted on a rotating platform with a pendulum hanging above it that it tracked. Its scope was filmed to create the various spiral elements used in the opening sequence. The raw footage was curated with aid from graphic designer [[Saul Bass]], and the final near two minute long sequence became the first computer animation in a feature film.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.diyphotography.net/alfred-hitchcocks-vertigo-possibly-first-movie-use-computer-animation/ |title= Alfred hitchcock's vertigo possibly the first movie to use computer animation |website= DIYPhotography |date= 12 May 2013 |access-date= 17 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nfi.edu/what-is-cgi/ |title= What Is CGI? |website= Nashville Film Institute |date= 4 October 2021 |publisher= NFI|access-date= 17 July 2022 }}</ref>
|}

== 1960s ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Film
!Year
!Notes
|-
| ''Rendering of a planned highway''
|1961
|In 1961, a 49-second vector animation of a car traveling up a planned highway at 110&nbsp;km/h (70&nbsp;mph) was created at the Swedish [[Royal Institute of Technology]] on the [[BESK]] computer. The short animation was broadcast on November 9, 1961, on national television.<ref name="tekniskamuseet">{{cite web |url= https://www.tekniskamuseet.se/lar-dig-mer/kommunikation-och-media/datorhistoriska-nedslag/svensk-datorhistoria-1960-talet/ |title= Svensk datorhistoria – 1960-talet |last= Du Rietz |first= Peter |date= 20 December 2016 |website= Tekniska museet |access-date= 17 January 2017 |language= sv |trans-title= Swedish computer history - 1960s}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|XhNT501DsJI|"Världens äldsta datoranimation?"}}</ref>
|-
|''Simulation of a Two-Gyro Gravity-Gradient Attitude Control System''
|1963
|Edward E. Zajac, a researcher at [[Bell Labs]], used an IBM computer to create a short showing a communication satellite orbiting Earth.<ref>[https://designandtheory.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/a-michael-noll-early-digital-computer-art-2016.pdf Early Digital Computer Art at Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated]</ref>
|-
|''Boeing Man''
|1964
|[[William Fetter]], a graphic designer working for [[Boeing]], created the first wireframe animation.<ref>[https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/82c7/1cc4f6c0a0f3070dc9c7b4493b20df64d937.pdf Boeing Man(1964): the origin of realistic algorithmic human figures]</ref>
|-
| ''Hummingbird''
|rowspan=2 align="center" |1967
|A ten-minute computer-animated film by [[Charles Csuri]] and James Shaffer. This was awarded a prize at the 4th annual International Experimental Film Competition in [[Brussels]], [[Belgium]] and in the collection of The [[Museum of Modern Art]], [[New York City]]. The subject was a [[Line drawing algorithm|line drawing]] of a [[hummingbird]] for which a sequence of movements appropriate to the bird were programmed. Over 30,000 images comprising some 25 motion sequences were generated by the computer.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.siggraph.org/artdesign/profile/csuri/artworks/plot/plot9.html |title= Hummingbird, 1967 |last= Csuir |first= Charles |website= ACM SIGGRAPH |access-date= 17 January 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{youTube|awvQp1TdBqc|Charles Csuri, Fragmentation Animations, 1968 - 1970: Hummingbird (1968)}}</ref>
|-
|''Flexipede''
|The first entertainment cartoon. Made by Tony Pritchett on the [[Atlas Computer Laboratory]] near Oxford and first shown publicly at the Cybernetic Serendipity exhibition in 1968.
