Want to see something insane?

[DrCorey]

AA Heads Are here!
look what Disney has:
video.google.com/videopla...3822&hl=en (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9034133974768533822&hl=en)
AA Heads! now the actors can follow the script and the computers will animate the face movements. this must take some getting used to for the actors, thier timing must now be perfect. I wonder if Disney came up with this or bought it from someone else. can you just imagine this for other charactors? maybe the RAE, bring them to life in from of the kids faces. course, getting good actors would cost a load too.

[MMBBfan327]

That's amazing!!! :eek

[CEC3066]

Aaron Fechter already tried this he brought it to the IAAPP convention and could've had a seller but the idiot customer left his brain at home and said to Aaron m(why would I want a $7,000 head when I can get a regular one for $3,000?"

[RockafireGuy]

Yeah; I remember somebody telling me about that animated Billy Bob walkaround... pretty neat.

[puppetmaster29]

Impressive

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

That's the first thing i immediately thought of when i heard about this last week when the show debuted the new heads.....Aaron's Talking WalkaRound Billy Bob!

Disney has actually done several AA heads in the past, but all were for television use only. The Disney Channel used to have two childrens live action programs that used walkaround characters in animated heads heavily: Dumbo's Circus and Pooh Corner. They had animated mouths and eyes..even eyebrows in some cases...and this was all going on in 1985! Why it has taken Disney this long to finally incorporate this technology into their stage shows is beyond me. Seems they should have been doing this ages ago.

Nice to finally see it happen though....

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

For the TechHeads that are curious as to how Disney is doing the new heads, as in how they work:

( SPOILERS AHEAD: DO NOT READ if you wish to "preserve the Magic!")




You may be surprised to learn that unlike the Walkaround Billy Bob interactive costume, the "Dream Along with Mickey" show heads are MANUALLY controlled by each of the costumed performers....and NOT programmed in synch with the soundtrack like most would assume!

I was surprised myself to learn this....but tis' true. The character perfromers simply operate the mouth by flexing their index finger in time with the dialog. The eyes are operated with their other hands index finger, so the performers have total control of what their heads are doing.

This is a system developed by Henson Associates many years ago for use with the walkaround Muppet characters that used to perform a live stage show at the Disney/MGM Studios. Several Muppets were featured in the show larger then life with fully animated mouths and eyes in some cases. It was a impressive show and all the walkaround animations was done manually by the performer. It is interesting that it has taken Disney all these years to finally incorporate the same technology into their own characters for a stage show.

Fasinating really...as you would think it would all be radio controlled or along similar lines.

For those wondering: Disney has no plans whatsoever to ever have the new animated head characters do meet n' greets ( sorry Matt!). It has been determined that it would not work well in that situation, as the servo motors that control the animations are very noisy and without the loud stage show music the "Magic" is ruined.

[MMBBfan327]

I hate to change the subject for a brief moment (as I tend to do), but I must say Jenn, you are awesome!!! I used to watch BOTH Dumbo's Circus and Pooh Corner a while back and you have put them in my mind again! I can now remember some moments from the shows, such as in Dumbo's Circus there was Lionel Lion or something like that, and then Barnaby the Dog, and that cat or whatever he was that was a ventriloquist. Come to think of it, Dumbo's Circus is kinda like RAE on TV. Also with Pooh Corner, there was the eldery narrator (was he british?) that would talk about the story being presented. Wow, really sweet flashback. Thanks Jenn!

Ok, now back on topic--that is very mindbogling how the leader of entertainment has developed a product, already prototyped by a local company nearly 2 decades later! Also a problem with the AA heads walking around is that if a guest wants to talk to them, the characters would have to reply in the character's voice, which may be costly to produce a mechanism in the head to change the performer's voice. Not only that, it would more than likely scare the youngsters, as I believe Mr. Fechter's talking Billy Bob did back when it was created. Very cool concept, I must admit though.

[DrCorey]

yeah, I have seen Bear from the big blue house, and henson creation, he is a huge wearable puppet. it's hard enoght to operate him on a stage show and to do it in person one to one whould be imposible for the performer. maybe some day.

someone told me, the original actor who did the tv shows used to get so hot and tired he would have a signal he gave when he needed a break from filming the show, and they would have to get him partially out of Bear to breath and rest for a while.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

This is true for most costume performers.

At CEC, the standard signal to give was a "time out" sign ( much like a coach uses on the field). This was ( hopefully) seen by a CM that was with the character, and that was the signal to let the performer take a break, or alert the CM to a problem. I used it myself back in the day, and still do at my current job when i get to do mascot work ( Bearemy, from Build-a-Bear Workshop).

Disney Park Entertainment also uses a complex set of signals. If you know what to look for, you can actually see the characters conversing with their "Character Greeter" ( CM always assigned to characters when out with Guests). I have "conversed" with characters myself from the sidelines, as there are also signals that let them know they are doing a great job, or are exceptional on hitting there marks during a stage show. I gave both Pinnochio and Donald such signals during one of my past trips to WDW and they eagerly responded with a answering signal. It's like a secret handshake of sorts....kinda neat to see in action.

So next time you visit one of the Disney Parks, pay attention to how the characters "converse" with there keepers. It's pretty fun...

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Yes. Dumbo's Circus was a GREAT show! They should really start re-broadcasting it on the Disney Channel ( Lord knows they need all the help they can get...) as it was a high quaility program for kids and adults of all ages. I have some shows on videotape, but sadly the bulk of my shows were lost in a flood a few years back.

The characters were:

Dumbo, the star attraction of the traveling show

Lionel Lion, the Ringmaster and leader of the troup

Fairdinkum, a koala with a austraillian accent who was a animal trainer.

Barnaby, who was the clown dog.

Sebastian, a frazzled cat that dressed as a bum...he was the roadie!

Lilly, the tightrope walker who was a pretty female cat.

Q.T, the orangatang weightlifter and general strongman. Also the comic releif in many shows.



There is actually a large underground fan following of this show, and dvd's of the program can be found on Ebay, though they are far from "official" releases i beleive. Many of these fans are in search of the entire set of shows...since Disney has yet to release them officially on video/dvd after all these years, most fans are in search of them

Great show...very well done, and the cool animatronic animations on the mascot heads was a big plus.

[MMBBfan327]

Oh, I remember Q.T.!!! Haha I remember one specific episode where the Circus got these HUGE posters that had their face on it, and Q.T. kept going through them and breaking them and they all got mad...or something idk it's been quite some time.