I wasn’t quite sure where to post the following; in the ‘Light & Magic documentary’ thread, or one of the relevant ‘Looks like the Prequels are not aging well’ or ‘The Worst Scene/Sequence in Any Star Wars Film’ threads; in the end I opted for its own thread.

Poor quality CGI and CGI-affected shots & scenes in the Prequel Trilogy…

Something the recent Season 2 ‘Light & Magic’ documentary never seemed to mention… was the poor quality CGI throughout the Prequel Trilogy films - along with the reasons for that. This was quite a jarring omittance by ILM / Lucasfilm - and very much in contrast to their highlighting and underscoring of the limitations practical effects (and the supposed end of practical effects) when CGI was starting to take off as covered in Season 1 of their L&M doc.

So, this is an attempt to highlight some of those issue-laden CGI scenes throughout the Prequels… (all in one centralised thread).
 

Whether the CGI issues were physics-defying, just poorly executed, or somehow unfinished yet - still passing QC (quality control), having that familiar weightless/mass-less CGI effect, or overuse / density of CGI occurring in scenes to the point where the viewer has little to focus on, or the CGI not ‘interacting’ or blending with the human actors, or simply the quality of CGI helping take the viewer out of immersion of viewing the film.

Which is all quite surprising given George himself saw this technology as having reached the levels ready to achieve what he couldn’t previously do with practical effects or CGI effects for what he had in mind for the Prequel Trilogy films…

🔸 During Industrial Light and Magic’s first test shots of the dinosaurs for 1993’s Jurassic Park, George Lucas recalled:-

“It was like one of those moments in history, like the invention of the light bulb or the first telephone call… A major gap had been crossed and things were never going to be the same.”

^ from How ‘Jurassic Park’ Made History 25 Years Ago, Propelling Computer-Generated Animation Forward - a Smithsonian article.

🔸 Also, in this interview with George Lucas…

“…or would I go back at that point and finish Star Wars? Just do this backstory - which I never really intended to do… and wasn’t written as a movie… and which technically couldn’t be done when I finished Return Of The Jedi. But now… 15 years later… I have the technology - ILM had developed digital technology to a point - after Jurassic Park - that I could actually consider doing some of the things that were thought about in the backstory [the Prequel Trilogy].”

 
🔸 and later in the same interview…

“…this’ll be fun - because this will be doing the Star Wars that I did before - without all the frustration of bumping into the technology.”

^ from How George Lucas Decided To Make The STAR WARS Prequels - a 3 minute youtube video from the AFI youtube channel (the relevant section starts at 1m 17s into the video)…

🔸 ILM’s Creative Director Rob Coleman talking on how the 1996 film ‘Dragonheart’ influenced George to do the Prequels:-

“I found out later on that George was watching from his house - and they were showing him what ILM was doing - and when he saw Dragonheart he then said ‘ILM’s ready to do The Phantom Menace - they’ve now shown me they are ready to do digital characters - we’re ready to go’.”

^ STAR WARS PREQUELS began because of DRAGON(HEART) - a 40 second youtube clip from Star Wars Updated.

Unfortunately, George was mistaken - the technology was not ready - certainly not ready for the sheer volume, quality and quantity he envisioned to be required (or desired) for making the Prequel Trilogy films. Even to the point where George’s own VFX Supervisor was calling for live action scenes with human actors to be used (in practical clone trooper costumes) to take help reduce the demands and workload of the VFX team. Unfortunately, that request from John Knoll was rejected… and the clone troopers remained CGI (as seen in Season 2 of the ‘Light & Magic’ documentary from Lucasfilm).

Certain CGI scenes and shots in the Prequels do indeed look great - and have certainly held up well over time - also meshing well with the human actors. Yet it is obviously more noticeable… more apparent… when scenes with CGI do not blend well, when they do stick out to the human eye, or have that unfortunate ‘CGI effect’ - pulling the viewer out of being immersed in the film.

This is perhaps more conspicuous in the Prequel Trilogy films due to that sheer volume of CGI - and a percentage of it not meeting a ‘quality control’ threshold - yet still released in the final cuts… whereas other blockbusters or ‘big event’ films from the same time - The Matrix films, Lord Of The Rings trilogy, Spiderman, Gladiator, War Of The Worlds, King Kong, and a year later Pirates Of The Caribbean, etc… all seemingly achieved well-received praise and awards for use of CGI or high quality of CGI effects (yet many had featured a blend of both practical and CGI effects; perhaps using CGI effects to enhance scenes where needed… instead of being being in nearly every scene by design, a la the Prequels).