|-
| ''Kitty''
|1968
|A group of [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] mathematicians and physicists headed by [[Nikolay Konstantinov]] created a mathematically computable model of the physics of a moving cat. The algorithms were programmed on the [[BESM]]-4 computer. The computer then printed hundreds of frames to be later converted to film.<ref name="EtudesKitty">{{cite web |url= http://www.etudes.ru/ru/mov/kittie/ |title= Кошечка |website= Mathematical Etudes |publisher= Mathematical Etudes Foundation |access-date= 17 January 2017 |language= ru |trans-title= Kitty}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.themarysue.com/kitty-computer-animation-russia-1968-video/ |title= "Kitty": One of the First-Ever Computer Animations |last= Quigley |first= Robert |date= 22 March 2010 |website= The Mary Sue |publisher= The Mary Sue, LLC |access-date= 19 January 2017 }}</ref><ref name="KittyYoutube">{{YouTube|0O4mm3hXNgA|"Kitty. - N.Konstantinov."}}</ref> An accompanying scientific paper describes the foundation of the employed physics simulation techniques that nowadays are commonly applied to animation films and computer games.<ref name="Konstantinov1974">{{cite journal |last1= Konstantinov |first1= N.N. |last2= Minachin |first2= V.V. |last3= Ponomarenko |first3= V.Y. |date= 1974 |title= Программа, моделирующая механизм и рисующая мультфильм о нем |trans-title= The program that simulates the mechanism and draws a cartoon about it |url= http://www.etudes.ru/data/localdocs/koshechka.djvu |language= ru |journal= Проблемы кибернетики |location= Moscow, USSR | publisher= Наука |access-date= 6 October 2016 | issue= 28 | pages= 193–209 }}</ref>
|}

== 1970s ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Film
!Year
!Notes
|-
| ''Metadata''
|rowspan=4 align="center" |1971
|This is an experimental 2-D animated short drawn on a data tablet by [[Peter Foldes]], who used the world's first key-frame animation software, invented by Nestor Burtnyk and Marceli Wein.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nfb.ca/collection/films/fiche/?id=10954 |title=Metadata - NFB - Film Collection - National Film Board of Canada |website=www.nfb.ca |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321065011/http://www.nfb.ca/collection/films/fiche/?id=10954 |archive-date=2009-03-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/aboutUs/nrc90/achievements/animation_e.html |title = Home - National Research Council Canada|date = April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://design.osu.edu/carlson/history/tree/nfbc.html |title=National Research Council of Canada |access-date=2008-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402221929/http://design.osu.edu/carlson/history/tree/nfbc.html |archive-date=2012-04-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chilton-computing.org.uk/acl/literature/reports/p021.htm|title=USA Visit 1971|website=www.chilton-computing.org.uk}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[The Andromeda Strain (film)|The Andromeda Strain]]''
|First use of digital rendering within a [[feature film]]. A diagram of the underground laboratory was created using 2-D planes and a complex wireframe cylindrical core.<ref name="filmsite9">{{cite web |url=http://www.filmsite.org/visualeffects9.html |title=Greatest Visual and Special Effects (F/X) - Milestones in Film, 1970-1974 | last = Dirks | first = Tim |website= Filmsite.org | publisher = Filmsite}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Out of the Unknown]]''
|Produced by Charles McGhie, some early [[computer-generated imagery]] techniques were combined with [[stop-motion]] and real-time [[visual effects]] to create the opening title sequence for the show's fourth and final series.
|-
| ''[[Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory]]''
|First use of [[Scanimate]] in a feature film. The analog computer animation system was used to create sing-along segments for the Oompa Loompa song after Augustus Gloop and Veruca Salt get their comeuppance for their respective vices.<ref>[https://extendedstudies.ucsd.edu/news-and-events/division-of-extended-studies-blog/september-2012/getting-personal-with-animation-instructor-eric-van-hamersveld Getting personal with animation instructor Eric Van Hamersveld | Continuing Education | UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies]</ref> Added to the United States National Film Registry in 2014.
|-
| ''[[A Computer Animated Hand]]''
|1972
|Produced by [[Ed Catmull]], the short demonstrates a computer-animated hand, as well as human faces. Added to the United States [[National Film Registry]] in 2011.
|-
|''[[Westworld (film)|Westworld]]''
|1973
|First use of digital 2-D computer animation in a significant entertainment feature film. The point of view of [[Yul Brynner]]'s gunslinger was achieved with [[raster graphics]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2004-09-14-sky-captain-cgi_x.htm | work=USA Today | title='Sky Captain' takes CGI to limit | first1=Scott | last1=Bowles | date=15 September 2004 | access-date=25 May 2010}}</ref><ref name="filmsite9"/>
|-
|''Faces (Faces & Body Parts)''
|align="center" |1974
|[[Fred Parke]]'s thesis film on facial modeling at the [[University of Utah]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/design/a16205/these-early-computer-animations-show-how-far-weve-come/ |title=These Early Computer Animations Show How Far We've Come |last1=Wenz |first1=John |date=Jun 25, 2015 |website=popularmechanics.com |access-date=March 19, 2016 }}</ref>
|-
|''[[UFO: Target Earth]]''
|1974
|An alien in the movie was created with CGI.<ref>[https://cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/12295-REMEMBERING-FILM-DIRECTOR-ALESSANDRO-MICHAEL-DE-GAETANO.html Remembering Film Director Alessandro Michael de Gaetano]</ref>
|-
|''[[Great (1975 film)|Great]]''
|1975
|The [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning 1975 short animated film about the life of the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] engineer [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]] contains a brief sequence of a rotating [[Wire-frame model|wire-frame]] model of Brunel's final project, the iron steamship ''[[SS Great Eastern]]''.
