1980s
| Film | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Looker | 1981 | First CGI human character, Cindy. Also, first use of 3D shaded CGI. |
| The Works | 1982 | The New York Institute of Technology Computer Graphics Lab premiered a trailer at SIGGRAPH for their CGI project. This would have been the first feature-length CGI film, but it was never completed. |
| Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | 1982 | ILM computer graphics division develops "Genesis Effect", first use of fractal-generated landscape in a film. Bill Reeves leads the Genesis Effect programming team, and creates a new graphics technique called Particle Systems. |
| Tron | 1982 | Extensive use (15 min. fully computer generated) of 3D CGI including the famous Light Cycle sequence. Also includes very early facial animation (for the Master Control Program). |
| Rock & Rule | 1983 | First animated film to use computer graphics. |
| The Last Starfighter | 1984 | Uses CGI for all spaceship shots, replacing traditional models. First use of 'integrated CGI' where the effects are supposed to represent real world objects. |
| The Adventures of André and Wally B. | 1984 | Lucasfilm's computer animation division creates an all-CGI-animated short. The first CGI animation with motion blur effects and squash and stretch motion. |
| 2010: The Year We Make Contact | 1984 | Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere is CGI-rendered, mostly during the black spot shots. |
| Tony de Peltrie | 1985 | First CGI-animated human character to express emotion through his face and body language. |
| Young Sherlock Holmes | 1985 | Lucasfilm creates the first photorealistic CGI character, 'stained glass knight' with 10 seconds of screentime. |
| Dire Straits - Money for Nothing | 1985 | The first computer-generated music video. The animators would go on to found Mainframe Entertainment. |
| Flight of the Navigator | 1986 | The first use of reflection mapping in a feature film, used for the flying alien spacecraft. |
| Labyrinth | 1986 | First realistic CGI animal. |
| Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | 1986 | First use of the Cyberware (company) 3D scanner, first 3D morphing. |
| Luxo Jr. | 1986 | First use of shadows in CGI, made with special developed software Renderman. First Pixar film, and CGI film to be nominated for an Academy Award. |
| Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future | 1987 | First TV series to include characters modeled entirely with computers. |
| Knightmare | 1987 | First game show with interaction between humans and computer-generated surroundings. |
| Willow | 1988 | First photorealistic use of morphing effect in a feature film. |
| Tin Toy | 1988 | First computer-animated short film to win an Oscar. |
| The Abyss | 1989 | First digital 3D water effect. |
| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | 1989 | First all-digital composite. |
Read more about this topic: Timeline Of Computer Animation In Film And Television