They look so real for a reason.
Welcome to WhatchMojo.com
and today we are counting down our picks
for the top 10 motion capture performances in films.
For this list, we've chosen our entries based
on the most memorable performances that were first recorded live
and then recreated three-dimensionally on the silver screen.
Number ten: Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
Refer to (by critics) as cinema's greatest dragon incarnation
This is one reptile you wouldn't wanna mess with
The long-headed, yellow-eyed beast is one of the main antagonist
as well as one of the teachelor characters in the hobbit sequel.
And Benedict Cumberbatch reportedly has no easy time voicing and animating the enormous creature
Visiting the london zoo and watching the reptiles in their habitat inspired his reptilian movements
and who can forget cumberbatch's interpretation of the legendary dragon's growling-raspy voice?
Number nine: Bill Nighy as Davy Jones
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
He is the fearsome captain of the "Flying dutchman",
a cursed-human / sea-monster that roams the seas looking for souls to join him as slaves on his ship.
Bill Nighy was chosen to take on the challenging role
and to get more into character, he was recorded while on set instead of during post-production.
Preferring a scottish accent to the originally decided on dutch inflection
Nighy brings the tentacles-faced character to live
And technical work on Jones appearance was rewarded with an academy award for best visual effects
Number eight: Andy Serkis as King Kong
"King Kong"
And now we introduce the king of motion capture playing the king of all apes.
Hail for his recorded performance as the 25 feet mountain gorilla.
Andy Serkis reportedly travel all the way to rwanda to watch the powerful creatures in the wild,
so that he could better mimic their actual movements.
The resulting performance was admired the world over as critics were ape-overcome
And it was no surprise when the movie won an academy award for best visual effects
and Serkis himself won several film critic awards
Number seven: Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge
"Disney's A Chistmas Carol"
Although this entire 3D movie was made through motion capture
Jim Carrey definitely stands out
as the stingy, unfeeling and miserable man who undergoes a change of heart.
While he also plays the ghost of christmas past, present and yet to come
His voice and persona as Scrooge stands out
among the multitude of Scrooge characters that already been brought to the screen.
Carey brings warmth and enthusiasm to the role
and he won the 2010 "Kids' Choice Awards" for favorite voice from an animated movie.
Number six: Toby Jones as Dobby
The "Harry Potter" franchise.
One of the most beloved characters in the Harry Potter series
This house elf originally owned by the Malfoy family
ended up becoming one of the boy-wizard most dedicated companions
Becoming the eccentric emotional character
Toby Jones found that creating Dobby's voice was one of the more difficult tasks
and to this day, he claims to still has difficult time replicating his high pitch speech.
Although translating characters from books onto the screen has proved to be many an actors demise
Jones translates the little elf exactly as we picture him from the novels.
Number five: Alan Tudyk as Sonny
"I, Robot"
Although Will Smith is stellar as the technophobic police detective in this 2004 Sci-Fi flick
It is really Alan Tudyk's criminally underrated as Sonny, the robot with a heart, that drives the whole film.
Tudyk's brilliant interpretation of an android trying to be human can be felt in his looks
and his movements durout the entire movie.
Like, come on, when does a robot ever make us emotional the way Sonny does
when he is order destroyed and wait for his impending doom?
Number four: Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock
"The Adventures of Tintin"
Serkis is back on our list and this time is for playing the perpetually drunk captain haddock
Who also happens to be one of the Tintin's best friends and partner in adventure.
Donning a scottish accent that he felt would gives the character a primitive more celtic vibe
Serkis read the comics and study information about the seanman extensively for the role.
Chosen by director Steven Spielberg because of his funny style and impressive resume
Serkis added the sea fearing captain to his list of great performances with a role that still has us chuckling.
Numbre three: Zoe Saldana as Neytiri
"Avatar"
Impressive because she is the only female thespian on our list.
Zoe Saldana certainly holds her own as the strong
and fiercely independent love interest of human protagonist Jake Sully
Playing the daughter of the leader of a na'vi tribe
Saldana model her role after Katherina in Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew"
Who is captured between love and a desire for freedom
Saldana communicates their inner struggle well
and gives the ten feet female character some depth in this James Cameron epic.
Number two: Andy Serkis as Caesar
The "Planet of the Apes" reboot franchise
Serkis obviously enjoys playing animals.
Because he is back doing what he does best, as the chimp leader of the ape rebellion against human kind
in this reboot of the planet of the apes series
in a mostly silent role that requires exclusive use of gestures, eye movements and other body language
Serkis is incredible in the way that he help us see exactly was going on in Caesar's mind.
Widely applauded for his performance in the 2011 film
and nominated for several awards,
Serkis return to astonish us in the 2014 sequel as well.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are few Honorable Mentions
Number one: Andy Serkis as Gollum
"The Lord of the Rings" franchise and "The Hobbit".
Come on, who didn't see this one coming?
Arguably the most colorful character in one of the most popular film franchises of all of times
Gollum is known for three things:
his hideous appearance,
his repulsive voice
and his endless search for the most precious object in the world:
The Ring.
The whole character was built around Serkis' look,
the way he speaks and the way he acts.
Even the famous throat noise was inspired by his cat choking on hairballs
With the role that made him famous, Serkis without a doubt change the motion capture world forever
Do you agree with our list?
What motion capture performances had you felt with amazement?
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