|-
|''[[Logan's Run (film)|Logan's Run]]''
|rowspan=3 align="center" |1976
|Used Scanimate to create the forcefield in the Carousel sequence.
|-
|''[[Futureworld]]''
|First use of digital [[3D computer graphics|3-D computer graphics]] for animated hand and face. Used 2-D digital compositing to materialize characters over a background.<ref name="filmsite9"/>
|-
|''Hobart Street Scene''
|First use of a 3-D [[hidden-line removal]] movie depicting an architectural street scene.<ref>“Understanding BIM: The Past, Present and Future” Routledge 2020 Ingram Page 260</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=|first1= |title=The first architectural movie of a real street scene from 1976 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvI31PLC4-0  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/yvI31PLC4-0 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|accessdate=6 April 2021 |work=youtube.com |date=}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It shows the planned Crown Courts in [[Hobart]] in 1976 and was used for planning approval. The buildings exist today.
|-
|''[[Demon Seed]]''
|rowspan=2 align="center" |1977
|Used raster [[wire-frame model]] rendering for the Proteus IV's monitors.
|-
|''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''
|Used an animated 3-D [[Wire-frame model|wire-frame]] graphic for the trench run briefing sequence on [[Yavin|Yavin 4]]. Added to the United States National Film Registry in 1989.
|-
|''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]''
|rowspan=2 align="center" |1979
|Used raster [[wire-frame model]] rendering for navigation monitors in the landing sequence.<ref name="filmsite9"/> Added to the United States National Film Registry in 2002.
|-
|''[[The Black Hole (1979 film)|The Black Hole]]''
|Used raster [[wire-frame model]] rendering for the opening credits depicting a 3-D wire-frame of a black hole.<ref name=filmsite10>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmsite.org/visualeffects10.html  |title=Greatest Visual and Special Effects (F/X) - Milestones in Film, 1975-1979 | last = Dirks | first = Tim |website= Filmsite.org | publisher = Filmsite}}</ref>
|}

== 1980s ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Film
!Year
!Notes
|-
|''[[Looker]]''
|align="center" |1981
|First computer-generated model of a whole [[human body]]. Also, first use of 3-D shaded CGI.<ref name=filmsite10/><ref name=Netzley49>{{cite book | last = Netzley | first = Patricia D | title = Encyclopedia of Movie Special Effects | publisher = Checkmark Books | year = 2001 | page = 49}}</ref>
|-
|''[[The Works (film)|The Works]]''
|rowspan=3 align="center" |1982
|The [[New York Institute of Technology Computer Graphics Lab]] debuted a trailer at [[SIGGRAPH]] for their CGI project. This would have been the first feature-length CGI film, but it was never completed.
|-
|''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]''
|[[Industrial Light & Magic|ILM]] computer graphics division develops "Genesis Effect", the first use of a fractal-generated landscape in a film.<ref name="wpost-incredible">{{cite news|author=Pegoraro, Rob|date=June 29, 2008|title=Incredibles, Inc; The story of how computer programmers transformed the art of movie animation|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|page=W8}}</ref> Bill Reeves leads the Genesis Effect programming team, and creates a new graphics technique called "Particle Systems". Added to the United States National Film Registry in 2024.
|-
|''[[Tron]]''
|First extensive use of CGI including the [[Light Cycle]] sequence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://design.osu.edu/carlson/history/tron.html|title=Tron - The 1982 movie|access-date=2010-12-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525083246/http://design.osu.edu/carlson/history/tron.html|archive-date=2009-05-25|url-status=dead}}</ref> Also includes very early facial animation (for the [[List of Tron characters#Master Control Program|Master Control Program]]). A sequence of 15 minutes of the film was fully computer-generated.
|-
|''[[Return of the Jedi]]''
|rowspan=4 align="center" |1983
|First ''Star Wars'' film to use shaded CGI. Translucent shaded models were used for the holographic diagram of the second Death Star orbiting Endor during the Rebel briefing sequence. Added to the United States National Film Registry in 2021.
