Weta Digital Ltd.

1. King Kong, King Kong (2007)

CHARACTER STUDY This Kong, of course, is an update of the giant ape from the 1933 black-and-white classic, the movie Peter Jackson says inspired him to become a filmmaker at age 9.

WHY WE LOVE HIM Never before has an animated character looked so reach-out-and-touch-him real — and expressed so much without saying a word. Rage, tenderness, confusion, fear... all cross the beast's face at various points of Jackson's epic, making us adore and worry for him right along with his beloved Ann Darrow.

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