7DMT Animatronics

MerlinTheGoat

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
LithiumBill said:
Are we really comparing AA's meant to replicate human beings, to those figures that are meant to represent 2D animated Dwarfs?
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Splash Mountain didn't have any trouble converting 2D animated cartoon characters into impressive TRUE animatronic figures. I've also mentioned others such as Lumiere, which again uses the same projection effects on far better moving figures than these. Or Pooh's Hunny Hunt in Japan. And despite the ride's other faults, the Little Mermaid has several actually impressive figures (particularly Ursula). The comparison lies in the articulation of the figures and the range of motion they're capable of, not whether the original source material was live action or animated.
 
TubaGeek

TubaGeek

God bless the "Ignore" button.
I like 'em, but I have a concern.
If Buzz's face goes out, they close the curtain and turn off the audio. If Sebastian's eyes go out, they have static pieces they put over them. What happens if one of the seven(?) dwarf faces goes out? You can't just cover it up, and I can't imagine static pieces being put over them...
Would the attraction have to go 101 for something like that?
 
DaGoof00

DaGoof00

Well-Known Member
They look fantastic! I'm looking forward to the final product, and will judge the ride as a whole when a video is finally posted (hopefully some soft opening videos soon).
 
MerlinTheGoat

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
I too am worried about the maintenance of these figures. The heads are going to look really creepy if the projector breaks or is switched off. The wardrobe in the B&TB area is a good example of how badly a broken projector can go (it was non functional for an alarming amount of, especially with WDW's shoddy maintenance. Projection effects have been rather hit or miss in the past few years.

I REALLY hate to say this, but even the broken yeti animatronic actually still LOOKS like a yeti (ew I can't believe I just actually tried to justify ANY positive thing about a broken AA, I need to go throw up and take a long shower). An eyeless and mouthless dwarf though would be impossible to ignore and not be freaked out by. Immediately obvious even to people who aren't familiar with a ride's proper functions when something is wrong with a facial projection...
 
Magenta Panther

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
Most of us here are Disney enthusiasts who just want Disney to live up to Walt's legacy. And the last attraction built at WDW that DID live up to the legacy was the Tower of Terror. Everything else has been below-par or just okay. And now, unfortunately, it looks like the Mine Train falls into the "just okay" category...
 
Magenta Panther

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
MerlinTheGoat said:
The physical figures themselves are indeed worse than Carousel of Progress, their motion definitely doesn't match even those archaic animatronics. The only "impressive" thing about these figures are the facial projections (and calling it impressive is a stretch). Even the Worlds Fair version of CoP had more motion to their figures than these, clearly seen in this making of video-


MY personal favorite is the guy earlier who said Hunny Hunt's figures were worse, lmao! I think these figures turned out well for what they are and what REAL insiders said they were. The reality was once again 100% spot on with what people like Lee have been saying for ages now- relatively simple figures with somewhat limited motion underneath the projected faces. They're decent figures and a step up over the original Snow White ride, but not the impressive ground breaking animatronic figures that DisneyConstruction23 and even now others like you are hyping them as (and those lies are one of the major reasons people are negative and disappointed in the first place). They're not bad looking figures, but one expects far more from Disney figures. Doubly so when Disney commands such an inflated price tag and prolonged construction period (along with fake insiders making up lies about the quality to be expected).

Projected faces are also nothing new by now and have been applied to much better moving figures than these before. Lumiere for example (as stated), the Cars in Radiator Springs Racers, and the Buzz Lightyear and Mr Potato Head figures in the queues of their respective rides.


