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Animatronic Turtle(s) and Tortoise(es)!
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Need
a Testudine? TCS creates custom animatronic turtle or tortoise puppets! What's New
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Us Photographs
on this pages used by permission. Except where otherwise noted, all
contents are the property of The Character Shop, Inc. and copyright
2019
Animatronic Turtle(s) and Tortoise(es)!
Click below to see this turtle in action:
Click below to see these tortoises in action:
When
Budweiser wanted a pair of
Galapagos tortoises, for an iconic Super Bowl ad, they came to the
best: The Character Shop.
The commercial starts with two tortoises resting on the shore of a
beach. Two environmentalists have finished work and about to enjoy
having two bottles of Budweiser. Once their backs are turned, one of
the Tortoises stands up and dashes to the area where the bottles are.
It immediately throws them to its friend... which happens to have a
cooler built inside its shell. The shell closes back in place once the
beer is inside. The running tortoise returns to it’s original spot
right before the two humans turn around and discover their beer has
been stolen. No one else in sight other than the tortoises! The two
tortoises now have some beer to enjoy once the humans leave their beach.
To accomplish the appearance of the tortoises, the Character Shop team
did a series of mock-up tests using different sized and statured
actors, and had them run, jump, and move within a mockup tortoise
shell.They finally found the perfect performer for the role in Michael
Munoz, a 4 1/2 foot tall man who had what it takes to be a tortoise.
Once the size of the creatures had been established, the crew went to
work creating the sculptures and molds of the heads, legs, shells, and
tails. Two puppets, and one ‘action suit” would be created, as well as
various insert pieces. In a particularly striking bit of luck, the crew
discovered an actual Galapagos shell that was 4′ long; the perfect
size. Los Angeles biologist/naturalist/lecturer Dana Bleitz provided
the team an actual shell which just happened to have been the shell of
a tortoise that was, at the time of its death at the San Diego Zoo, the
largest Galapagos Tortoise in captivity.
The shells, lightweight
and thin, were duplicated in fiberglass cloth and polyester resin, and
painted to perfection. The puppets were designed to accommodate two
puppeteers; one for the front legs and shell, and one to handle the
head, neck, breathing, and mouth movements. Off screen puppeteers
operated the tortoise’s eye blinks and movements via radio control.
While the latest advances in synthetic prosthetic skins favor silicone,
the team decided to go with foam latex as the material of choice for
the tortoises’ skin. TCS Founder and Chief Creative Designer Rick
Lazzarini (who puppeteered the head of the lead tortoise) explains,
“These tortoises had a very matte finish to them. The other benefit was
that the skins ended up being lighter, which is a saving grace. Anyone
who’s ever had an animatronic puppet head at the end of their arm
…horizontally…can appreciate the difference that the elimination of
even two ounces can make.” Finally, foam latex had the ease of
paintability, and the stretchability needed to simulate realistic
tortoise skin.
NB: Folks sometimes ask if we did the "Slowskies" (Slowskys) turtle puppets. No; ours are better! ;-)
Whether
you're a Producer, Art Director, Prop Master, Production Designer,
Private Collector, Inventor, Burning Man Artistic Investor, or Exhibit
Designer... you can have incredible animatronic creations for your
Production or Project. Need incredible imagination and technological
wizardry for your Film, Television Show, or Live Event? Contact The
Character Shop at 805-306-9441 or lazzwaldo at mac.com!
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