Warning: There are minor spoilers ahead from Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle!
The special effects team behind the original Jumanji created realistic animal faces and hair through innovations in CGI, animatronics, and even puppetry. Special effects have come a long way in the two decades since that film’s release, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle benefited from those advances by using even more VFX shots than its predecessor had. But as you can see in the following demo video, the animals weren’t the only digital performers in this movie. Even Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Karen Gillan were replaced by CGI stunt doubles during a few key action sequences.
Via io9, Iloura, an Australian special effects company, has released a video that shows off the company’s contributions to the film. Most of the scenes in question appear to be from the second half of the movie, as the five players attempt to escape the world of Jumanji. The key sequences here are the helicopter escape and flight through the valley, which put the heroes in the middle of a rhinoceros stampede.
The truly impressive part of this video is the way that some of the CGI is almost undetectable if you don’t know what to look for in each scene. A few of the stunts performed by Johnson and Gillan’s characters weren’t obvious choices for VFX replacement, and the illusion was preserved by keeping the focus away from their faces. (Even in this demo, there’s a certain uncanny valley effect in their facial features when they come under close scrutiny.)
What do you think about this Jumanji: Welcome To the Jungle demo reel? Answer the call of the jungle in the comment section below!
Images:Â Iloura/Method Studios
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