Grandma's ice cream didn't cost several hundred million dollars, nor did it take anywhere near as long to create (or lied about and falsely hyped as an E ticket). Compare this Mine Train instead to an actual E ticket ride like Horizons or any of the old Future World greats, all of which DID have massive quantities of cutting edge AA figures and ridiculously elaborate show scenes (and individually cost immensely less money and time to build). Or in more recent times, Splash Mountain, Sinbad, Pooh's Hunny Hunt etc.
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I once saw a video of the Sinbad ride, and oh my god...that thing is amazing, and the AAs, unbelievable. I had no idea AAs could move so smoothly and gracefully...makes me look at Splash Mountain's AAs and wanna cry...they look like ancient antique wind-up toys next to the AAs of Sinbad. :(
 
FigmentJedi

FigmentJedi

Well-Known Member
MerlinTheGoat said:
Splash Mountain didn't have any trouble converting 2D animated cartoon characters into impressive TRUE animatronic figures. I've also mentioned others such as Lumiere, which again uses the same projection effects on far better moving figures than these. Or Pooh's Hunny Hunt in Japan. And despite the ride's other faults, the Little Mermaid has several actually impressive figures (particularly Ursula). The comparison lies in the articulation of the figures and the range of motion they're capable of, not whether the original source material was live action or animated.
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And it's not like the heads of the dwarfs would be too small to animate a face the old fashioned way. CG face is overkill.
 
Scuttle

Scuttle

Well-Known Member
Tahu said:
And it's not like the heads of the dwarfs would be too small to animate a face the old fashioned way. CG face is overkill.
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I agree, I think it's overkill as well. I really don't think they look that good based on the video, but I'll have to hold back judgment until I ride it.
 
Captain Chaos

Captain Chaos

Well-Known Member
MerlinTheGoat said:
Splash Mountain didn't have any trouble converting 2D animated cartoon characters into impressive TRUE animatronic figures. I've also mentioned others such as Lumiere, which again uses the same projection effects on far better moving figures than these. Or Pooh's Hunny Hunt in Japan. And despite the ride's other faults, the Little Mermaid has several actually impressive figures (particularly Ursula). The comparison lies in the articulation of the figures and the range of motion they're capable of, not whether the original source material was live action or animated.
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Remember when we were told by fake insiders the AA's would be better than ursula??? HAHAHA yea, I do... Still waiting to see the better AA's... These sure aren't them...
 
Captain Chaos

Captain Chaos

Well-Known Member
TubaGeek said:
I like 'em, but I have a concern.
If Buzz's face goes out, they close the curtain and turn off the audio. If Sebastian's eyes go out, they have static pieces they put over them. What happens if one of the seven(?) dwarf faces goes out? You can't just cover it up, and I can't imagine static pieces being put over them...
Would the attraction have to go 101 for something like that?
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And attraction go 101 in WDW?? The hell you say...
 
MerlinTheGoat

MerlinTheGoat

Well-Known Member
I don't think these figures actually look BAD...well Dopey kind of does for some reason but the rest are pretty decent IMO. However they're most definitely NOT the jaw droppingly impressive animatronics we were told from false prophets (or Disney). They're in my opinion decent basic moving figures, some with some good projected faces to compensate for the lack of physical motion. They look good for basic figures but they're not groundbreaking or advanced by any stretch. Something you'd expect of secondary or tertiary figures in the sides and background scenes of an E ticket, not the main forefront figures. Pleasant to look at and a step above the old ones in the original Snow White ride (besides again Dopey who looks very off for some reason). That's all I can say about their quality. It is again the absurd pricetag coupled with the now ridiculous time it's taking to finish all this and the unattainable hype that makes for the largest problems with this ride IMO. Had this attraction been built for about one fifth or less of the cost it took, not overhyped as more than it was, and completed in a reasonable time frame, I think people here would be much more forgiving. It looks to be as Lee said a short but nice D ticket. I'm still looking forward to riding it, but my expectations are firmly in check.

There's still the other issue of it being massively cut down from its original form though. It has a shorter and less intricate/intersecting track with fewer show scenes than originally planned. And despite the outside coming together pretty well, there are even cuts to that including the lack of log bridges shown in the art, dwarfs marching home from work or sparkling gems scattered around the mountainside.
 

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