Great animatronic movie beasts

Remembering the glory days of pre-CGI

By Drew Tewksbury, Special to Metromix

Before CGI turned all movies into cartoons, special effects were built by hand. Sure, a character's mouth rarely line up with its dialogue, but that was part of the charm. Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are," opening Oct. 16, brings a welcome return to animatronics, puppets and performers in suits.

Here are some of our favorite oddball animatronic predecessors of the Wild Things of "Wild Things."