"Hit me wif yo' riddim stick!"...
		Anyone catch that Ian Dury reference? 1977? Anyone? Buehler? Anyway, Hi, all you youngsters! And meet Blu, the new brand icon for Ortega, who is filled with so much deliciousness that, in order to get to the goods, you gotta wail away at him 'til the tacos tumble! Rick Lazzarini and The Character Shop once again teamed up with Steve Miller and Radical Media to design and create Blu. Well, Blu isn't just any old pinata. He's a custom-made animatronic puppet, with a radio-controlled jaw and muzzle. And there's a lot more that goes into making and filming such a creature than simply hanging it by a string and taking whacks at it. For instance, he's gotta be able to be hit, multiple times. So there's not just one Blu; several copies are made. And they all have to be very carefully scored to always break in the same place, in the same manner. Then the real product has to be loaded inside, which adds weight, so the putting-back-together can't be too weak, or things will fall out in the middle of the shot. The re-assembly can't be too strong, either...or it won't break! Then there's the matter of: hanging it. Sure, you want it to seem like it's hanging from a string. But think about that, a single point of suspension, wouldn't that cause something to act like a pendulum? Wouldn't that be inherently unstable and tending to drift, not likely to always be facing the proper direction for camera? Wow! You have a lot of good questions! The answer to those is "yes", and the solution is to tie off each of his legs with a tiny, invisible guyline, to he's held stably in the shot, but again, not so tight that he doesn't waft a little bit, naturally, and move realistically when hit. See, I toldja there was more to this than meets the eye! And how about that each and every fringe strip is hand cut, that he can change his expression (in cuts) by applying a variety of different eye shapes and looks! DANG you sure made a complicated pinata puppet, Character Shop! Now Moms across the U.S. can take out their aggressions AND feed their family in a healthy way! You're welcome! Blu's got a couple of commercials on YouTube. Watch 'em:   Blu the Ortega Pinata: Parking Lot   Blu the Ortega Pinata: Can't You can also make friends with Blu and hit him with objects. How good of a friend is THAT? He lets you HIT HIM and he LIKES IT! Yes! Friend, please!: Check out Blu the Pinata on Facebook Home What's New | Features | Commercials | Resume | Realistic | Whimsical | Scary | Animatronics | Prosthetics | Puppets | Waldo ® | Publicity | TCS Fun | FX FAQ | Reference | Contact Us Except where noted, all contents are the property of The Character Shop, Inc. and copyright 2011 Photographs and text may only be re-published with written permission. All rights reserved.