ILLUSTRATES Icarus Yuji
With small motors activated by remote control, which move every detail of the figure’s expression. This type of puppet was widely used before the popularization of computer graphics, in films such as ET – The Extraterrestrial (1982), but still appears today in several productions, such as Where the monsters live (2009). It was created in the 60s, at the request of Walt Disney, who was looking for life-size creatures to interact with the public at Disneyland. It differs from other robots by the subtlety and realism of its face movements, which really give the impression of being a living thing.
PINOCHIO OF THE FUTURE
A single animatronic can have multiple engines.
1. Before thinking about the puppet’s movements, it is necessary to have its structure. From a drawing of the creature, a clay sculpture is made, from which the molds will come out for the production of the skull (in fiberglass, hard and resistant) and also the skin (in latex foam or silicone, lighter and flexible)
two. The skin is painted with a water-based acrylic paint that does not harden the foam. Afterwards, it receives a layer of carbocil, a fine and translucent powder that removes the shine and stickiness of the false dermis. It is generally applied from the nose, gently, when the doll is in a “resting” expression.
3. The “soul” of the robot is in the skull. There, the servomotors are placed, mechanisms that respond, via remote control, to simple and specific orders. They can, for example, make a model airplane take off or move the rudder of a toy ship. In an animatronic they create the facial expression
4. There are servomotors of different sizes and powers, capable of broader actions (such as opening the mouth) or more subtle ones (such as arching a section of the eyebrow). For every movement, there are one or more servants. A blink, for example, requires one for the upper lid and one for the lower lid.
5. A remote control sends a pulse via radio that informs the speed and stop of the action. Each servomotor can move in an angle from 45º to 90º. The most modern animatronics use software capable of dividing and mapping several points in this range, ensuring smoother final expression.
6. In the past, control was done with video game joysticks or with toy car joysticks. The up/down lever operated one servo and the right/left another. The speed and end of the action were defined “on the nail”, by the controller. Or by multiple controllers, in full sync
7. Servants usually only take care of the face. To make the doll walk or move its hands, there are other options. Yoda, for example, was controlled like a puppet. But, most of the time, an actor «wears» the animatronic head and uses his own arms and legs (covered in clothing similar to that of the puppet)
8. A third option is the “by thumbnail” control. This was the case with some of the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park (1993), moved by hydraulic pistons. The controllers created smaller replicas, linked via radio with the real animatronic. Each time they manipulated it, the “big” version moved the same part
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