Luna Llena

Compare human figures in Toy Story (1995)

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Monsters Inc. (2001)

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001)

and Shrek (2001)

Even Shrek himself counts

Look at that detail - Shrek and Farquaad have subtle stubble, Shrek has liver spots on his scalp, characters have pores on their skin, Shrek’s ears here even have a subtle transparency like real skin and cartilage. His linen tunic has scruffy and rough edges and lint bobbing on the shoulders. Shrek doesn’t just represent a step forward, it represented a BIG jump. Look back at the early 3D Pixar films and you’ll see a progression in what 3D software could effectively render - first plastic toys, then chitinous insects, then scaly or leathery monsters with an enterprising look into the astoundingly complicated field of hair and fur. Shrek is a joke now, but it revolutionised the field of animation. Shrek finally prompted the Academy to add an Award for Best Animated Feature; after Beauty and the Beast lost Best Picture a few years before, Shrek was the point they could no longer dismiss the art and effort that go into animated films.