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People don’t hate CGI - they hate bad CGI. It’s hard to explain, but you know it when you see it.

Bad practical effects do exist, but even when bad they don’t look “unnatural”.

I recall Amazon’s Lord of the Rings title sequence [1] received some criticism for looking fake, even though they filmed it practically [2]. I’d guess it was due to folks assuming title sequences are CGI, combined with the fact that few people really know what poured liquid metal is supposed to look like.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV-dDyYgwkc

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZEpWvQFXqQ

There's a similar problem with gunshots and explosions - we want what movies have given us which is not what they actually act/sound like - so much so that live recordings of actual gunfire/explosions is often deemed "fake".

This is also the American/bald eagle problem. When people hear their actual cries, they’re often confused.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ2uMauyBow vs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8SdqOT_no0

Speaking of "Bad CGI", the making of the HBO Intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agS6ZXBrcng

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