Viral videos debunk bogus claims of 'no CGI' in these movies

We've reported before about the growing trend for directors and producers to claim there's no CGI in their films, almost as if one of movie making's key visual effects disciplines has become a dirty word. We've also pointed out that often the claims aren't always quite true, or at least not as categorical as how they're reported in the media. 

Now one visual effects artist has gone viral by debunking the 'no CGI' myth. His videos show just how much CGI was actually used in movies that supposedly had none, from Top Gun: Maverick to Napoleon.

"NO CGI" is really just INVISIBLE CGI (1/4) - YouTube

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In a series of videos shared on his Movie Rabbit Hole YouTube channel, visual effects supervisor Jonas Ussing juxtaposes clips of filmmakers pledging that there would be no CGI in their movies with a breakdown of the CGI shots in the finished productions. Unsurprisingly, Tom Cruise's claims that "everything you see is for real" in Top Gun: Maverick doesn't quite hold water.

"NO CGI" is really just INVISIBLE CGI (2/4) - YouTube

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So why are directors saying that their films have no CGI? What they want to say, perhaps, is that their movies don't contain bad CGI. By bad CGI, they mean dated CGI that looks cheap and obvious today. 

The problem is that tarnishing all CGI with that brush is disparaging to the incredible work of VFX artists. Ussing points out that some 400 artists are listed in the credits of Top Gun: Maverick, and there were almost surely more involved That's quite a lot for a film that supposedly featured no CGI jets. Want to recap just how good CGI can be? See our roundup of the best CGI movie moments from cinema history. We also have a piece on the best VFX films of 2024.