Animatronics: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

SplashThunder

SplashThunder

Member
Original Poster
Hello all!
This is a thread where you can fanboy, rage, and gush over Disney animatronics! Write your creepiest AA, your coolest AA, your ugliest AA, etc.! I'll write mine down below, and you can fill them in with yours.

Creepiest- All of the Peter Pan animatronics in the you know what ride. Just look lifeless! They stare at you, and I CAN HEAR WENDY CREAK.
Coolest-Brer Rabbit at the drop of Splash Mountain. Brer Fox too, he actually looks terrifying in the WDW version.

Ugliest- Ellen animatronic in Energy Adventure! Also the Splash Mountain animatronics in Disneyland version. They just look outdated. Disney World version for da win! :D
 
Yert3

Yert3

Well-Known Member
SplashThunder said:
Creepiest- All of the Peter Pan animatronics in the you know what ride. Just look lifeless! They stare at you, and I CAN HEAR WENDY CREAK.
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I know what you're saying, but you realize this attraction opened in 1971 right?

SplashThunder said:
Ugliest- Ellen animatronic in Energy Adventure!
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I don't know if this is true or not, but I remember reading that the reason that it doesn't look anything like her is because it's a recycled animatronic from a previous attraction. Can't remember which one though.
 
JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
Schneewittchen said:
Watch me speak evil.... But I just went on Stitch for the first time a few months ago. And I was really impressed with the animatronics. The movements seemed pretty complex.

But, I'll always love, love, love the animatronics in PoTC. The ladies/pirates chase. The best.
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There's a big difference in the quality of particular AAs and a horribly themed attraction. Ursula comes to mind in the book report that is Little Mermaid.
 
copcarguyp71

copcarguyp71

Well-Known Member
Hands down the most awe inspiring, captivating AA currently in the parks is Lumier at Enchanted Tales with Belle. If you have not seen it then I cannot recommend highly enough that you need to. Even if you don't have kids then swallow your pride and do it just for the experience. Additionally all of the AA's at The American Experience are top notch as well and not to be missed.
 
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Figments Friend

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Nice to see someone else here praising the quality of the Stitch AAs.
I have always thought the Stitch figure was very well done, and impressive when you take into consideration the character design proportions the robotics team had to conform to!
He is great to see in person...very expressive.
It's the sole thing I will miss when 'Stitch's Great Escape' is closed.

I'm a huge fan of Animatronics.
Have been since the early 1980s.
Some of my favorite WDW AA figures have been -

Figment - finale scene figure, Original 'Journey Into Imagination'
Mark Twain - first figure shown in opening scene in chair, 'The American Adventure'
Ben Franklin - final scene shown on Libery's torch, 'The American Adventure'
Henry - first figure, opening song - 'Country Bear Jamboree'
Wicked Witch of The West - Oz scene, 'The Great Movie Ride'
Stitch - 'Stitch's Great Escape'
Skippy -' ExtraTERRORestrial Encounter' / 'Stitch's Great Escape'


-

The best at WDW?
My vote would go to either Ben or Mark.
Both are beautifully animated and so expressive.

The worst...?
Iago from the thankfully now extinct 'Tiki Room : Under New Management'.
The figure always looked off-model to me, as in, not modeled to look like the character from the film.
He had some decent movement, but the shrill personality and those odd 'googlely eyes' we're off putting.
Zazu on the other hand was decent, and very cleverly animated.

The 'ugliest'...?
Well 'Ellen' from UOE was pretty poor looking.
The Angler Fish from the 'Finding Nemo' Omnimover over at the Seas Pavilion was also rather 'ugly', but at least he was meant to be.

-
 
Ol' Br'er Fox

Ol' Br'er Fox

Member
SplashThunder said:
Ugliest- Ellen animatronic in Energy Adventure! Also the Splash Mountain animatronics in Disneyland version. They just look outdated. Disney World version for da win! :D
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I don't see the America Sings/Splash Mountain animatronics as ugly. They're a little outdated, yeah, but I love them. They have a charm that you can't get with the reproductions, and the history behind how they got in Splash Mountain just fascinates me. I may be a bit biased though since I love both Disneyland's version of Splash Mountain and America Sings. Disneyland's Splash Mountain for the win, forever.
 
Magenta Panther

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
I think the animatronics in Splash need to be updated. The characters don't move enough, and they've never looked much like the characters in Song of the South, especially Brer Rabbit.

The AAs in Peter Pan's Flight - if they can even be called AAs, given their limited motion - obviously need an upgrade. In fact, the entire ride should be replaced with the wonderful new version in Shanghai. It's fantastic.
 
Cmdr_Crimson

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
The Good - TIE Timekeeper & Starnac
The-Timekeeper.jpg
2702781784_113446e32d.jpg


The Bad.......The adding and Plot Change of Jack Sparrow & Barbosa to PoTC
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sparrow2.jpg


The Ugly....Hate to say it...But.....The Yeti...Only until there is some fractal of a chance he'd be back to his original movement...But, not likely for a long time...So, enjoy the beauty and grace of this Picture before he went Ugly...
tumblr_nq7g05OFWc1s2wio8o1_500.gif
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Chef Mickey said:
The Yeti was the best animatronic ever built...unfortunately, it only worked for 6 months...
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For it's purpose I think that the Kong** one built decades ago that did work was just as good and wasn't hidden in a haze of light and speed. I probably didn't get the opportunity to see the Yeti enough to get the full appreciation for it, but, what I saw went by faster then the speed of light so by the time it registered I was getting off the ride.
Found at Universal BLEEP years ago.
 
SplashThunder

SplashThunder

Member
Original Poster
Ol' Br'er Fox said:
I don't see the America Sings/Splash Mountain animatronics as ugly. They're a little outdated, yeah, but I love them. They have a charm that you can't get with the reproductions, and the history behind how they got in Splash Mountain just fascinates me. I may be a bit biased though since I love both Disneyland's version of Splash Mountain and America Sings. Disneyland's Splash Mountain for the win, forever.
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Well, I partly agree. I have been on both, but Disneyland's version really never had much of a story. I'm one of the few who actually watched the original Song Of The South, and WDW version really does it justice. I love how the best scenes are carried out by the amazing animatronics. The very first time I went on it, I was confused at the drop. I then realized that I was Brer Rabbit being thrown into the briar patch!
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Disneyland version doesn't resemble Brer Fox

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WOW
 

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