: Well, for starters, Chicken Run wasn't CG. )  If I recall, Saving Private Ryan was the first extensive use of computer color grading (although whether that qualifies as CGI is a good question).  As I mentioned a few months ago in the discussion above, Fight Club is another possible entry for its use of photogrammetry techniques.  Starship Troopers used CG characters animated using traditional stop-motion techniques (although I don't know if this technique was used before).  Other than those, I mainly see an evolution of technology rather than any large milestones.