A gentle alien is stranded on Earth, discovered, and befriended by a young boy named Elliott.

ILM created the now iconic image of E.T. and Elliot flying over the face of a full moon using the studio’s Go-Motion technology combined with exquisitely crafted miniatures and puppet characters shot on a blue screen and then seamlessly inserted into live action plates.

The legendary ILM model shop created the forced perspective neighborhood, miniature forest, and E.T.’s dazzling mothership. ILM’s effects team was honored with the Academy Award® for Best Visual Effects for their efforts in 1982.

Director
Steven Spielberg
ILM Visual Effects Supervisor
Dennis Muren
ILM Animation Supervisor
Sam Comstock