How can humans tell that something is ‘off’ when presented with a CGI image that is very close to looking like the real thing? More specifically, why does this effect occur in things like CGI dragons or monsters or [that Sonic](https://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2019/05/01/01-sonic-the-hedgehog.w600.h315.2x.jpg), which are obviously not real to start off with?
And why does the ‘uncanny valley’ effect not occur in inanimate objects (for instance, I have never heard of anyone being creeped out by a CGI donut)?
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The uncanny valley effect arises primarily due to our emotional connection to who we’re looking at.
Our brains do a lot of subconscious work when we look at someone, evaluating dozens of different factors without us consciously being aware of the evaluation.
If something looks sufficiently close to human, but just far enough that those subconscious emotional checks fail or start throwing off bad data, the subject looks cold and eerie.
The [uncanny valley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley#Theoretical_basis) article on Wikipedia, specifically the section on theoretical bases for the phenomenon, has a wealth of information on the topic.
To your last question, I challenge you to find someone with an emotional connection to a donut. 🙂
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