6. The Works
Few films on this list are as staggeringly precocious as The Works, a CGI-animated film set in a dystopic future where a robot conglomerate rules the world. Sound familiar? Bear in mind this was in production from the late 1970s to early 1980s, and therefore preceded the wave of techno-centric, techno-phobic action, animated and thriller films that have proliferated this theme. What is truly relevant, though, is that had it been completed, The Works would have beaten Toy Story to the punch to be the first 3D-animated feature film by almost a decade. So how did it falter? The render house working on it, Computer Graphics Lab, took an ill-advisedly singular approach to creating their film, refusing to enlist skilled directors and editors in the process, instead relying on scientists - not artists - to hone the less-technical aspects of production. Furthermore, with the rendering and animation technology being constantly updated, the crew were in a near-perennial state of re-building their designs from the ground up, such that even after several years, they had very little footage to show for their hard work. Eventually, many of the key crew fled to greener pastures - specifically LucasFilm - and the company dissolved not long after.