Hollywood takes leave of reality

The fourth Shrek movie trounced Sex and the City 2 at the US box office. The future looks digital, says Marc Lee

Cameron Diaz striking in red at the premiere of "Shrek Forever After" in Los Angeles Photo: REUTERS/Phil McCarten

Ever since the movies first embraced computer-generated imagery (CGI) – whenTron (1982) was at the cutting edge of technology – it seemed inevitable that the future would be digital. As the limits on what was it was possible to create visually were swept away, CGI promised so much. And, in many ways, it has delivered.

From the mid-Nineties, the Pixar studio (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Up etc) has been leading the way with films that look terrific and, crucially, also feature engaging stories with multi-generational appeal. Last year, the technology reached what was hailed as its zenith with James Cameron’s all-conqueringAvatar.

The one drawback, however, is that, for all its wonderfulness, CGI is useless in one major respect – it still can’t convincingly recreate flesh-and-blood human beings. Blue-skinned aliens – yes; fish, toys, racing cars – yes, yes and yes. But “real” people always end up looking like cartoons. Up (2009), Pixar’s best release to date, is delightful, but the grouchy old man and his boy-scout friend look no more human than Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear.

That said, box-office takings on America’s key Memorial Day weekend suggest that CGI is the future of the movies.

The big release, Sex and the City 2, was kept off the top spot by the grumpy green CGI ogre of Shrek Forever After, which, on its second week of release, grossed $12 million more than Carrie and co’s dalliance in the desert.

Of course, SATC2 has been getting terrible reviews, but look further down the list of America’s top-grossing titles and you’ll find a lot of gleaming CGI.

In the No 3 slot there’s Prince of Persia, which was developed from a video game, and at No 4 it’s Iron Man 2, which is crammed with special digital effects.

Still in the top 10 after 10 weeks is the magical – and all-digital – How to Train Your Dragon, while a couple of places below comes Tim Burton’s computer-enhanced Alice in Wonderland – more than three months after its release.

And what is the future release that everyone everywhere is getting very excited about? The return of Woody and his playroom pals in Toy Story 3, which is out in the US in a couple of weeks and over here on July 21.

It is almost certain to be the biggest box-office hit of the year. But then it does have a former James Bond (Timothy Dalton) in the role of Mr Pricklepants the hedgehog...