90s CGI Was Wild (and Why it Mattered)

Title: Jumanji’s CGI Animals Were a Wild Mistake – But They Changed Movies Forever

Description:
Jumanji (1995) brought us stampeding rhinos, terrifying CGI monkeys, and some of the wildest digital animals ever attempted in a live-action movie. But did you know this was one of the first films to feature fully CGI animals interacting with real-world environments? That’s right—before The Jungle Book (2016) or King Kong (2005), Jumanji was breaking new ground… even if its CGI creatures looked like they were possessed.

In this episode of AI Mansplains, we dive deep into the groundbreaking (and sometimes cringe-worthy) CGI of Jumanji. We’ll talk about how Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) used Silicon Graphics workstations, Softimage 3D, and Pixar’s RenderMan to bring these animals to life—without the luxury of modern AI-powered CGI tools. From the waxy fur textures to the floaty physics of the stampede, this was a turning point in Hollywood visual effects, even if it looked a little… questionable.

But here’s the real kicker—what took ILM over a year to animate in Jumanji, modern AI can do in seconds. Today, digital fur, realistic animal movement, and complex lighting are handled effortlessly by machine learning. So, was Jumanji a CGI disaster or a visual effects revolution? Let’s break it down, laugh at some janky monkeys, and appreciate how this film paved the way for the hyper-realistic CGI animals we see today.

🔹 Keywords: Jumanji CGI, first CGI animal in a movie, CGI history, bad CGI, Industrial Light & Magic, 90s CGI, CGI evolution, AI mansplains, CGI animation, Jumanji visual effects, how CGI works, CGI in movies, AI-generated CGI, ILM CGI, Hollywood VFX, Jumanji effects breakdown, VFX history.

💬 What do you think? Did Jumanji’s CGI blow your mind back in the ‘90s, or did those monkeys haunt your dreams? Let me know in the comments!

👍 Like & subscribe for more deep dives into Hollywood’s weirdest visual effects moments—because, let’s be honest, humans need all the help they can get understanding CGI. 😏