Disney’s Smallest Audio-Animatronics Figure Brings ‘Chef Remy’ to Life at Les Chefs d

[KP25701]

Disney’s Smallest Audio-Animatronics Figure Brings ‘Chef Remy’ to Life at Les Chefs de France in Epcot
From the Silver Screen to Haute Cuisine!

Walt Disney World Resort Press Release
April 6, 2009

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The newest chef at Walt Disney World Resort may be small in stature, but he’s a big hit with guests enjoying haute cuisine at Les Chefs de France in Epcot. With his flair for French fare, diners of all ages are eating up his whimsical tableside visits.

His name is Remy, and he’s the rat-turned-chef made famous in the Academy Award-winning Disney•Pixar film “Ratatouille.” A new Audio-Animatronicscharacter created by Walt Disney Imagineering, Remy stars in a new guest experience at Les Chefs de France entitled “Bon Appétit from Chef Remy.” Les Chefs de France is one of the restaurants featured at the France pavilion in Epcot.​

Six days a week, four times a day (subject to change), a Maître d’ greets diners with a rolling gourmet food cart. Dramatically lifting the lid from a silver-domed cheese platter, the Maître d’ reveals the guest of honor – a six-inch-tall rat with silky-soft fur, pink paws and traditional toque. Chef Remy then comes to life, entertaining diners with sprightly movements and lively banter. Winding their way through the restaurant, Remy and his Maître d’ pal make stops at each table. In addition to his hijinks, Chef Remy might even bust a move to the beat of different tunes, from the soft sway of a French love song to the hot sounds of hip-hop.

The 40-minute experience provides guests an up-close encounter with the “Ratatouille” star as he laughs, sniffles and even flirts with his new friends.

Remy is part of the Living Character initiative created for Disney Parks by Walt Disney Imagineering.

“By combining technologies, our Living Character initiative creates new levels of guest interaction and brings characters to life like never before,” said Holger Irmler, who worked on the Remy project for Walt Disney Imagineering. “Things we do are so complex, yet our goal is to make them seem so magical to our guests.”

Since its inception, the initiative has been providing guests with a dash of never-before-seen technology and a heaping helping of legendary Disney magic. The first Living Character debuted in 2004 in the form of a large and lovable dinosaur named Lucky.

Not only is Remy one of the newest Audio-Animatronicscharacters created by Walt Disney Imagineering, he also holds the distinction of being the smallest one ever created. Having already wowed guests at Disneyland Resort Paris, Imagineers chose Epcot as the next park for Remy to visit – with Les Chefs de France serving as the perfect Parisian setting for his Walt Disney World debut.

Guests dining at Les Chefs de France are encouraged to make advance reservations by calling 407/WDW-DINE (407/939-3463) up to 90 days prior to their visit. “Bon Appétit from Chef Remy” is scheduled to take place at Les Chefs de France Monday through Saturday until Sept. 5, 2009 (subject to change).

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Attached Images

 

[Jasonflz]

:sohappy: This really looks like it has potential. I am surprised at how small he is. Is there any video?

 

[raven]

I saw Remy on his debut day at Epcot and I was very surprised how well it works. The woman that was with him added great humor as well!

 

[Oriolesmagic]

Looks really cool! Here's the video...

http://www.attractionsmagazine.com/...ow-appearing-at-epcot-in-les-chefs-de-france/

 

[wdwmemories]

The video is great - this looks like a great work of entertainment (altough I do question a little putting it into Les Chefs, since it is such a nice / fancy place).

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Very nice. A perfect fit to bring a character into EPCOT without overdoing it.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

So glad they brought it to WDW! Can't wait to see it in May. I love the living character initiative things that they do. It makes the park more interesting than just walking ride to ride like so many people do.

 

[JWG]

Too bad we missed this on our trip, looks great.
I'd rather see out and about in the France pavilion area so more could enjoy, but still great work.

Let's put that creative power into our attractions!

 

[Oriolesmagic]

Too bad we missed this on our trip, looks great.
I'd rather see out and about in the France pavilion area so more could enjoy, but still great work.

Let's put that creative power into our attractions!

I think one of the reasons they created this was to bring more families into the restaurant.

 

[JWG]

I think one of the reasons they created this was to bring more families into the restaurant.

I can't imagine there's a big need for this unless lunch is a dead zone. Getting reservations is near impossible unless you do it 4 months out because of DDP.

 

[brucie]

Looks cool. This is a restaurant we normally eat at we love it. Hope he's there whenever we go back.

 

[Jasonflz]

Chef Remy=$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[teebin]

This isn't a true audio animatronic, the term is so abused. True AA's were created to sync audio with the movement of or the lips of/or physical movement of the character using time code. This little rat just moves around willy nilly. The yeti does the same moves over and over on cue and not synced to anything really except cued to move when the train enters the tunnel (if he was working at all). The fish in 20K just did the same moves over and over. They are all mechanical, nothing more than a Christmas display at Lord & Taylor in NYC.

While many on here might argue with me about the term, the only thing that sets it apart is the syncing of audio (speech or physical movement) with the movement of the bot. Otherwise, many of the characters at any theme park are just mechanical figures presenting the same moves over and over again... they are not performing detailed movements on a very specific cue.

