History Main / StarringSpecialEffects

See also VirtualCelebrity.

* ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020'' has Sonic, of course. [[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2 The sequel]] expands to the PowerTrio of the games: [[SpeedSmartsAndStrength Sonic, Tails and Knuckles]].

* The live-action ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' movies.

* The live-action ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movies are mainly a [[IncrediblyLamePun vehicle]] to show off a whole set of special effects characters. Some critics actually claim they didn't do this ''[[Administrivia/TropesAreTools enough]]'': Who came here to see a bunch of humans we don't actually care about? [[JustHereForGodzilla Give us the robots]]!

** ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}''. Both the original Japanese version (who was played by a guy in a rubber suit... as well as an animatronic head used for close-ups in later films) and the CGI versions of the [[Film/{{Godzilla 1998}} 1998]] and [[Film/{{Godzilla 2014}} 2014]] American remakes.

* Christopher Johnson in ''Film/{{District 9}}''.

* While the titular character [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] this, being a mix of [[Creator/RyanReynolds Ryan Reynolds']] physical performance and CGI, ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'' [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the trope in the opening credits, with "A CGI Character" listed among the cast (this refers to Colossus, who was [[SerkisFolk Serkis Folk'd]] into the movie).

** Rocket and Groot were {{Breakout Character}}s in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' and ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2''.

He's got style. He's got personality. He's got top billing in all the posters. He is undeniably the best character in the whole damn movie. He is...''a [[SerkisFolk big budget]] [[RogerRabbitEffect special]] [[{{Muppet}} effect]]?''

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]

* Though the ''Film/InspectorGadget'' films were critically panned, the best thing about them is how they seamlessly blend CGI and practical props (courtesy Stan Winston Studios) and bring the Inspector's gadgets into real, three-dimensional life, showing how they might look in the real world.

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* The makers of ''Film/GhostRiderSpiritOfVengeance'' seem to [[http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/16/idUS220754507020120216 describe ]] the movie as such while trying to downplay the role of the movie's actual star Nicholas Cage.

* ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020'' has Sonic, of course. [[spoiler:And Tails, in the SequelHook.]]

* ''Film/Virus'' is known for having outstanding practical animatronic effects that really bring the robots and creatures to life...and not much else.

** The ''Literature/SinbadTheSailor'' films (''[[Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad The 7th Voyage]]'', ''Film/{{The Golden Voyage|Of Sinbad}}'' and ''[[Film/SinbadAndTheEyeOfTheTiger The Eye of the Tiger]]'')

** The ''Sinbad'' films (''[[Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad The 7th Voyage]]'', ''Film/{{The Golden Voyage|Of Sinbad}}'' and ''[[Film/SinbadAndTheEyeOfTheTiger The Eye of the Tiger]]'')

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* Robby the Robot was a breakout character in ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet''. Robby's subsequent career spanned decades and included appearances in many movies and T.V. shows, including ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' and ''Series/{{Columbo}}''.

** A borderline example in ''Film/TheHost'', where the human characters are given far more screentime and rich backstories. On the other hand, the director treated the monster like any actual actor, overseeing every motion it made and taking an active hand in developing its performance. Presumably, this monster-as-actor idea is part of why the effects team named the monster "Creator/SteveBuscemi".

* The ''Film/ChildsPlay'' films aren't just a VillainBasedFranchise, they're on in which the killer is a PerversePuppet brought to life through animatronics and the voice of Creator/BradDourif.

* ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'': The only real character is a single guy standing in front of a greenscreen talking to himself. Everything else is animated except the Thinking Chair, the letter, and the notebook.

* ''Series/MaxHeadroom''. The title character was played by Matt Frewer with lots of prosthetic makeup, bluescreen and editing.

* All the movies starring Franchise/TheMuppets.
** The policy of working with Muppets is that one has to treat them as legitimate people, to the point that many Muppeteers don't break character during the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y3wpYpURS4 outtakes]] of the production.
** In the 2011 movie, the Muppets get their own promotion interviews with the media.
* ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' qualifies; the bulk of the characters are realized with puppets.
* ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' is the first live-action movie with no human cast. Every character, however big or small, is a puppet. This adds to the viewer's immersion in Henson and Froud's WorldBuilding.

* Downplayed with ''Film/TheFly1986''. For the bulk of the film, the DoomedProtagonist Seth Brundle is played by Creator/JeffGoldblum via a makeup-based SlowTransformation that incorporates PeopleInRubberSuits in the later stages. But in the film's final minutes, crucial {{Vomit Indiscretion Shot}}s and Seth's OneWingedAngel form of "Brundlefly" -- a completely inhuman-looking, voiceless monster -- are realized via animatronic puppets, and the transitions between techniques are so smoothly handled that the audience just sees one single tragic character all along. The special effects company that realized both the makeup and the puppetry is listed first in the end credits to acknowledge its importance, and went on to win the Oscar for Best Makeup. The 1989 BTeamSequel ''Film/TheFlyII'', directed by the head of the previous film's effects team, plays this straight by having the SpinOffspring protagonist Martin mature into "Martinfly" at the top of the third act, meaning that about a fourth of the film's runtime is following an even more elaborate special effects creation.

* The infamous film version of ''Film/HowardTheDuck'' realized the title character with an animatronic suit worn by a total of seven different performers and a voiceover by actor Chip Zien, and the true form of the evil Dark Overlord that he confronts in the climax is a stop-motion creation. The Golden Raspberry Awards had this trope in mind when "The Eight Guys and Gals in the Duck Suit" won the dishonor of Worst New Star for 1986.

* The infamous film version of ''Film/HowardTheDuck''.

* Downplayed with ''Film/TheFly1986''. For the bulk of the film, the DoomedProtagonist Seth Brundle is played by Creator/JeffGoldblum via a makeup-based SlowTransformation that incorporates PeopleInRubberSuits in the later stages. But in the film's final minutes, crucial {{Vomit Indiscretion Shot}}s and Seth's OneWingedAngel form of "Brundlefly" -- a completely inhuman-looking, voiceless monster -- are realized via animatronic puppets, and the transitions between techniques are so smoothly handled that the audience just sees one single tragic character all along. The special effects company that realized both the makeup and the puppetry is listed first in the end credits to acknowledge its importance, and went on to win the Oscar for Best Makeup.

* Downplayed with ''Film/TheFly1986''. For the bulk of the film, the DoomedProtagonist Seth Brundle is played by Creator/JeffGoldblum via a makeup-based SlowTransformation that incorporates PeopleInRubberSuits in the later stages. Seth's OneWingedAngel form of "Brundlefly" -- a completely inhuman-looking, voiceless monster -- is realized via animatronic puppets for the final minutes, and the transition between techniques is so smoothly handled that the audience just sees one single tragic character all along. The special effects company that realized both the makeup and the puppetry is listed first in the end credits to acknowledge its importance.

** Gollum in Creator/PeterJackson's film version of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', particularly in ''The Two Towers''.

** The ''Sinbad'' films (''Film/TheSeventhVoyageOfSinbad'', ''Film/TheGoldenVoyageOfSinbad'' and ''Film/SinbadAndTheEyeOfTheTiger'')