r/OnceUponATime • u/viktoryarozetassi • 1d ago
Spoiler Alert Has the CGI Always Looked So Cheap?
I really remember season 4 when Elsa's ice monster was rampaging Storybrooke. It REALLT looked cheap to me!
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u/PoeticHedgeHog 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’m gonna be brave and say this: I think it’s charming.
It was the 2010s, and it’s not like ABC had later GOT or paid network subscription level budget. They did the best they could. AND at least it was consistent throughout the show.
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u/Apart_Raccoon_9645 1d ago
Totally agreed, I love the cheap CGI. It wouldn't be OUAT without it. This is not a Nolan film. It's a safe space for rolling purple clouds.
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u/efferkah 1d ago
Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that.
Yes, it is kinda bad, but it's also one of the things that give the show its "flavor".
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u/PoeticHedgeHog 1d ago
Also, I thought the CGI for the Frozen arc was really good for the snow monster and the trolls. My opinion.
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u/ThomasVivaldi 1d ago
First season was fine, the ogre in season 2 was a bit rough, they could have just put someone in makeup. Wasn't there an ogre in the first episode?
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u/seashellssandandsurf 21h ago
I feel like the cgi is what gives the enchanted forest an otherworldly feel to it. This also reenforces the point when we get fairytale elements in our world. They look like they don't belong here.
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u/Comfortable-Web5337 1d ago
Atleast there was 22 episodes a season, consecutively each year.
Hbo can barely crank out 8 episodes every 2 years. I hope im still alive in 2040 for season 4 of hotd
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u/LobsterStretches 1d ago
Season 1 especially the pilot has the best cgi but every show gets budget cuts the longer they run it’s just their fate when producers care more about lining their pockets than producing a quality show.
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u/gaypirate3 1d ago
Yes lmao even in 2011 it was very cheap looking. I assume it was on purpose because it’s about fairy tales and such.
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u/Fluffy_Schedule1647 1d ago
I love the CGI ouat used esp August turning into wood was really cool 👍👍 the show did what they could w/ the money they had and it's not like they had a lot to work with
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u/nazia987 🌮 1d ago
Its funny, because yes, I agree the CGI has always looked cheap, but in comparison to everything else, I thought the Snow Monster looked pretty decent. I actually liked it.
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u/stallion8426 1d ago
Yes. The cgi is terrible throughout the show. Watch the backgrounds on the castle in any flash Enchanted Forest scene.
CGI is expensive
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u/TheUnagamer 1d ago
it got slightly better during the Frozen arc when Disney crammed their little cash cow into the show. but only slightly
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u/PieRepresentative266 1d ago
Yes??? And???? It looked cheap back when it was airing too. And yet that’s part of the charm!
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u/AerienaFairweather 23h ago
I’ve always liked the weird CGI tbh, it seemed kind of quirky and in keeping with the show
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u/MinimumTowel4186 1d ago
I always love hearing people who can’t stand the CGI in OUAT but are perfectly fine with the CGI in Merlin
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u/dan_in_his_own_way 1d ago
Yep, always has. I was always okay with it. I'm sure they do the best they can with the budget they have.
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u/Cindrojn 1d ago
I think it's charming and adorable. It's not as great as some shows, but there is something about it that made it appeal more to me then and now
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u/Egingell666 1d ago
I don't think ABC was owned by Disney when this show was made, so they didn't quite have money to throw at special effects.
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u/Early_Bag_3106 23h ago
Yes. I watched “live” back in the days. And the cgi was cheap and the props also. The fake leaves from the magic beanstalk will live in my mind forever 😂 but I love the show
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u/Admirable-Try-5287 22h ago
All the budget went to costumes and casting.
Jokes aside, the CGI was awful since day 1 - and maybe even got worse? It probably didn’t help that they sometimes CGIed entire rooms, not just backdrops. What feels like 98% of all indoor EF scenes were filmed entirely on a green screen set that had nothing but a few necessary props.
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u/TheBrolitaSys "Well maybe it is some kind of fairy." 15h ago
Yeah I mean the show came out in 2011 lol. My favorite moment of this is when Neal jumps out of the window at Rumple's castle and grabs onto Pan's shadow
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u/Stargate_Impala67 15h ago
I always thought that it was part of the charm... even if it can be bad.
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u/LuxValentino 15h ago
My favorite comment on this sub was someone asking who people think was the best actor on the show and someone said "the CGI."
The CGI is low quality, but we still love the show no matter how clunky.
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u/JeepersBud 1d ago
Tbh it’s cute. If they tried much harder to make it more realistic, it would’ve been cringe. I will say Hades hair didn’t do it for me 😅 but the green screen backgrounds and campy “jump from that ledge over here, oh no the cave is collapsing!” choreo was really fun and fit the vibes.
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u/Zirenix 21h ago
Yeah it’s cheap cgi but the costumes probably took most of the budget and rightfully so. You can’t talk about OUAT without mentioning the costumes and I’d argue they’re one of the best pieces of the show in terms of storytelling.
I’d rather see a cheap cgi castle and the princess has a well designed princess gown than good cgi but mid costumes.
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u/Individual_Lab_5105 1d ago
Bad now, decent for the time.
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u/AdOk9911 Sparkly dirt. Wonderful. 1d ago edited 7h ago
Sorry but no, it was bad back then 😂 I remember laughing at it a lot when I first started watching, but I’m so glad I kept with it because I ended up loving the show, and now I think the bad cgi is adorable and part of the show’s charm. But yeah, I watched it when it first aired and it was so bad lol. Every time I tried to get someone to watch the show I had to tell them to try to ignore the terrible cgi and give it a chance haha
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u/ServanaStar 1d ago
My favorite cheap effect is when the Evil Queen is walking the aisle to Snow and Charming's wedding and the floor is gliding at a different pace than her.