⬇️ • A must watch…

This informative, insightful, and ‘explainer’ type video illustrates the issues, as well as the cause and effect, of having too much CGI in AOTC - much of it also applies to the other Prequel films (inc quality limitations & sheer workload put on the VFX teams)…
 

Why Does Attack of the Clones Look Like a Video Game? - a 30 minute youtube video from Empire Wreckers.

^ it also highlights the limited time VFX teams often have with shots, QC, issues re the ‘fix it in comp’ approach, volume & workload.

Attack Of The Clones co-writer AOTC Jonathan Hales on the overusing CGI in films…
 

Problems with CGI in Star Wars Prequel Trilogy - a 20 second youtube clip from Star Wars Updated.

Ewan McGregor highlights just one of his numerous many scenes with bluescreen / greenscreen backgrounds in the PT…
 

Ewan McGregor On George Lucas hilarious Green Screen Directing - a 40 second youtube clip from Order 66 Collectibles.

 
and…
 

^ a screenshot from The Hollywood Reporters’ 2021 article: “I Have the Career I Started Out Wanting”
 

Ewan McGregor recalls green-screen effects on ‘Star Wars’ Prequels: ‘It was a shame’ - 2016 Business Insider article.
 

^ a screenshot from a 2024 FandomWire re a 2002 Star Wars Insider interview (Issue #60) with Ewan McGregor.

A Mini-Index…

 
0️⃣ • Introduction (this post)

1️⃣ • The Phantom Menace

2️⃣ • Attack Of The Clones

3️⃣ • Revenge Of The Sith

4️⃣ • Your own irksome / noticeable / poorly executed CGI scenes & CGI-affected scenes from the Prequel films…

More OriginalTrilogy•com threads on the substandard nature and application of poor CGI in the Prequel Trilogy can be found in…

❕ An Index & Help Thread for Beyond the Original Trilogy ❕ - and then scroll down to ‘6️⃣ • The Prequel Trilogy’ section.

There used to be a great image thread from back in the day on here re PT CGI issues - though I can’t find it anymore - plus many of the image links have very likely broken over time (photobucket and other older defunct image sites) - hence this new ‘cenrtralised’ thread.

1️⃣ • Episode I: The Phantom Menace

^ in comparison to earlier shots of the same object…

^ 15 minute 2019 Corridor Crew youtube video: VFX Artists React to THE PREQUELS Bad & Great CGi - at 9 minutes and 33 seconds into the video.

^ 15 minute 2019 Corridor Crew youtube video: VFX Artists React to THE PREQUELS Bad & Great CGi - at 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the video.
 

^ although the Corridor Crew are mistaken when they claim re JarJar: “…this was the first time we had a fully computer generated character… interacting with real actors and having mannerisms…” in the above video:-

The First Fully CGI Character Is Nearly 40 Years Old - And Looks Surprisingly Great - a 2024 ScreenRant article.

or…

What was the first movie to feature a CGI lead character? - a 2022 FarOut article - re Casper (1995 film)

 
Star Wars but only Fode and Beed scenes - a 70 youtube clip of the PodRace announcers’ scenes.

 
WESA Army vs DROID Army - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace - 5 minute youtube video of the Gungans vs Droids

^ an oft-overlooked error in many an early-era CGI character appearance - the eyelines of the human actors not matching those of their latterly-installed CGI counterparts. A simple yet very noticeable occurrence.

^ No, the above image is not from one of the video game tie-ins… or animated series - but from the film itself.

^ No, again, the above image is not from one of the video game tie-ins… or animated series - but from the film itself.

^ In certain scenes it appears Jar Jar resembles a cartoon character from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? than a CGI character in a theatrical film.
 

Jar Jar Binks Tongue Grab - a 30 second clip of Qui-Gon being irritated by Jar Jar’s table manner.

^ No, the above image is not from one of the video game tie-ins… or animated series - but from the film itself.
 

There’s always a bigger fish - a short 90 second youtube clip; the sea creature appearing from 40 seconds onwards…

 
Big Gooberfish - a 3 minute video clip; this sea creature appearing at 2 minutes and 40 seconds into the video.

 
Sebulba Scenes (Ep 1, Clone Wars) - the first 2 mins and 20 seconds of this 3 minute video clip highlight Sebulba not blending into his environment - or backgrounds of the scenes he appears in.

^ CGI Watto does tend to stand out against some of the background scenes in The Phantom Menace… resulting in him looking noticeably more cartoonish or an a creature from an animated series than from a live-action theatrical film.
 

We’ll let fate decide… - 40 second youtube clip of a poorly CGI’d Watto onto a flat looking background.

