First published for Sight & Sound in December 2012, two months before Rhythm & Hues Studios‘ February 11, 2013 bankruptcy filing, Kevin B. Lee made the following video looking at the impact the visual effects studio has had on the world of film, particularly in the world of bring computer generated animals to life, just as they did in the Oscar-winning film Life of Pi.
Ironically, Lee refers to R&H as the studio that has “made a fortune” on such work, little did he know two months later the studio wouldn’t have enough money to pay its team of artists.
The video, however, is fascinating beyond the financial details, particularly when it comes to the effect the studio’s work on 2001’s Cats & Dogs had an impact on the future of CG animals. As much as we are wowed by work done in films such as Pi and the Narnia features, it was Cats & Dogs where R&H first started dealing with full-body animal CGI. In the first half of the video that 2001 animation technique is then compared to what they did to bring Richard Parker to life in Pi and the intricate advancements are astounding.
