New Disney animatronics breathe inspiring life into their 2D characters

Whatever your opinion on the current state of its animated films, Disney is proving that it can still knock animatronics out of the park. This week, the entertainment giant gave us another early look at the new audio-animatronics being built for Tiana's Bayou Adventure – a redesign of the iconic (and controversial) Splash Mountain ride – and the reveal so far is breathtakingly impressive. Stayed.

Recognizable characters from The Princess and the Frog (2009) have been brought to robotic life in various social media posts and Disney's new "We Call It Imagineering" YouTube series, including Princess Tiana herself, Mama Odie, Charlotte LaBeouf, Includes Lewis the Alligator. And many other swamp creatures.

In fact, some of these animatronics move so fluidly that they actually seem alive! If these new animatronics had been developed like Tokyo Disneyland's Beauty and the Beast attraction, their movements and facial expressions would have been provided by actual animators from Walt Disney Animation Studios, which is why it looks like the characters could easily Others may avoid imprisonment. He's not as realistically lifelike as the shaman included in the Nwai River Journey ride, but that animatronic was a phenomenal feat of engineering in 2017 – it's exciting to see complex technology now being implemented on a large scale around the parks.

I'm also glad that Disney has moved away from the rear-projection technology that was used in the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Frozen Ever After rides at Disney World. It looks awkward and unusually dull in some circumstances and seems a bit lazy compared to previous animatronic innovations from Disney's Imagineering division over the past 60 years. In contrast, seeing the Princess and the Frog character's lips, eyes, and facial structure physically move takes me a second to remember that these are actual metal and plastic creations, not CGI.

This is an exciting time for like-minded people who love to see animatronics or robots used in theme parks and other live experiences. The free-roaming, chicken-like BD-X droids showcased by Disney Imagineering last year will be placed at Black Spire Outpost in Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge park between April 5 and June 2.

We've also seen some incredible robots designed around Shanghai Disney Resort's Zootopia land, and Universal is working on bringing life-size dragons to some experiences at the How to Train Your Dragon-themed land for their upcoming Epic Universe park. doing. doing.

If any of this has piqued your interest I recommend watching The Imagineering Story documentary on Disney Plus – it offers some fascinating insights into Disney's extensive history in the animatronic industry.