Yes, the sculpt of Yoda was certainly CPY - made from heavier and very different looking silicone - instead of the Original Trilogy sculpts which were made from latex. And CPY definitely warranted criticism for looking not much like a 30 years younger Yoda.

Yet, instead of reverting back to latex to replace the much abashed silicone CPY from the original TPM film… it was decided to go with a CGI Yoda instead - apparently as George later wanted Yoda to fight Dooku in ATOC and so likely wanted flexibility and uniformity for Yoda’s appearance across the 3 PT films. A pity, as even the replacement CGI Yoda in TPM doesn’t emote or have the magical air, that mysticism, or grace that the latex sculpt used in the Original Trilogy had…

Resulting in another underwhelming CGI fail/shortcoming - or rather the CGI likely not being quite ready to give that OT magic to one of the most important characters in the Prequel films.
 

The PROBLEM with YODA in The Phantom Menace - a 35 second youtube video from Star Wars Update.
 

Some further related info: Interview with Nick Maley (special effects make-up artist on all 4 Yoda’s in the OT) - at yodajeff.com
 

2️⃣ • Episode II: Attack Of The Clones

Jango Fett’s Slave I vs Kenobi’s Jedi Starfighter - 3 minute video of the scene; with the ship-on-ship fight starting at 110 seconds into the video.

Kenobi manages to exposition the line “Oh, blast! This is why I hate flying”… whilst continuing to fly in a straight-ish line with Jango Fett firing multiple rapid fire shots at almost point-blank range from behind the craft - before reacting and then turning.

It seems a bizarre choice to position the CGI ships so close to each other with Slave I continually missing the Jedi Starfighter despite multiple shots being fired at such a close range… especially when the scene would likely be more believable - and have more tension - if the ships were simply much farther apart?

^ some 70 seconds into this 14 minute 2024 WhatCulture youtube video: 10 More Worst CGI Moments In Star Wars
 

to find more gifs… or Jedi wielding sabers and killing droids… without really hitting them… (or them dying before being hit / hit by a saber in a non-lethal area etc - to expand upon)

and landing on the creature effortlessly; albeit legs akimbo - with no damage / fracture to her pelvis, hips, or legs 😉

4b. Poor CGI’d lizard trying to get to Padme on top of the pole… (and Padme aiming to hit it about 1 foot behind where the lizard’s CGI head appears onscreen).

^ some 80 seconds into this 14 minute 2024 WhatCulture youtube video: 10 More Worst CGI Moments In Star Wars

 
At 9 minutes into this 14 minute 2024 WhatCulture youtube video: 10 More Worst CGI Moments In Star Wars

and…

this 20 second youtube clip on the Clones leaving Kamino: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR_icgUc8iA

^ the artificial feeling of it all - colours and composition, lighting / shading… no atmosphere, no actual believability to 3 characters walking down a hallway etc.
 

9 minutes into this 14 minute 2024 WhatCulture youtube video: 10 More Worst CGI Moments In Star Wars
 

 
^ 15 minute 2019 Corridor Crew youtube video: VFX Artists React to THE PREQUELS Bad & Great CGi - at 6 minutes and 40 seconds into the video.

All 5 uninterrupted minutes of the infamous ‘CGI Droid Factory’ scene: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaxMHBxck5I

^ It feels like it was made and shot to sell a forthcoming Gameboy-esque game tie-in the film.

 
Dooku appears to be ‘fighting air’ in the fight at times… and later Yoda has light casting off from his lightsaber - yet Dooku does not have any from his…

^ 15 minute 2019 Corridor Crew youtube video: VFX Artists React to THE PREQUELS Bad & Great CGi - at 8 minutes and 50 seconds into the video.

^ no, this scene isn’t from an animated show or computer game - but from the film Attack Of The Clones…

or…

^ Dex doesn’t seem to be in the same scene at Obi-Wan when interacting with him. There are many other ways the scene could have been shot to show Kenobi an Dex hugging / showing their bond or friendship. This CGI didn’t work - again pulling the viewer out of the immersion of the scene.

2 sides of CGI separatists vs Clones fight each other on Geonosis - with no emotion, stakes, resonance, tactics… they just run towards each other shooting because that’s what the CGI artists though would happen? Nobody corrected them - or gave them advice; tactics etc - or didn’t because the CGI wasn’t able to show that? (or poor direction?)
 