|-
|''[[Rock & Rule]]''
|First animated film to use computer graphics.<ref name="filmsite11">{{cite web |url=http://www.filmsite.org/visualeffects12.html |title=Greatest Visual and Special Effects (F/X) - Milestones in Film, 1980-1982 | last = Dirks | first = Tim |website= Filmsite.org | publisher = Filmsite}}</ref>
|-
|''[[Golgo 13: The Professional|Golgo 13]]''
|First Japanese animated film to incorporate CGI sequences.<ref name = CBM>{{cite book |last=Hughes |first=David |title=Comic Book Movies |publisher=Virgin Books |isbn=0-7535-0767-6 |date=2003|page=27}}</ref> Entirely digital models of revolvers, skeletons, helicopters, and skyscrapers (created by Toyo Links Corporation and [[Osaka University]]'s CG division) are used in the film's title sequence and part of the climax; the remainder of the film is [[traditional animation|traditionally animated]] by [[TMS Entertainment|Tokyo Movie Shinsha]].
|-
|''[[Dream Flight]]''
| First 3-D generated film telling a story, shown in Electronic Theater in SIGGRAPH '83.
|-
|''[[The Last Starfighter]]''
|rowspan=4 align="center" |1984
|Uses CGI for all spaceship shots, replacing traditional models. First use of "integrated CGI" where the effects are supposed to represent real world objects.<ref name="filmsite11"/>
|-
|''[[Lensman: Secret of The Lens]]''
|Uses CGI for spaceships and other scenes.
|-
|''[[The Adventures of André and Wally B.]]''
|[[Lucasfilm]]'s computer animation division creates an all-CGI-animated short. The first CGI animation with [[motion blur]] effects and [[squash and stretch]] motion.
|-
|''[[2010: The Year We Make Contact]]''
|[[Jupiter]]'s turbulent atmosphere is CGI-rendered, mostly during the black spot shots.
|-
|''[[Tony de Peltrie]]''
|rowspan=4 align="center" |1985
|First CGI-animated human character to express emotion through his face and body language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.12/3.12pages/townsendcanada.php3|title=Along the Banks of the St. Lawrence<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=awn.com}}</ref>
|-
|''[[The Jetsons]]'' & ''[[Yogi's Treasure Hunt]]''
|The first animated series to use digital ink and paint.
|-
|''[[Young Sherlock Holmes]]''
|[[Lucasfilm]] creates the first [[Rendering (computer graphics)|photorealistic]] CGI character, "[[stained glass]] knight" with 10 seconds of screentime.<ref name=Netzley246>Netzley, p. 246.</ref><ref name="filmsite12">{{cite web |url=http://www.filmsite.org/visualeffects12.html |title=Greatest Visual and Special Effects (F/X) - Milestones in Film, 1983-1985 | last = Dirks | first = Tim |website= Filmsite.org | publisher = Filmsite}}</ref>
|-
|"[[Money for Nothing (song)#Music video|Money for Nothing]]"
|The first computer-generated [[music video]].<ref name=filmsite12/> The animators would go on to found [[Mainframe Entertainment]].
|-
|''[[Labyrinth (1986 film)|Labyrinth]]''
|rowspan=7 align="center" |1986
|First realistic [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]] [[animal]].<ref name=filmsite12/>
|-
|''[[The Great Mouse Detective]]''
|The first Disney film to extensively use computer animation --notably for the two-minute clock tower sequence.
|-
|''[[Flight of the Navigator]]''
|The first use of [[reflection mapping]] in a [[feature film]], used for the flying alien [[spacecraft]].<ref name=filmsite12/>
|-
|''[[Howard the Duck (film)|Howard the Duck]]''
|First digital wire removal in a feature film.<ref name=filmsite12/> First use of the [[Pixar Image Computer]] in film.<ref>[https://beforesandafters.com/2021/05/20/vfx-firsts-what-was-the-first-digital-wire-removal-shot-in-a-film/ VFX Firsts: What was the first digital wire-removal shot in a film? - befores & afters]</ref>
|-
|''[[Luxo Jr.]]''
|First use of [[shadow]]s in [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]], made with the specially developed software [[RenderMan Interface Specification|Photorealistic Renderman]]. First [[Pixar]] film, and first CGI film to be nominated for an [[Academy Award]]. Added to the United States National Film Registry in 2014.
|-
|''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]''
|First use of the [[Cyberware (company)|Cyberware]] [[3-D scanner]], first 3-D [[morphing]].<ref name=filmsite12/>
|-
| ''[[The Golden Child]]''
|First use of primitive photorealistic morphing.<ref name="filmsite13">{{cite web |url=http://www.filmsite.org/visualeffects13.html |title=Greatest Visual and Special Effects (F/X) - Milestones in Film, 1986-1988 | last = Dirks | first = Tim |website= Filmsite.org | publisher = Filmsite}}</ref>
|-
|''[[Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future]]''
|rowspan=3 align="center" |1987
|First [[TV series]] to include characters modeled entirely with [[computer]]s.
|-
|''[[Knightmare (TV series)|Knightmare]]''
|First [[game show]] with interaction between humans and computer-generated surroundings.
|-
|''[[Rendez-vous in Montreal]]''
|First 3-D generated film involving [[virtual actors]] Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart
|-
|''[[Willow (1988 film)|Willow]]''
|rowspan=3 align="center" |1988
|First extensive photorealistic use of CGI morphing effect in a [[feature film]].<ref name=Netzley239>Netzley, p. 239.</ref>
|-
|''[[Akira (1988 film)|Akira]]''
|CGI is used to animate the pattern indicator, and to plot the paths of falling objects, model parallax effects on backgrounds, and tweak lighting and lens flares.<ref name="CBM" />
|-
|''[[Tin Toy]]''
|First computer-animated short film to win an [[Academy Award]]. Added to the United States National Film Registry in 2003.
|-
|''[[The Abyss]]''
|rowspan=3 align="center"|1989
|First digital CGI water visual effect.<ref name=netzley50>Netzley, p. 50.</ref>
|-
|''[[The Jim Henson Hour]]''
|TV series with real-time and rendered CGI featuring digitally puppeteered CGI character "Waldo."
|-
|''Les Fables géométriques''
|First broadcast series of animated CGI shorts.
|}

==1990s==
{| class="wikitable"
!Film
!Year
!Notes
|-
|''[[Total Recall (1990 film)|Total Recall]]''
|rowspan=4 align="center" |1990
|Use of [[motion capture]] for CGI characters. This primitive form of motion capture involved tracing the animation of CGI skeleton models by hand over footage of the performers.
|-
|''[[Die Hard 2]]''
|First digitally-manipulated [[matte painting]].<ref name=netzley50/>
|-
|''[[RoboCop 2]]''
|An early use of real-time computer graphics or "[[digital puppetry]]" to create a character in a motion picture.<ref name=filmsite14>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmsite.org/visualeffects14.html |title=Greatest Visual and Special Effects (F/X) - Milestones in Film, 1989-1991 | last = Dirks | first = Tim |website= Filmsite.org | publisher = Filmsite | access-date=October 3, 2012}}</ref>
|-
|''[[The Rescuers Down Under]]''
|First 2-D animated film to be produced with solely digital ink and paint ([[Computer Animation Production System|CAPS]]). First fully digital feature film.
|-
|''[[Backdraft (film)|Backdraft]]''
|rowspan=4 align="center" |1991
|First use of photorealistic CGI fire in a motion picture.<ref name=filmsite14/>
|-
|''[[Terminator 2: Judgment Day]]''
|First realistic human movements on a CGI character.<ref name=netzley50/> The first partially computer-generated main character and the first blockbuster movie to feature multiple morphing effects.<ref name=filmsite14/> First use of a personal computer to create major movie 3-D effects. Inducted to the National Film Registry in 2023.
|-
|''Pentagon''
|First use of photorealistic CGI architectural fly-through. First use of human movement on a CGI character<ref name=filmsite14/>
|-
|''[[Quarxs]]''
|One of the earliest computer-animated series.
|-
|''[[The Lawnmower Man (film)|The Lawnmower Man]]''
|rowspan=4 align="center" |1992
|First feature film to use computer animation to explore the subject of virtual reality. First virtual reality sex scene.<ref name=filmsite15>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmsite.org/visualeffects15.html |title=Greatest Visual and Special Effects (F/X) - Milestones in Film, 1992-1994 | last = Dirks | first = Tim |website= Filmsite.org | publisher = Filmsite}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[The Babe]]''
|First computer-generated crowds.
|-
| ''[[Death Becomes Her]]''
|First human [[skin]] CGI software.<ref name=netzley50/>
|-
| ''[[The Muppet Christmas Carol]]''
|First use of a green screen for digital [[chroma key]] compositing in a feature film.
|-
|''[[Babylon 5]]''
| rowspan="6" align="center" |1993
|First [[television program|television series]] to use CGI as the primary method for its visual effects. First TV use of virtual sets.
|-
|''[[The Incredible Crash Dummies (film)|The Incredible Crash Dummies]]''
|First fully CGI-animated TV special.
|-
| ''[[Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park]]''
|First photorealistic CGI creatures.<ref name=netzley50/> Added to the United States National Film Registry in 2018.
|-
|''[[Live & Kicking]]''
|First TV program to feature a live computer-generated character as part of its cast.
