Men in Black
A streetwise NYPD detective joins a secret organization that polices extraterrestrial affairs on Earth. From the fully animated CG close-up of Tony Shalhoub’s head to the one-quarter scale model of the Midtown Tunnel, Men in Black required ILM to utilize every tool in their repertoire of special effects techniques. Men in Black was a unique…
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
A research team is sent to the Jurassic Park Site B island to study the dinosaurs there while another team approaches with a different agenda. The successful creature animation in Jurassic Park left no doubt that ILM could put even more digital dinosaurs into this film — herds of them, in fact — thanks to…
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park represents a milestone in modern visual effects and ushered an era of films whose scripts were once thought to be impossible to film. To create living, breathing, photorealistic dinosaurs the likes of which had never been seen before, the visual effects team developed a substantial amount of new technology. From Viewpaint, a 3D…
Jumanji
Robin Williams and Kirsten Dunst star in this blockbuster hit and critical favorite that combines magical special effects with an entrancing mix of fantasy, adventure, and comedy. Young Alan Parrish sits down as a young boy to play a game with his friend, Sarah, and on a roll of the dice is mysteriously transported into…
Hook
When his young children are abducted by his old nemesis Captain Hook, middle-aged lawyer Peter Banning returns to his magical origins as Peter Pan. With 200,000 accumulated work hours, the film is only second to Return of the Jedi for the most time-intensive ILM production in the company’s first 15 years of business. The film…
Forrest Gump
Slow-witted Forrest Gump, never thinking of himself as disadvantaged, leads anything but a restricted life. ILM broke new ground in weaving archival footage seamlessly into the film’s story, allowing Forrest Gump to shake hands with Presidents Nixon, Johnson, and Kennedy. A variety of “invisible” effects were also created for the film, including the now iconic falling…
Dragonheart
ILM further developed its breakthrough facial animation software, Caricature, to make Draco come to life for this film. The technology became a big stepping stone at ILM, impacting many of its digital characters for years to come. For ILM, the project lasted about two years, with a mixture of practical and digital effects including a…
Backdraft
Kurt Russell and William Baldwin are two feuding siblings carrying on a heroic family tradition as Chicago firefighters in this acclaimed suspense story filled with some of the most awe-inspiring fire sequences ever captured on film. ILM contributed to a number of critical shots for the film — cutting seamlessly with the onset special effects…