The 5 Best & 5 Worst CGI Sidekicks Ever Seen In LiveAction Movies (Including Sonic The Hedgehog)
The 5 Best & 5 Worst CGI Sidekicks Ever Seen In Live-Action Movies (Including Sonic The Hedgehog)
Contents
There are some Live-Action films that feature CGI sidekicks. Here’s a look at 5 of the best and worst to ever appear.
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It used to be that the only way to have animated characters interact with live actors was to animate the characters in live-action films, like Roger Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Bugs Bunny in Space Jam. Then in the ’90s, when computer technology had advanced enough, movies could premiere characters done completely with CGI, like Jar-Jar Binks in Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace.
These characters were almost always tag-alongs to the main protagonist, and their presence was meant to immerse audiences in the film’s story, not pull them out of it. When done right, a CGI side-kick can be a welcome inclusion. When done wrong, they become a distracting hindrance. With the release of Sonic the Hedgehog, has Hollywood finally got it right? Let’s explore the best and worst CGI side-kicks below.
10 BEST: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
After much trial and error on the part of his designers, the beloved blue video game hero Sonic the Hedgehog has exploded onto screens all across the country in his own feature film. Unlike early trailers, which showed a horrifyingly anthropomorphic Sonic, the film version is reflective of fans’ input and features the Sonic they remember.
The film wisely focuses a lot on Sonic (who’s his usual sarcastic and plucky self) as he teams up with a human pal, Sheriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) to take on the evil Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik (Jim Carrey). Sonic looks exactly like how fans remember him, and provides not only a great deal of comic relief but a lot of heart as well.
9 WORST: SCOOBY DOO
Scooby-Doo and his pals at Mystery Inc. have been solving curious cases ever since 1969, when the Hanna-Barbera animated series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! first premiered. In the decades since, Scoobs has been seeking out the supernatural in a variety of cartoons, as well as two live-action films; Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.
In animation, characters like Scooby-Doo can do things they wouldn’t ordinarily be able to do in the real world. Having giant CG dogs suddenly vault ten feet in the air and leap into people’s arms looks ridiculous in what’s supposed to be an environment grounded by such things as gravity and physics.
8 BEST: DETECTIVE PIKACHU
Like Sonic the Hedgehog, Pikachu was a beloved fictional character from certain fans’ childhoods, who had grown up either training him through playing the Pokémon card game, or watching him in the Pokémon anime series. He made his first feature film debut in Detective Pikachu, where he was depicted as a pint-sized private eye and voiced by Ryan Reynolds.
In the film, Pikachu teams up with Tim Goodman to help him solve the mystery of his father’s unexpected death. Tim is the only person who can hear Pikachu speak, and as a result, has most of the humorous interactions with him. While it’s a little jarring to hear Pikachu say anything other than “Pika!”, he’s a fully realized character who’s capable of an entire range of emotions.
7 WORST: TED
Taking the lovable side-kick trope and infusing it with some refreshing adult humor and mature content might have sounded like a good idea, but Ted doesn’t know when it’s over-stuffed. The film focuses on the special bond between a boy and his enchanted teddy bear, which turns into the very special bond between a 35-year old man and the same bear.
Despite being in the adorable body of a stuffed animal, Ted (Seth McFarlane) is a beer-drinking, womanizing loudmouth who gets away with being racist and sexist because he’s a child’s toy. Ted plays second fiddle to his human roommate John’s progressing need to grow beyond him, until he finally stops being selfish and lets him go. Except that they’re pretty much right back in the same place in Ted 2.
6 BEST: GOLLUM
The character of Gollum represents an incredible achievement in CGI, and remains a testament to its immersive impact on film when done well. Gollum first appeared in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy in 2001, and nearly two decades later he looks as well-rendered as he ever did.
Once a Hobbit named Smeagol who was corrupted by the Ring of Power, Gollum acts as Frodo’s guide to Mordor out of a selfish desire to steal it from him. Over the three films, Gollum’s battle with his conscience unfolds to dramatic effect, and audiences were quite moved by his depth of emotions.
5 WORST: JAR-JAR BINKS
Star Wars fans anxiously anticipated George Lucas’s triumphant return to the Skywalker saga with his prequel trilogy, which began in 1999 with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. While Lucas was praised for much of his world-building, not all of the characters he added to that galaxy far, far away were received positively.
Jar-Jar Binks, the Gungan who becomes the bumbling side-kick to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi within the first fifteen minutes of the film, is a hapless caricature who is painfully unfunny and too distracting to the rest of the film’s action. His role was thankfully downplayed in the rest of the trilogy.
4 BEST: ROCKET & GROOT
While the MCU is no stranger to CGI beings, some of them (like the Hulk) can seem one-dimensional, and less interesting than their flesh-and-blood counterparts. Rocket and Groot, however, have seemed as fully realized as any corporeal entity since their first appearance in the Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy.
Between the wise-cracking, genetically modified raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and the monosyllabic arboreal giant Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel),they’re like an extraterrestrial Laurel and Hardy with no end to the jocularity of their shenanigans. The dynamic duo could easily headline their own spin-off series on Disney+.
3 WORST: BLARP
Watching Matt LeBlanc struggle with the monkey-like creature Blarp is like watching him struggle with his first major film role. Lost in Space, the 1998 film based on the ’60s television series, may have boasted some pretty big stars (Academy Award winners William Hurt and Gary Oldman), but none of them were able to give the sci-fi adventure any lift-off.
Much of the fault lies with characters like Blarp, who are meant to evoke the same sort of warm feelings associated with a Jim Henson critter but fail to because they’re not puppets. Blarp wasn’t sophisticated enough to get as much screen time as he did, and constantly saying “Blarp” is no “Pika” or “I Am Groot”.
2 BEST: DRACO
Amidst the rolling hills of Medieval England’s countryside Dragonheart introduces two heroes; one Sir Bowen (Dennis Quaid), a knight of the old code who’s become cynical and disillusioned, and the other Draco (voiced by Sean Connery), the last dragon on Earth who decides misery loves company. Together they scam villagers, with Bowen “slaying Draco” and being drowned in coin for his efforts.
A con that could have made the basis for a fun series a la The Witcher comes to an end when they discover a terrible secret and Bowen must put his ideals to the test. The report between the two changes over the course of the film, from mistrust to genuine brotherhood, and the performances (coupled by exceptional ’90s CGI) will make you believe dragons existed.
1 WORST: THE THREE FAIRIES
Maleficent may have given Disney the gumption to greenlight a dozen more live-action versions of the company’s animated classics, but it doesn’t mean the film didn’t have its drawbacks. Mainly having to sit through any scene involving the three fairies, who hide Aurora from the vengeful Maleficent.
With Hobbit-sounding names like Knotgrass, Flittle, and Thistlewit, the three fairies do their best to bring comic relief to the films, but even in their garish outfits they’re nowhere near as interesting as the other CGI creatures that live in Maleficent’s Moors. Not only that, but their voices are shrill and irritating, making you wish Maleficent would turn them into something mute.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/live-action-cgi-sidekicks-best-worst-ever/
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