Audio-Animatronics
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- "Animatronic" redirects here. For the album by The Kovenant, see Animatronic (album).
Audio-Animatronics is the registered trademark for a form of robotics created by Walt Disney Imagineering for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequently expanded on and used by other companies. The robots move and make noise, generally speech or song. An Audio-Animatronic is different from android-type robots in that it works off prerecorded moves and sounds, rather than processing external stimuli and responding to them. Animatronics has become a generic name for similar robots created by firms other than Disney.
[edit] Creation and early development
Audio-Animatronics were originally a creation of Lee Adams, who started his career with Disney as an electrician at the Burbank studio and was one of Disney's original Imagineers. The first Disney Audio-Animatronic was the giant squid in the movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which was created by Adams. It was later changed, and turned into tentacles that were attached to pumps. When you push a pump, air fills the tentacles, making them go up. When air leaves the tentacles, it coils up.
The term "Audio-Animatronics" was first used commercially by Disney in 1961, was filed as a trademark in 1964, and was registered in 1967.
Perhaps the most impressive of the early Audio-Animatronics efforts was The Enchanted Tiki Room, which opened in 1963 at Disneyland, where a room full of tropical creatures synchronize eye and facial action with a musical score entirely by electro-mechanical means. The "cast" of the musical revue used tones recorded on tape which vibrated a metal reed that closed a circuit to trigger a relay which sent a pulse of electricity to a mechanism that causes a pneumatic valve to move a part of the figure's body.
The movements of the attraction's birds, flowers and tiki idols were triggered by sound, hence the audio prefix. Figures' movements had a neutral "natural resting position" that the limb/part would return to when there was no electric pulse. The animation was all on/off moves, such as an open/closed eye or beak. On/off movement was called a digital system.
Other early examples were the Lincoln Exhibit presented at the State of Illinois Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Also at the fair were three other pavilions featuring Audio-Animatronics. They were Pepsi/UNICEF's "it's a small world", General Electric's Carousel of Progress, and Ford's Magic Skyway.
[edit] Inner workings
Pneumatic muscles were not powerful enough to move larger objects, like an artificial human arm, so hydraulics were used for large figures. On/off movement would cause an arm to be either up over the artificial man's head (on switch), or down (off switch), but no movement in between. To create realistic in-between movement in large figures, an analog system was used. This gave the figure's limbs/parts a full range of in-between motion, rather than only two positions. The digital system was used with small pneumatic moving limbs (eyelids, beaks, fingers), and the analog system was used for large hydraulic human or animal (arms, heads) moving limbs.
Compliance is a new technology that gives the animatronic figures faster, more realistic motion. In the older figures, a fast limb movement would cause the figure to shake in a weird unnatural way. So, the movements had to be slowed. Speed was sacrificed to gain control. This was frustrating for animators who wanted some faster movements. The new compliance tech allows fast movements with control too. It works by allowing a limb to pass the point where it is commanded to stop, and slow to a stop, instead of an immediate stop (which caused the shaking). This absorbs shock, much like the shock absorbers on a car or the natural shock absorption in a living body.
[edit] Variations of Audio-Animatronics
The technology of the AAs at the theme parks around the world vary in their sophistication. They range from the blinking and mouth movements at Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room to full body movement, from the mouth to the tip of the fingers at Stitch's Great Escape! at the Magic Kingdom. Current technologies have paved the way for more elaborate AA figures, such as the 'Ursula head' at Mermaid Lagoon Theater at Tokyo DisneySea, the Indiana Jones figures inside the Indy attractions at both Disneyland & Tokyo DisneySea, the 'swordfighting' pirates inside Disneyland Paris’ version of Pirates of the Caribbean, the "lava/rock monster" inside Journey to the Center of the Earth at Tokyo DisneySea, the "Yeti" inside Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom, or the Roz figure in the Disney's California Adventure attraction "Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!". In the case of the Roz figure, Disney makes the figure seemingly 'interact' with guests with help from an unseen ride operator who chooses pre-recorded messages for Roz to 'speak', thereby seeming to ‘react’ to individual guests' unique appearances/clothing. One of the newest figures comes with changes to the classic attraction, "Pirates of the Caribbean" at the two American resorts (Disneyland and Walt Disney World), both now featuring characters from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. The Jack Sparrow figure is based on his portrayor Johnny Depp, even featuring his voice and facial mold.
