Mickey at Garden Grill was wearing one of these heads yesterday.
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Characters lips moving on stage - video
- Thread starter forbidden donut
- Start date
![Dean[AU]](https://d3ofq03apmfb8c.cloudfront.net/data/avatars/m/8/8019.jpg?1339212325){kind=avatar}
UltimtMickeyFan
Member
Any pics of this by any chance?
Tinkwannabe
New Member
That's awesome. Can't wait to see it when we're there in a few weeks!
Yes but I have not downloaded them off of my memory card yet. The only obvious difference in the mask is around the eyes. The eyes are inset slightly to allow for the lids to move up and down. He did not animate the mask when he was at our table but he did when playing with a baby and the table next to us.
lawyergirl77
Active Member
That's cool if the character's friends can turn the animation on and off depending on the situation... It makes the meet-and-greet situation that much more tailored to the guest! Although I like the pantomine aspect of the characters, I can just imagine how cool it would be for kids (and bigger kids.. *cough* :lookaroun ) to be able to "talk" to Mickey!!
At least in this instance Mickey still did not talk. From the angle I was viewing this at it looked like he was making his upper lip/nose move up and down, which was making this baby laugh profusely. I took a pretty good look at the head when he came to our table and noticed the eyes and kind of assumed it was one of the new masks.
UltimtMickeyFan
Member
Ooook, this makes much more sense then. That was just Mickey doing his famous nose shake, not any type of articulation then. I was gonna say, because the only park to currently use this is MK.
Julius & Boobah
Member
That's fantastic, I like Donalds best. about time they did something like this but at the same time I'm amazed too.
barnum42
New Member
I'm only surprised it took this long to bring the technology to the Disney characters.
The live Muppet show that used to be at The Studios in the theatre that now houses The Little Mermaid had lip synch characters.
Just had a nose on You Tube - here it is from 17 years ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EHvw44Rge4
The live Muppet show that used to be at The Studios in the theatre that now houses The Little Mermaid had lip synch characters.
Just had a nose on You Tube - here it is from 17 years ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EHvw44Rge4
hammysammy59
New Member
I agree, it's about time that Disney, the guys that INVENTED animatronics, put some of this awesome technology into their characters. I'd LOVE to see this sort of thing for meet'n'greet park characters... Really, just the mouth articulation and blinking add SO much to these characters... they're no longer guys in suits, they ARE Donald and Goofy. Awesome.
Leolioness4200
Well-Known Member
I saw this video on the other disney forum that I'm a member of and I think it is just the greatest!! It makes the characters seem more real IMO 
Moustronaut
New Member
So are these just puppet heads then? I assumed that the ones in the show (as seen in the video) were true animatronics that were wirelessly synced to the soundtrack. The mouth and eye movements were all pre-programed to the show.
I wonder if either the show heads or the meet and greet heads are just puppet heads and not animatronic.
UltimtMickeyFan
Member
The famous Mickey nose shake can be done by Mickey anywhere on property.
The articuated characters that everyone sees in the video of the castle stage show are the only ones used on property at this time and the near future. And, no they are not synched to the soundtrack via wireless connection. They are controlled by the friend of that particular character.
I don't know officially but I would think that they would be operated by remote control which of course could be preprogrammed to sync with a show but would also allow the freedom to work in meet and greets. Making them remote control would also allow them the freedom of not having to have an on-board CPU to control the movements. But I could be wrong. PC's keep getting smaller by the day. I got my daughter a cell phone for Christmas that has more processing power than my first 486 computer so anything is possible.
UltimtMickeyFan
Member
They are definately not synched by any outside source, strictly controlled by the user.
Another reason they will not be used for meet and greet anytime soon is the astronomical cost involved and the noise that comes from the mechanics of the parts involved which can be masked by loud show music.
Another reason they will not be used for meet and greet anytime soon is the astronomical cost involved and the noise that comes from the mechanics of the parts involved which can be masked by loud show music.