|-
|''[[VeggieTales]]''
|First completely computer-animated direct-to-video release.
|-
| ''[[Insektors]]''<ref>Created in 1993. ''2nd Prize for the category 3D Animation Imagina'' in 1993 for the episode "''Some Flowers for Bakrakra''" [http://www.awn.com/fantome/english/fr_prix.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820142722/http://www.awn.com/fantome/english/fr_prix.htm|date=2008-08-20}}</ref>
|First fully computer-animated TV series. First use of [[character animation]] in a computer-animated television series.
|-
|''[[The Crow (1994 film)|The Crow]]''
|rowspan=5 align="center" |1994
|First deceased actor ([[Brandon Lee]]) to be re-created through CGI.
|-
|''[[The Flintstones (film)|The Flintstones]]''
|First CGI-rendered fur.<ref name=netzley50/>
|-
|''[[The Mask (1994 film)|The Mask]]''
|First use of CGI to transform a live actor into a photorealistic cartoon character.
|-
|''[[ReBoot]]''
|First half-hour computer-animated TV series.<ref>{{cite news|title= 'Reboot' Is First Series to Be Fully Computerized |newspaper= LA Times|date=1994-11-10|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-10-ca-61086-story.html|access-date=2010-08-23 | first=Sharon | last=Bernstein}}</ref>
|-
|''[[Radioland Murders]]''
|First use of virtual CGI sets with live actors.<ref name=first>{{cite book | author= Marcus Hearn | title = The Cinema of George Lucas | publisher =[[Harry N. Abrams, Inc.]] | year =2005 | pages =79–80 | isbn = 0-8109-4968-7 | location = New York City}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Casper (film)|Casper]]''
|rowspan=5 align="center" |1995
|First CGI lead character in a feature-length live-action film, and first CGI characters to interact realistically with live-actors.
|-
| ''[[Batman Forever]]''
|First CGI stunt doubles, created through motion capture.
|-
| ''[[Waterworld]]''
|First realistic CGI water.<ref name=netzley50/>
|-
| ''[[Casino (1995 film)|Casino]]''
|First use of digital compositing to create a period-appropriate setting, and first use of [[Radiosity (computer graphics)|radiosity]] lighting in a feature film.
|-
|''[[Toy Story]]''
|First CGI feature-length animation. Added to the United States National Film Registry in 2005.
|-
|''[[Cassiopeia (1996 film)|Cassiopeia]]''
| rowspan="5" |1996
|Second feature-length CGI animation and first CGI feature film not to use scanned models for heads. First Brazilian CGI feature animation. Produced and released by NDR Filmes.
|-
|''[[The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996 film)|The Island of Dr. Moreau]]''
|First film to use motion-capture CGI to portray a character.
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Country (TV series)|Donkey Kong Country]]''
|First half-hour computer-animated TV series to use motion capture for their characters.
|-
| ''[[DragonHeart]]''
|First 2-D all-CGI backgrounds with live-actors. First film to use ILM's Caricature software (created during the film's production).
|-
| ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers]]''
|First CGI ''[[Transformers]]'' animated series produced by [[Rainmaker Entertainment|Mainframe Entertainment]]. Sequel to the [[The Transformers (TV series)|original ''Transformers'']].
|-
|''[[Star Wars]]'' (Episodes ''[[Star Wars (film)|IV]], [[The Empire Strikes Back|V]] and [[Return of the Jedi|VI]] [[List of changes in Star Wars re-releases|Special Editions]]'')
|rowspan=4 align="center" |1997
|First re-release of a film to incorporate CGI characters and elements.
|-
|''[[Marvin the Martian in 3D]]''
|First CGI film created for viewing with 3-D glasses.
|-
|''[[Spawn (1997 film)|Spawn]]''
|First extensive use of CGI fire in a feature film beyond sweetening. First film to integrate a CGI fabric onto a character's costume.<ref name=filmsite17>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmsite.org/visualeffects14.html |title=Greatest Visual and Special Effects (F/X) - Milestones in Film, 1997-1998 | last = Dirks | first = Tim |website= Filmsite.org | publisher = Filmsite | access-date=March 3, 2024}}</ref>
|-
|''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]''
|First wide-release feature film with CGI elements rendered under the [[Open-source software|open-source]] [[Linux]] operating system.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/6339 | publisher=Linux Journal | title=Linux and Star Trek | author=Rowe, Robin | date=2003-01-01}}</ref> Also included a number of advances, specifically in the rendering of flowing water.
