Practical Effects Are Bringing the Heart Back to Hollywood 

From the multiverse of Marvel to the sandworm-infested deserts of Dune, the ability to bring even the most outlandish fantasy world to life should sound like a movie lover’s dream, yet the yearning for less AI-driven content — and more gold old-fashioned movie magic — continues to grow.

Practical effects ruled the cinema landscape of the ‘70s and ‘80s, when directors like Steven Spielberg awed audiences by using puppets and animatronics to bring his various monsters to life. By the ‘90s, a supernatural fad took TV by storm, and prosthetics helped design the demos destined to be staked by the Slayer or vanished by the Power of Three.

But a new millennium ushered in a new age of technology, and CGI shifted the scope of what moviemaking could be (and how much it cost). Sure, blockbusters like The Matrix — and just about every Will Smith-saves-the-world-again alien epic — benefited, but even the most acclaimed actors struggled to mask the soullessness of using a tennis ball as a scene partner … and people noticed.

When The Mandalorian premiered in 2019, Pedro Pascal’s miniature travel pal Grogu — known to adoring fans as “Baby Yoda” — instantly went viral, with Star Wars fanatics celebrating the decision to create a character using animatronics and puppeteering over digitized tricks. Big screen projects soon followed the trend, and 2024 delivered some of the most practical-forward films in recent memory.

Wicked director Jon M. Chu chose to build Oz almost entirely from actual set pieces, explaining that he wanted the world to feel “immersive” for the viewer. Fede Álvarez was praised for his use of miniatures in Alien: Romulus, a movie that takes place between the franchise’s first and third installments, giving it an ‘80s feel. Tim Burton also appeased audiences with Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, forgoring digital advancements for the same prosthetics and stop-motion animation he used in 1988.

Nosferatu featured a Bill Skarsgard-donned faux penis that instantly made waves online (and now hangs proudly in the living room of costar Nicholas Hoult). All were awarded with gangbuster numbers at the box office.

The battle cry for more practical effects has also translated to the small screen. The announcement of a Buffy return already has longtime Slayer-heads begging for vampires to resemble their ‘90s design, but the desire to nix CGI goes far beyond just a simple rise in nostalgic content. Audiences want to see tangible art they can connect with and immerse themselves in and to recognize that human craftsmanship that goes into the stories they consume.

Digital effects aren’t going anywhere, but the greatest films are able to blend the two approaches to make the most effective finished product. Spielberg may call himself a “masochist” for his old-school approach to FX, but there’s still no amount of money in the world that could get him to CGI-impose a shark into Jaws. No matter how far technology advances, it will never beat the awestruck feelings of diving into your favorite imaginary world, knowing just how much blood, sweat and tears went into creating it.