Disney Plus ' show "Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian" doesn't just reveal secrets from the show, but from the "Star Wars " franchise, too.- In episode 2 of the show, titled "Legacy," Industrial Light & Magic CCO John Knoll revealed that "
The Phantom Menace " used the most miniatures of any "Star Wars" movie. - It's a shocking revelation as most believe the movie was heavily done using computer-generated imagery.
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If you are watching the new Disney Plus show, "Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian," you might have caught a fascinating tidbit in the second episode, which launched on the service Friday, called "Legacy."
It comes around the nine-minute mark of the episode. During the round table conversation "The Mandalorian" creator Jon Favreau has with some of the major figures who helped make the "Star Wars" franchise a global sensation over the decades, including Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, Industrial Light & Magic CCO John Knoll, and "The Mandalorian" executive producer/director Dave Filoni, Filoni throws out a fascinating question to Knoll:
Filoni: "Which 'Star Wars' film has the most practical miniatures in it of any of the films, including the new ones?"
Knoll: "Episode 1."
That's right. "Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace," the movie that most of us are convinced is nothing but heavy-handed CGI wizardry, has the most miniatures in it than any other movie in the franchise.
A big example of that is the pod racing scene. A still image included in the "Disney Gallery" episode shows that the massive outdoor arena where young Anakin Skywalker raced for his freedom was a miniature.
Another fun fact: the crowd was made up of colored q-tips.
In fact, all the prequels feature lots of miniatures. Industrial Light & Magic effects veteran Lorne Peterson noted in a deleted scene for the 2011 documentary "Sense of Scale" that more money was spent on miniatures for "Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith" than for any "Star Wars" movie to that point.
Before computer-generated imagery became the norm in Hollywood, miniatures were an essential visual effects tool in moviemaking. Mostly it's become a joke in pop culture because of how bad it was used in sci-fi
But the reveal that a lot of what dazzled us in "Phantom Menace" and the prequels were miniatures proves how essential of an art it still is.
Miniatures are still used in big movies. Everything from the "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" franchises to "Inception" used miniatures.
New episodes of "Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian" launches every Friday on Disney Plus.