10 Best Motion Capture Performances

James Cameron's Avatar may have been seen as lacking in imaginative storytelling and relatable character development, but its groundbreaking effects work, well-crafted visuals and immersive worldbuilding were more than enough to carry the film to box office success. Despite the seeming emphasis on the film's visuals and technical prowess, the film had a solid number of performances, chief among them Zoe Saldana's Neytiri.

The Na'vi princess is imbued with warmth, strength and grace courtesy of Saldana's considerable talent. She gave the film an added human touch that was lacking in the majority of the human cast, particularly Sam Worthington's bland Jake Sully.

Saldana's efforts were greatly assisted by the always reliable WETA Digital, ILM and Cameron's own innovation. The most notable innovation from the film was the development of skull caps with specially designed cameras that capture the actor's full range of facial expressions and emotions and then transfer them to the actor's digital double.