|-
|''[[A Bug's Life]]''
|rowspan=3 align="center" |1998
|First CGI anamorphic widescreen film. First all-digital transfer to [[DVD]]. First film to be reframed for [[home video]] releases.
|-
|''[[Invasion: Earth (TV series)|Invasion: Earth]]''
|First major use of digital effects in a British TV series.
|-
|''[[What Dreams May Come (film)|What Dreams May Come]]''
|First use of CGI in combination with 3-D location scanning ([[Lidar]]) and motion-analysis based 3-D camera tracking in a feature film.
|-
|''[[Fight Club]]''
|rowspan=3 align="center" |1999
|First [[photogrammetry]] based [[virtual cinematography]] scenes, including the first [[bullet time]] sex scene with fully naked body renderings of body doubles for [[Helena Bonham Carter]] and [[Brad Pitt]]; renderings of different settings with both extreme close-ups and wide shots; and the first very photorealistic close-up rendering of a human face - which also belongs to a famous actor in a leading role ([[Edward Norton]]) - with detailed facial deformation and extreme close-ups (starting at the cell-level of the brain, flying through the different layers of tissues, a follicle and the skin with sweat droplets).
|-
|''[[The Matrix]]''
|First use of CGI [[interpolation]] with [[bullet time]] effects. Added to the National Film Registry in 2012.
|-
|''[[Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace]]''
|First film to have a fully CGI-rendered supporting character using performance footage captured on-set, pioneering this commonly used technique. Extensive use of CGI for thousands of shots, including backgrounds, visual effects, vehicles, and crowds. 
|}

==2000s==
{| class="wikitable"
!Film/television series
!Year
!Notes
|-
| ''[[Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within]]''
| rowspan="4" align="center" |2001
|First CGI feature-length digital film to be made based on [[photorealism]] and [[live-action]] principles. The first theatrically released feature film to utilize motion capture for all of its characters actions.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,997597,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051121073232/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,997597,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=November 21, 2005 | magazine=Time | title=Cinema: A Painstaking Fantasy | date=2000-07-31}}</ref>
|-
|''[[Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (film)|Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius]]''
|First CGI feature-length movie made using [[Commercial off-the-shelf|off-the-shelf]] hardware and software.
|-
|''[[Shrek]]''
|First CGI-animated movie to win an Academy Award for the Best Animated Feature Film. Added to the United States National Film Registry in 2020.
|-
|''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]''
|First use of [[Artificial Intelligence|AI]] for digital actors (using the [[Massive (software)|Massive]] software developed by [[Weta Digital]]).
|-
|''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]''
| rowspan="3" align="center" |2002
|First virtual actor to win an award ([[Critics' Choice Movie Awards]] by [[Andy Serkis]] playing [[Gollum]]), in the newly created category ''Best Digital Acting Performance''
|-
|''[[Spider-Man (2002 film)|Spider-Man]]''
|First digitally rendered photorealistic costume.
|-
|''[[Ice Age (2002 film)|Ice Age]]''
|First CGI full-length feature animated film exclusively rendered with a ray tracer (CGI Studio).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.awn.com/animationworld/ray-tracers-blue-sky-studios|title=Ray Tracers: Blue Sky Studios|access-date=2016-06-30}}</ref>
|-
|''[[The Matrix Reloaded]]''
|align="center" |2003
|''The Burly Brawl'' - the first use of "universal capture", the combination of [[markerless motion capture]], per-frame [[texture mapping|texture]] capture and [[optical flow]] of [[pixel]]s over the data from [[multi-camera setup|7 camera setup]] bought into a shared UV space by projection onto a neutral expression geometry leading to the introduction of realistic [[digital look-alike]]s
|-
|''[[Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks]]''
|align="center"| 2003-2007
|First 3D rendered computer animated television show.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.awn.com/animationworld/mike-young-figures-out-how-count-cgi-sheep|title=Mike Young Figures Out How To Count CGI Sheep|access-date=April 13, 2021}}</ref>
|-
|''[[Able Edwards]]''
| rowspan="5" align="center" |2004
|First movie shot completely on a green screen using digitally scanned images as backgrounds.     
|-
|''[[:es:Olocoons_(miniserie)|Olocoons]]''
|First CGI-animated series to use Cel-shaded designs and backgrounds mixed with 2-D elements.
