George Lucas seems to be under the mistaken impression that CGI was invented as a sort of “white-out” for movies, where you can just go in and replace something that wasn’t quite “right” with your original feature.
With the upcoming release of Star Wars on Blu-ray, it was to be expected that something would be getting a touch-up, and now we know what that shall be.
Apparently puppet Yoda just isn’t good enough for THE PHANTOM MENACE, and he’s been replacing by a fully CGI Yoda. When I first read the item, I thought that EVERY puppet Yoda across ALL the films was going to be replaced, but this is a somewhat less riotous decision.
Below you can see the comparison of the before and after of this replacement. I mean, CGI Yoda is alright, but why? Why is this in any way necessary? Somehow I find an emoting CGI creation even less likable than a relative static puppet, and I thought it was idiotic when he started hopping all around in ATTACK OF THE CLONES.
I guess we should be thankful that this appears to be the only major change he’s making. But what will the 3D re-releases of the two trilogies have in store I wonder….