^ 15 minute 2019 Corridor Crew youtube video: VFX Artists React to THE PREQUELS Bad & Great CGi - at 5 minutes and 33 seconds into the video.

or…

some 7 minutes into this 14 minute 2024 WhatCulture youtube video: 10 More Worst CGI Moments In Star Wars

3️⃣ • Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith

^ some 10 mins and 30 secs into this 14 minute 2024 WhatCulture youtube video: 10 More Worst CGI Moments In Star Wars

Placing the live-action head of Temuera Morrison onto the CGI bodies of clonetrooper did not work well in AOTC - often resulting in head-wobbling - and some ‘interesting’ looking scenes where his head seems to be in some unnatural positions.
 

As well as the above shot looking more like it came from an animated series or videogame - than an actual theatrical film.

 
^ the sheer weightlessness of the CGI staircase not impacting upon Kenobi at all - despite landing on his hip…
 

or…

at 1 min and 25 secs into this ‘Dooku vs Anakin & Kenobi fight’ scene video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLlf5bC1wxg

^ The lightsaber appear to be at a differing 90 degree angle to where it should be in Kenobi’s hands - even when striking the droid Kenobi’s hand is pointing in another direction to where the lightsaber beam is on screen.
 

^ Then Kenobi looks down past the droid where it should have fallen - before the droid has actually fallen down the stairs. The awful looking weightless non-matching CGI / lightsaber just takes the viewer out of the scene.
 

For clarity - watch this video clip at ‘.25 playback’: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLlf5bC1wxg - from 1 min and 8 secs onwards.

^ Kenobi’s lightsaber first makes contact with the battledroid - with Kenobi somehow unaware the droid is actually there.

^ The backwards extending CGI/animated leg - along with the fairly awful execution of it.

 
The fight can also be seen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLlf5bC1wxg - at 1 min and 15 secs into the video clip.
 

The CGI here is not be bad in itself… yet makes little sense / bring issues and questions / take you out of the experience. IE, Grievous swirling his 4 lightsabers right in front of Obi Wan… within striking distance… who simply doesn’t react to any of it - and instead just stands there like nothing has happened (because McGregor had nothing to react to - or little-to-no direction on what the CGI would be / timing a response to it?)

Grievous should have just lunged and killed him - instead of all the needless and flashy spinning… 😉

^ Near on everything in this scene is CGI - bar Hayden. Why not a real mechanical R2? Or a physical prop of the ship? Or a real background? Instead, the viewer is taken out of the experience by a lack quality CGI and immersion in the scene.

There doesn’t appear to be any weight (or mass)- or real-world physics to the droids in the lift here - even when destroyed and being smashed - it feels fake; with the CGI almost like an animated cartoon vibe to it.

 
or…

at 39 seconds into this short Chewbacca in ROTS compilation clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LOLduuy_Wk

^ The issue isn’t with the quality of CGI itself - it is the sheer amount of CGI. To the point where it is difficult to focus on what is onscreen; and also difficult to care about what is taking place as it is all CGI (bar shots of Hayden and Ewan in their fighter cockpits); any stakes, resonance, emotional connection… it is akin to watching a computer game with no vested interest… as either side can introduce more CGI ships to the fray and it has little consequence - one side clones which we are given no personal connection with or to… and the other side; the droids…

A baffling and bizarre sensory overload on the eyes and ears - yet little impact on the emotions or investment of the viewer.

 
Battle Over Coruscant - Opening Scene - a 4 minute video from the Filmey Box youtube channel.

^ why use a poor CGI looking Wookiee in the shot - and not a real Wookiee costume?
 

^ with immediately before and after… with some unfinished-looking CGI chicken walker vehicles.
 

or…

at 4 mins into this short ‘Every Time Clone Troopers Appeared in Live Action’ video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVDiLwAL9Eg

^ Due to the CGI, the scene really does look like it is from an animated series or video game - not from a theatrical film.
 

R2-D2 V. Super Battle Droids - Revenge of The Sith - 40 second youtube clip.

 
Poor use of CGI - again the body here seems to be almost weightless - when showing the CGI Dooku perform the front-flip (something that also appears to be out of character for Dooku; an elegant and distinguished character)…

 
A 25 second video clip of the Dooku front flip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6spfw8QJGmM

^ insert your own ‘Dooku lost as he gave up the High Ground so easily’ jokes here…

 
or…

at 1 min and 02 secs into this 90 second clip featuring the Battle Of Kashyyk: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEDY8JDnBYs
 

or…

this 12 minute Michael Jae youtube video: I Watched The Battle of Kashyyyk in 0.25x Speed and Here’s What I Found

^ some poor looking CGI shots; with characters dying despite not being hit by anything, and shots disappearing into thin air etc.

