Top 10 Most Realistic CGI Characters in Movies

Gollum (Andy Serkis) - The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit

Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was introduced in the 1937 children's fantasy novel The Hobbit and became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings. In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, he is portrayed... read more

To this day, over twelve years after the release of 'The Two Towers', WETA Digital's perfectly crafted Gollum remains one of the most realistic computer-generated characters ever to appear on screen.

How did they manage to make him look so precise?

My favorite motion capture performance.

Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) - Pirates of the Caribbean

Davy Jones is a fictional villain in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He first appears in the second installment, Dead Man's Chest, and returns in the third film, At World's End. The character is portrayed by actor Bill Nighy using motion capture and CGI to create his iconic tentacled appearance... read more

Nighy, himself, has been forced to tell numerous interviewers that the special effects used to create his appearance in 'Dead Man's Chest' and 'At World's End' were not made up of latex appliances or makeup of any kind. In truth, not even his actual eyes were used. It was all computer, baby.

Woah, didn't know that at all!

Davy Jones was amazing.

Caesar (Andy Serkis) - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The motion capture in 2011's 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' was impressive but the effects were downright unbelievable once the 2014 sequel came around.

All of the apes in Planet of the Apes look like they could actually exist in this world.

Honestly looks better than real apes.

Godzilla - Godzilla (2014)

Godzilla is a giant monster originating from a series of Japanese tokusatsu films beginning with the 1954 film Godzilla produced by Toho. Over the decades, the character has appeared in numerous films, television shows, comic books, and video games. Godzilla is widely regarded as a cultural icon and... read more

Yes, Godzilla looks like a real creature in Godzilla and King of the Monsters as well.

Thanos (Josh Brolin) - Avengers: Infinity War

Tyrannosaurus Rex - Jurassic Park

When 1993's 'Jurassic Park' came out, nothing of that scale had ever been attempted. Evenly mixed with giant puppets and animatronics, the dinos all look mind-blowingly real, even to this day. Let's hope the trend is continued with the upcoming fourth installment, 'Jurassic World'.

Alita - Alita: Battle Angel

Alita (Rosa Salazar) looks so real it is hard to even tell she is CGI.

Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) - Transformers series

Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. He is consistently depicted as having strong moral character, excellent leadership, and sound decision-making skills. Optimus Prime is known for his military tactics, powerful martial arts, and advanced alien weaponry, and he serves... read more

There has to be over a million separate parts within every one of those CGI models. Each part looks as convincing as the others.

King Kong (Andy Serkis) - King Kong (2005)

This marks the third addition to this list that has featured a character played by the Mo-Cap master, Andy Serkis. After playing the mightiest of monkeys (technically apes, I know) in this film, he was selected as the obvious choice to portray the lead in the current 'Planet of the Apes' series (2011-).

King Ghidorah - Godzilla: King of the Monsters

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Megatron (Hugo Weaving/Frank Welker) - Transformers

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Ava (Alicia Vikander) - Ex Machina

Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) - Avatar

Every member of the Na'vi is equally ultra-realistic, of course. But no one matches the energy and radiance (not to mention screen time) of Neytiri.

I was always blown away by how realistic the CGI looks.

The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) - Marvel's The Avengers & Avengers: Age of Ultron

The 2003 film was way too rubbery-looking, and the 2008 film's Hulk was a little boney-looking, to be honest. Well, after nine years and three movies of trying, we were finally given the Hulk we always wanted in 2012's 'The Avengers'. And soon we'll get to see more of the lovable green brute in 2015's 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'.

Mothra - Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Needs to be higher on the list! She's so perfect and gorgeous. Sorry, Goji.

Yoda - Star Wars

Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He first appeared in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back and serves as a wise and powerful Jedi Master with deep knowledge of the Force. Yoda was originally performed by Frank Oz, who provided the character's voice and... read more

Awesome and should be higher!

When in motion, the CGI Yoda from Revenge of the Sith still rivals most CGI today.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Ben Schwartz) - Sonic the Hedgehog

Aslan (Liam Neeson) - The Chronicles of Narnia

Aslan is the central character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. He is portrayed as a powerful and noble lion who plays a key role in guiding and protecting the characters in the stories. Aslan is often interpreted as a symbol of good and represents themes of sacrifice and resurrection... read more

Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) - Guardians of the Galaxy

King Kong (Terry Notary) - Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Indominus Rex - Jurassic World

Indominus rex was a fictional genetically engineered hybrid dinosaur created for the 2015 film Jurassic World. The creature was designed by combining traits from multiple species to be the park's ultimate attraction. It became the film's primary antagonist and sparked global chaos in the story.

Dobby - Harry Potter

Dobby is a fictional house-elf from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. He first appears in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and becomes a recurring character throughout the series. Dobby is known for his loyalty to Harry Potter and ultimately sacrifices his life to save his friends.

Mechagodzilla - Ready Player One

Iorek Byrnison (Ian McKellen) - The Golden Compass

Iorek Byrnison is a fictional character from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. He is a powerful and intelligent armored bear who becomes king of the panserbjørne, a race of sentient polar bears. Iorek serves as a loyal ally and protector to the protagonist, Lyra Belacqua, throughout her journey... read more

Grendel's Mother (Angelina Jolie) - Beowulf (2007)

While the entire movie was made up of impressive CGI visuals and motion-capture performances, Angelina's memorable appearance as the evil temptress was, perhaps, the most stunningly realistic element of them all.

Sonny (Alan Tudyk) - I, Robot (2004)

What's written above looks like a weird 70s-80s pop band, doesn't it? Anyway, 'I, Robot' features the perfect blend of action, science-fiction, suspense, and (of course) freaky, translucent, ET-chested, punchy, ninja robots!