Saturday, April 12, 2014

First Look at the Audio-Animatronic Dwarfs

Disney Parks Blog posted this short video yesterday showing a few Audio-Animatronic dwarfs from the Mine Train.





Video and screen captures via April 11th Disney Parks Blog.

5 comments:

  1. I'm hesitant to say how much I like how this looks, as it seems digital projection is the go to special effect that's taking the place of a lot of other effects nowadays. But- WOW- it really does look great, and part of it is that the projection is working so well in concert with the digital elements and the smooth animatronic movements. It really does look magical.

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    1. I'm an old school kind of fan, so not sure how I feel about digital projection either. But the dwarfs faces are interestingly expressive. This technology could grow on me.

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  2. As a rule, I prefer the old school stuff too. I remember someone years ago telling me how they really wish Disneyland's Pooh ride had been given fully animated animatronic figures. I don't know- there's something I like about a well sculpted static figure. In the case of the dwarves, the real test should be how the final figure looks. If in person, the projection gets too washed out with ambient light, or frequently isn't synced or whatever, then perhaps a traditional animatronic face would have been better. We'll soon see....

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  3. I must say that these dwarfs look extra-ordinarily good! Although the old school stuff has a special place in my heart, too, I bet Walt would have LOVED these digital projections! These latest AA's look so life-like, that it's absolutely amazing. My only regret is that the mine ride isn't Snow White's Scary Adventures… Just think of the scariest SW ride with this newest digital technology; it could be the scariest EVER ride based on authentic Disney Classic! :)

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    1. It will certainly be interesting to see the new AA's up close and in person. It's difficult to tell exactly how well the projections look on video.

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