4️⃣ • Your own irksome / noticeable / poorly executed CGI Prequel scenes…

 
The first person to spectacularly miss the point of this thread and state ‘but the Prequels had more practical effects than the OT’ as some sort of whataboutery attempt to ‘defend’ the PT or to ‘derail’ the thread etc… has to pay me £100 - or watch 1 Hour of Jar Jar Binks Anthem video on loop for 24 hours! 😃

It is a little surprising given the quality of many of these CGI shots and scenes that the Prequels haven’t undergone their own ‘Special Edition’ over the years. Maybe they would have… if George had decided to make his own Sequel Trilogy instead of selling up; Lucas could have used ‘The Prequels: Special Edition’ banner in the way he used the Original Trilogy films to ‘Special Edition’ them… as a means to test CGI effects for his planned PT movies (+ making some ‘seed money’ along the way for them)? 😉
 

A Mini-Index…

 
0️⃣ • Introduction

1️⃣ • The Phantom Menace

2️⃣ • Attack Of The Clones

3️⃣ • Revenge Of The Sith

4️⃣ • Your own irksome / noticeable / poorly executed CGI scenes & CGI-affected scenes from the Prequels… (this post)

The above 15 topics from each of the 3 PT films are my own personal take on some of the many scenes that stood out to me.

Everyone’s mileage may very much vary on just what constitutes poorly executed/affected CGI in the Prequel Trilogy films.

Please add your own problematic / poor CGI scenes / irksome CGI issues / any scenes I’ve overlooked… in here, below…
 

I’m surprised that you didn’t include these two notorious moments from ROTS:

https://youtu.be/GzWlrmOXiIA?si=06L588625h8GJZ3C&t=8

Here they seem to have forgotten to texture some of the droids.

https://youtu.be/GzWlrmOXiIA?si=vB35LknGAwMM5WXK&t=104

And here R2’s dome looks like a low-poly version. It’s worth seeing this scene in full quality.

NeverarGreat said:

I’m surprised that you didn’t include these two notorious moments from ROTS:

https://youtu.be/GzWlrmOXiIA?si=06L588625h8GJZ3C&t=8

Here they seem to have forgotten to texture some of the droids.

https://youtu.be/GzWlrmOXiIA?si=vB35LknGAwMM5WXK&t=104

And here R2’s dome looks like a low-poly version. It’s worth seeing this scene in full quality.

I would have, mate. Honest! It is just…

😦 I thought 15 examples from each PT film would be enough - and then hand it over to you guys to continue and improve… 👍

#46: From the 1st video you linked to…

^ 😮 Poor R2 - and the poor CGI droids to the left of the shot - poor everyone there…

#47: From the 2nd video you linked to (which highlights much more than this poor CGI / QC effort below)…

^ Wow! 😮

^ they must have forgot to include more of those CGI pears!

Nice catch Mocata, mate. 👍

#49: Another poor CGI scene - from Attack Of The Clones; the awful looking unfinished CGI of the Chancellor’s hallway…?

 
or…

at 3 mins and 12 secs into this ScreenRant youtube video: 10 Star Wars Movie Mistakes You Missed PREQUEL EDITION
 

 
#50: yet another Attack Of The Clones CGI issue - Ki-Adi-Mundi’s lightsaber changes colours in the battle on Geonosis…
 

At the beginning of the Battle of Geonosis, Ki-Adi-Mundi’s lightsaber is blue. When he is seen again later in the battle, his lightsaber has changed to green. Finally, when he is seen for the last time, his lightsaber had reverted to blue - which is the color that his lightsaber was meant to be.

 
Or this 50 second video on how the post-production error for the lightsaber colour… resulted in a later ‘in-universe explanation’:-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fOt-o0WQHk - from the Red Five youtube channel.
 

It’s a whole new category of things for fan editors to work on, akin to the various attempts to make the deleted scenes usable

timdiggerm said:

It’s a whole new category of things for fan editors to work on, akin to the various attempts to make the deleted scenes usable

Yeah, I have to admit after watching so many PT fan edits over 20+ years on here… I’ve forgotten about many of the poor CGI scenes from the theatrical cuts / official releases that a number of fan editors have a tendency to trim or remove altogether - though now have the ability tech-wise to address & improve (if they wish to - or include those now-available quality deleted scenes).

I really should watch the official PT cuts again soon - something I usually try to put off - or settle for watching a new PT Edit. 😉
 

For me this shot (from ATTACK OF THE CLONES) is the one of the worst.

ReShoot-Wig Obi-Wan walking through the empty Jedi Temple. And George must have said: “Well, put some Jedi here and there so that the place looks busy”.

Aayla Secura just walks in an awkward straight line towards Obi-Wan without doing anything.