What, exactly, is an animatronic?

lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
luv said:
So, anything that moves qualifies?
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No, originally it had to do with how the movement was controlled. They're called Audio-Animatronics because they originally used audio equipment to program the various and complex movements. This range of movement is what really distinguishes an animatronic from an animated figure that will have only a few, simple movements. Figures such as those on the World Famous Jungle Cruise are not animatronics as they mechanically repeated the same movement and that is all they can do. There is no ability to reprogram them to move in another manner without rebuilding them.
 
luv

luv

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
lazyboy97o said:
No, originally it had to do with how the movement was controlled. They're called Audio-Animatronics because they originally used audio equipment to program the various and complex movements. This range of movement is what really distinguishes an animatronic from an animated figure that will have only a few, simple movements. Figures such as those on the World Famous Jungle Cruise are not animatronics as they mechanically repeated the same movement and that is all they can do. There is no ability to reprogram them to move in another manner without rebuilding them.
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That's what I was wondering. Hopper screams "animatronic" at me...but the hula girls in IASW don't, really.

And the Jungle Cruise things...I just have no idea.

Tis a puzzlement.

Good to get info, though!!
 
luv

luv

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I am sincerely confused about this whole animatronic thing.

Doesn't matter much, I guess. I love the Tiki Birds, animatronic or not. :)
 
BoarderPhreak

BoarderPhreak

Well-Known Member
Audio-Animatronics

Audio-Animatronics (Animatronics, AA) is the registered trademark for a form of robotics animation created by Walt Disney Imagineering for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequently expanded on and used by other companies. The robots move and make noise (generally a recorded speech or song), but are fixed to whatever supports them. They can sit and stand but cannot walk. An Audio-Animatron is different from an android-type robot in that it uses prerecorded movements and sounds, rather than responding to external stimuli. In 2009, Disney created an interactive version of the technology called Autonomatronics.
 
HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
This sounds like the discussions I keep having to have with my girls to get them over their Haunted Mansion fears. Nothing like being in traffic and having to yell, "ROBOTS!!! They're FREAKING ROBOTS!!!!!!!! And the ones that aren't robots...run by MACHINES!!! Which are kind of like cousins to robots." Pardon me- it's a daily thing. ;) And I'm starting to confuse myself...which is now falling in line with some of this.
 
MarkTwain

MarkTwain

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
No, originally it had to do with how the movement was controlled. They're called Audio-Animatronics because they originally used audio equipment to program the various and complex movements. This range of movement is what really distinguishes an animatronic from an animated figure that will have only a few, simple movements. Figures such as those on the World Famous Jungle Cruise are not animatronics as they mechanically repeated the same movement and that is all they can do. There is no ability to reprogram them to move in another manner without rebuilding them.
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^ This. Technically, not every moving character in a Disney theme park is considered an Audio-Animatronic. I know the Jungle Cruise figures aren't and I may have read that the IASW dolls are simply "articulated figures" as well... can't remember. It seems like Fantasyland-type figures that just rotate or tilt aren't considered AAs either. As Lazyboy mentioned, It has to do with how they're programmed and their range of motion. Don't forget that the first true AAs were the Tiki Birds in 1963, and the Jungle Cruise and Disneyland's Fantasyland rides opened years before that in 1955.

EDIT: ugh, 1963, not 1959. Shame on me.
 
ifuhadwings

ifuhadwings

Well-Known Member
The most sophisticated of the AAs is the Auctioneer in PoC. He runs the smoothest and does not shake or recoil. His system is called compliance. I know there are two types of actual AAs. I think one runs with fluid and the other compressed air. Anyway, the best way to see AAs close up is in the CoP.:) It doesn't really matter. It's all cool to me. I love the tiki birds. They can click away!
 
mrdisman

mrdisman

Well-Known Member
ifuhadwings said:
The most sophisticated of the AAs is the Auctioneer in PoC. He runs the smoothest and does not shake or recoil. His system is called compliance. I know there are two types of actual AAs. I think one runs with fluid and the other compressed air. Anyway, the best way to see AAs close up is in the CoP.:) It doesn't really matter. It's all cool to me. I love the tiki birds. They can click away!
Click to expand...

You know...first time I saw pirates...I was blown away...I so wanted to jump off the boat onto the attraction and go up close. The only reason I wouldn't do that is fear that I would never be allowed in Disney again.
 

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