Magic Carpet

Computer animation has been around for a long time. At least since the 80s, and possibly even before then, people have been developing and refining techniques necessary to render smooth animated images using computers. By the early 90s, the technology had progressed to being capable of a wide range of animations, including rendering them in three dimensions--a 1993 compilation called 'Imaginaria' was released that featured several dozen very brief short films (none is more than a minute or two long) as a way to showcase the various techniques and applications of computer generated images.

Just as with colour film, CGI wasn't used generally until it had been around for some time. Both techniques were too expensive and time-consuming to justify using and neither graphic designers nor computers of the day were capable of handling the amount of work. 'Toy Story' was the first movie rendered entirely in computer generated graphics, but Disney can also claim the first completely computer-generated character in a full-length movie.

So what was it?

It was the magic carpet from the 1992 movie 'Aladdin'. Animators decided to render the carpet with computers in order that its detailed and complex pattern remain consistent as the character moved and rippled.