Top 10 Weirdest Looking Movie Scenes Without Effects

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (2009)
Since - alas - wizarding world magic does not exist, bringing Hogwarts to life required giant soundstages (primarily at Leavesden Studios) and simple old green screen tricks. One scene in “The Half-Blood Prince” has Hermione returning books to their shelves while talking to Harry. As she releases the book, it floats into position on the shelf. As this behind-the-scenes photo shows, the levitation was accomplished with green gloves. Much like a green screen, the hands were digitally erased in post production, leaving behind a floating book. It’s the exact same trick they used for Harry’s invisibility cloak.

“Game of Thrones” (2011-19)
“Game of Thrones” had a massive budget, which allowed them to build a giant dragon contraption that Emilia Clarke has compared to a theme park ride. The scenes in which Daenerys rides Drogon required Clarke to strap into a giant hydraulic machine placed in front of a green screen. The machine vaguely resembles a dragon, and it moves around to simulate their flight patterns. Meanwhile, Clarke is forced to just flail around and make menacing looks into the cameras. It’s certainly not an easy job, and Clarke says as much in behind-the-scenes featurettes. No wonder she was nominated for four Emmys.

“Solo: A Star Wars Story” (2018)
Debatable quality of the movie aside, we have to give props to “Solo” for using old school practical effects. It gives the movie a very authentic, “Star Wars”-y feeling. In one of the film’s most memorable sequences, Han meets Lando at a card game and they proceed to play with various alien creatures. Every alien around the table was either a person in a costume or a puppet. Check out this two-headed alien as an example. As this behind the scenes photo shows, controlling the alien required four people in green hoodies to manually control each of the puppet’s limbs.

“Aladdin” (2019)
The “Friend Like Me” sequence was perhaps the most visually dazzling and imaginative scene in the 2019 version of “Aladdin.” Luckily for us, “DisneyMusicVEVO” posted a video showing how they filmed the sequence, and it is equal parts bizarre and mesmerizing. Will Smith and Mena Massoud performed in front of a blue screen and interacted with people in blue morphsuits. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this footage is seeing the old fashioned tricks they utilized, like a hydraulic couch and a platform that Smith stands on to make him look taller. It’s no surprise that this movie cost over $180 $200 million to produce.

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (2013)
Peter Jackson’s adaptation of “The Hobbit” was criticized for its over-reliance on CGI. One look at the green-fueled behind-the-scenes footage is enough to make the point … although we have to admit, filming this sequence with practical effects would have been pretty tough! One of the most memorable scenes from “The Desolation of Smaug” is the barrel escape, which sees Bilbo and the dwarves riding on wine barrels while avoiding orcs and Wood-Elves. One of these Elves is Legolas, played by the returning Orlando Bloom. To film the sequence, Bloom was placed in front of a giant green screen and see-sawed by crew members in green suits. CGI backgrounds and barrels do the rest.

“Beauty and the Beast” (2017)
Seeing an actor decked out in what looks like giant, puffy pyjamas on set is a … memorable sight indeed. These motion capture suits are how Colossus was brought to life in “Deadpool”. The same technique was used for the Beast in the 2017 live action remake of “Beauty and the Beast.” Emma Watson won our respect anew when we saw this footage, because acting opposite Dan Stevens in this suit must have been quite a challenge indeed. And of course hats off to him for mastering the performance! How she managed to keep a straight face while filming this though, we’ll never know.

“Jurassic World” (2015)
Just imagine getting to work on a thrilling movie like “Jurassic World” … and your job is to crawl around on all fours with a child strapped to your back. There’s a scene in “Jurassic World” where children ride around on dinosaurs in a petting zoo. This sequence was probably fun to film for the kids, but maybe not so much for the adults who had to crawl around acting like dinosaurs - depending on how many takes they had to do! Industrial Light and Magic certainly lives up to their name, because transforming this hilarious sight into a cute and heartwarming scene is true magic indeed.

“Man of Steel” (2013)
How do they film Superman flying away really fast? The answer lies in an awkward hip thrust and a quick camera zoom out. After saving Lois, Superman takes her to a cornfield. While talking, a very serious look comes across his face and he zips away into the sky. It looks and sounds really cool, but the reality is anything but. Henry Cavill looks concerned and proceeds to puff out his chest and look upwards as the camera quickly zooms out and tilts up ― revealing a boom mic in the process. Filming these movies seems like a lot of silly fun.

“Back to the Future Part III” (1990)
So what did they do before CGI was widely practiced and adopted? Models and miniatures, mostly. As this glorious picture shows, filming the climactic train sequence in “Back to the Future Part III” involved miniatures, a car, a camera guy up on a scaffold, and some convincing dirt and shrubbery. And the best part about it is that it actually worked, as the train scene looks amazing to this day. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for that awkwardly rendered moment where Doc and Clara ride away on the hoverboard.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014)
Rocket Raccoon is one of the most beloved characters in the Marvel canon...even if he’s composed entirely of computer graphics and Sean Gunn in a green costume. Much like Gollum, Gunn provided the physical movements of Rocket on-set so that the animators and actors would have something to work with. It’s a great and time-honored way to go about it. However, this method also results in somewhat awkward moments like Dave Bautista petting a fully grown man on the head. If this list proves anything, it’s that modern technical wizardry often boils down to people doing goofy things in green morph suits.