[edit] Disney attractions that have utilized Audio-Animatronics
[edit] Disneyland Resort
[edit] Disneyland
- Main Street, U.S.A.
- Grand Canyon/Primeval World dioramas (part of the Disneyland Railroad)
- Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (on 'hiatus', with a planned return in 2007)
- Adventureland
- New Orleans Square
- The Haunted Mansion
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Club 33 (Inactive as of 2006)
- Frontierland
- Mark Twain Riverboat
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland (since removed)
- Critter Country
- Splash Mountain
- Country Bear Jamboree (since removed)
- Fantasyland
- Tomorrowland
- Star Tours
- Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
- Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (opening in 2007)
- Submarine Voyage thru Liquid Space (since removed)
- Innoventions
- America Sings (since removed)
- Flight to the Moon (since removed)
- Mission to Mars(since removed)
- Carousel of Progress (since moved to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom)
- Parades
[edit] Disney's California Adventure
- a bug's land
- Hollywood Pictures Backlot
[edit] Walt Disney World Resort
[edit] The Magic Kingdom
- Adventureland
- Liberty Square
- Frontierland
- Fantasyland
- it's a small world
- Mickey's PhilharMagic
- Mickey Mouse Revue (since moved to Tokyo Disneyland)
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage (since removed)
- Tomorrowland
- The Carousel of Progress
- Space Mountain
- Stitch's Great Escape!
- Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
- Flight to the Moon (since removed)
- Mission to Mars (since removed)
- The Timekeeper (since removed)
- ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (since removed)
[edit] Epcot
- Future World
- Spaceship Earth
- Innoventions
- Universe of Energy
- Journey Into Imagination
- The Land
- Living with the Land
- Food Rocks (since removed)
- Kitchen Kabaret (since removed)
- Horizons (since removed)
- Communicore (since removed)
- World of Motion (since removed)
- World Showcase
[edit] Disney-MGM Studios
- Streets of America Area
- Hollywood Blvd. Area
[edit] Disney's Animal Kingdom
- Discovery Island
- DinoLand U.S.A.
- DINOSAUR (formerly Countdown to Extinction)
- Lucky the Dinosaur (since removed)
- Asia
[edit] Tokyo Disney Resort
[edit] Tokyo Disneyland
- Adventureland
- Primeval World diorama (as part of Western River Railroad)
- Jungle Cruise
- The Enchanted Tiki Room: Get The Fever!
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Critter Country
- Westernland
- Country Bear Jamboree
- Mark Twain Riverboat
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Fantasyland
- Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour (since removed)
- It's a Small World
- The Haunted Mansion / Haunted Mansion Holiday Nightmare
- Pooh's Hunny Hunt
- The Mickey Mouse Revue
- Tomorrowland
- Star Tours
- Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters
- Visionarium (since removed)
- Meet the World (since removed)
[edit] Tokyo DisneySea
- Arabian Coast
- Sinbad's Seven Voyages
- Magic Lamp Theater
- Port Discovery
- StormRider
- Mermaid Lagoon
- Mermaid Lagoon Theater
- New York Harbor
- Tower of Terror
- Lost River Delta
- Indiana Jones Adventure: The Temple of the Crystal Skull
- Mysterious Island
- Journey to the Center of the Earth
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
[edit] Disneyland Resort Paris
[edit] Disneyland Park
- Frontierland
- Adventureland
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Colonel Hathi's Pizza Outpost restaurant (currently semi-operative)
- Fantasyland
- Discoveryland
- Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast
- Le Visionarium (since removed)
- Les Mystères du Nautilus
- Star Tours
[edit] Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
[edit] Hong Kong Disneyland
- Adventureland
- Fantasyland
- Mickey's PhilharMagic
- It's A Small World (Opening 2008)
- Tomorrowland
[edit] Other uses of animatronic figures
Animatronics also gained popularity in the 1980s through use at family entertainment centers such as Showbiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre. They are also used in film and TV special effects.
Several passengers and crew of a Pioneer Zephyr are represented in a display of this historic train at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. Neatly dressed in the proper style of first class passengers of their era, one remarks upon the casual dress of the visitors.
[edit] External links
- How Animatronics Work at HowStuffWorks.com
- Chris Hillman's Animatronics Links: collection of links to over 3,000 animatronics-related web sites
- Patents with Animatronic in Title,Abstract, or Description
- Animatronic Patents
- [Art and technology studio specializing in compelling animatronics - http://www.lifeformations.com]