|-
|''[[Shrek 2]]''
|First feature film to use global illumination.<ref>{{cite web |last=Christensen |first=Per H. |date=July 2010 |title=Point-Based Global Illumination for Movie Production |url=https://graphics.pixar.com/library/PointBasedGlobalIlluminationForMovieProduction/paper.pdf |access-date=9 April 2022 |website=graphics.pixar.com}}</ref>
|-
|''[[Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow]]''
|First movie with all-CGI backgrounds and live-actors.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.05/conran.html | magazine=Wired | title=Kid Robot and the World of Tomorrow}}</ref>
|-
|''[[The Polar Express (film)|The Polar Express]]''
|First computer-animated film to be created with [[motion capture]].
|-
|''[[Chicken Little (2005 film)|Chicken Little]]''
|align="center" |2005
|First feature-length computer-animated film released in [[3D film|3D]].
|-
|''[[Elephants Dream]]''
|align="center" |2006
|First CGI short movie released as completely open source. Made with [[open-source software]], theatrical and DVD release under [[Creative Commons]] License.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elephantsdream.org/|title=Elephants Dream|website=www.elephantsdream.org}}</ref> Unique that all 3D models, animatics and software are included on the DVD free for any use.
|-
|''[[Flatland (2007 Ehlinger film)|Flatland]]''
|align="center" |2007
|First CGI feature film to be animated by one person. Made with [[Lightwave 3D]] and [[Adobe After Effects]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.flatlandthefilm.com/news.php?CurrentPage=15|title=Flatland director Ladd Ehlinger Jr. starts column Filmmaker's Perspective for GreenCine.com|publisher=Flatland}}</ref>
|-
|''[[Plumíferos]]''
|rowspan=3 align="center" |2009
|First CGI feature-length movie made using [[open source]]/[[free software]] for all 3-D models, animation, lighting and render process, under [[Linux]] operating system.
|-
|''[[Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar]]''
|First full-length movie made using motion capture to create photorealistic 3-D characters and to feature a fully CG 3-D photorealistic world.  The first virtual art department and complete virtual production pipeline was developed by director [[James Cameron]] and team to create the film in real-time.
|-
|''[[Up (2009 film)|Up]]''
|First computer-animated feature to be nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Picture]].
|-
|}

==2010s==
{| class="wikitable"
!Film
!Year
!Notes
|-
|''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]''
|2012
| First CGI ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|TMNT]]'' animated series.
|-
|''[[Oblivion (2013 film) | Oblivion]]''
|2013
|First-ever use of a virtual production set on a feature film. 
|-
|''[[Zafari]]''
|rowspan="2"align="center" |2018
|First television series produced entirely using a [[game engine]] (specifically [[Unreal Engine 4]]).
|-
|''[[Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse]]''
|First feature film to heavily use machine learning on artist-generated original data to aid production.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grochola |first=Pav |date=2019-05-20 |title=Ink Lines and Machine Learning - fxguide |url=https://www.fxguide.com/fxfeatured/ink-lines-and-machine-learning/ |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=www.fxguide.com/ |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
|''[[The Mandalorian]]''
|2019
|First usage of a 360-degree LED screen to combine virtual sets with live action actors.
|-
|}

==2020s==
{| class="wikitable"
!Film
!Year
!Notes
|-
|''[[Avatar: The Way of Water]]''
|2022
|First use of motion capture in underwater photography.
|-
|''The Death of Film''
|2025
|The first film fully made from generative AI. The film is also the first animated film over 24 hours.<ref name="tdofwdtv">{{Cite web |date=February 13, 2025 |title=First at 4 Forum: Samuel Felinton & Declan Mungovan |url=https://www.wdtv.com/2025/02/13/first-4-forum-samuel-felinton-declan-mungovan/ |access-date=2025-02-13 |publisher=WDTV5}}</ref>
|}

==See also==
* [[Animation]]
* [[List of computer-animated films]]
* [[List of computer-animated television series]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.cg101.com CG101: A Computer Graphics Industry Reference] {{ISBN|073570046X}} Unique and personal histories of early computer graphics production, plus a comprehensive foundation of the industry for all reading levels.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041126093037/http://accad.osu.edu/~waynec/history/lesson11.html CG production companies] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20070517144718/http://accad.osu.edu/~waynec/history/lesson14.html CGI in the movies] - detailed historical information
* [http://www.filmsite.org/visualeffects1.html Milestones in Film History: Greatest Visual and Special Effects]

{{Animation}}

[[Category:Visual effects]]
[[Category:Computing timelines|CGI in movies]]
[[Category:Television technology]]
[[Category:Lists of films and television series]]
[[Category:Animation techniques]]
[[Category:Animation-related lists]]
[[Category:Timelines of mass media]]