(and yes, I know about the audio blips and bops of the old technology that apparently still maintain the pneumatics of many of the attractions but those blips etc are basically controlled by ZERO's and ONE's)

AAs are nearly 60 years old tech. If you want to see true high tech human controlled motion, click the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASIMO

 

[Festivus]

we have reservations at le chefs de France, can't wait to see it, our kids love ratatouille.

 

[ToTBellHop]

This isn't a true audio animatronic, the term is so abused. True AA's were created to sync audio with the movement of or the lips of/or physical movement of the character using time code. This little rat just moves around willy nilly. The yeti does the same moves over and over on cue and not synced to anything really except cued to move when the train enters the tunnel (if he was working at all). The fish in 20K just did the same moves over and over. They are all mechanical, nothing more than a Christmas display at Lord & Taylor in NYC.

While many on here might argue with me about the term, the only thing that sets it apart is the syncing of audio (speech or physical movement) with the movement of the bot. Otherwise, many of the characters at any theme park are just mechanical figures presenting the same moves over and over again... they are not performing detailed movements on a very specific cue.

(and yes, I know about the audio blips and bops of the old technology that apparently still maintain the pneumatics of many of the attractions but those blips etc are basically controlled by ZERO's and ONE's)

AAs are nearly 60 years old tech. If you want to see true high tech human controlled motion, click the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASIMO

regardless of this, he's cool. I hope to see him when I visit in June (I know they make no guarantees, but I purposely picked lunch and avoided Sunday--Remy goes to church?).

 

[EpcotServo]

This isn't a true audio animatronic, the term is so abused. True AA's were created to sync audio with the movement of or the lips of/or physical movement of the character using time code. This little rat just moves around willy nilly. The yeti does the same moves over and over on cue and not synced to anything really except cued to move when the train enters the tunnel (if he was working at all). The fish in 20K just did the same moves over and over. They are all mechanical, nothing more than a Christmas display at Lord & Taylor in NYC.

That's not true about the Yeti. It's synced with Audio. Didn't you think about the part where it, you know...ROARS and grunts? Ummmm...the whole part of it actually?
:lol:

Remy, not a TRUE AA. Yeti, completely AA.

 

[Disneyson 1]

This isn't a true audio animatronic, the term is so abused. True AA's were created to sync audio with the movement of or the lips of/or physical movement of the character using time code. This little rat just moves around willy nilly. The yeti does the same moves over and over on cue and not synced to anything really except cued to move when the train enters the tunnel (if he was working at all). The fish in 20K just did the same moves over and over. They are all mechanical, nothing more than a Christmas display at Lord & Taylor in NYC.

While many on here might argue with me about the term, the only thing that sets it apart is the syncing of audio (speech or physical movement) with the movement of the bot. Otherwise, many of the characters at any theme park are just mechanical figures presenting the same moves over and over again... they are not performing detailed movements on a very specific cue.

(and yes, I know about the audio blips and bops of the old technology that apparently still maintain the pneumatics of many of the attractions but those blips etc are basically controlled by ZERO's and ONE's)

AAs are nearly 60 years old tech. If you want to see true high tech human controlled motion, click the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASIMO

Actuallly... he DOES move to cues. When he chats with the chef, he does his little squeaks and motions to him/her. When he dances, he does so to a particular beat of a song. Contrary to popular belief, he DOES somewhat interact with not only the chef, but with people as well. Yes, it's not pre-recorded, but it's a cue nonetheless.

And I'm surprised that nobody has yet said how LAME he is! He simply sways back in forth! I mean yes, he does respond to people, to the Chef, and to the music, but with little squeaks as he turns to the person or "dances". I swear, the control pad for that thing must be half a joystick, 3 squeaking sounds, and a "dance" button with some sort of metronome.

 

[Lee]

We interrupt this fascinating topic for another Adventurers Club Moment!

Ooohh la-la!

 

[JLW11Hi]

Actuallly... he DOES move to cues. When he chats with the chef, he does his little squeaks and motions to him/her. When he dances, he does so to a particular beat of a song. Contrary to popular belief, he DOES somewhat interact with not only the chef, but with people as well. Yes, it's not pre-recorded, but it's a cue nonetheless.

And I'm surprised that nobody has yet said how LAME he is! He simply sways back in forth! I mean yes, he does respond to people, to the Chef, and to the music, but with little squeaks as he turns to the person or "dances". I swear, the control pad for that thing must be half a joystick, 3 squeaking sounds, and a "dance" button with some sort of metronome.

Sadly, I was thinking the same thing. I also find his squeaking to be a little strange. Maybe its just the video and you have to be there in person to experience it, but this is video straight from the company itself. (Yeah, I know the rats in Ratatouille don't really "speak" to humans, but I and many other people who are familiar with the character Remy would probably be expecting him to speak when they see him. Of course, the squeaking allows them to get around having to add/hide/integrate a voice artist to the performances, which would be complicated.)

But the movements in the video seem kind of stiff and limited. His hands just sit there in that strange pose to his sides the whole time. I feel bad ripping on this as it just came out, but when you compare it to the footage of Lucky, Remy seems less impressive.

The nice thing is that this was an unexpected addition to the parks and will still be a nice little "plus" to the restaurant at France.

 

[imagineer boy]

I agree, I'm a little underwhelmed. All he does is stick to that shrugging pose and moves his upper torso and squeaks. So what? Lucky and Muppet Mobile Labs were far more impressive. Don't get me wrong, its cute and I think some guests will like it, but its nothing special really. :shrug: