Animatronics come in every shape and size, but some of the most imposing ones are the
giant animatronics.
Today we'll be covering some huge megalophobia inducing animatronics.
Check out the playlist in the description to catch up on our megalophobia series.
La Machine Giant Animatronics
We can't talk about giant machines without mentioning La Machine, a French company founded
in 1999 by François Delarozière.
They specialize in creating the most monstrous and spectacular giant animatronic machines
in the world.
Composed of artists, technicians, and theater designers, the company focuses on crafting
unusual theatrical objects for public spaces.
Today, we'll cover their most colossal and awe-inspiring projects.
One of their remarkable creations is the giant mechanical spider, which first appeared on
the streets of London in 2008.
These massive spiders climbed buildings and roamed the streets, astonishing citizens.
Weighing between 40 to 84 short tons and measuring 13 to 43 feet in height, these animatronic
spiders are a sight to behold.
They boast a vascular network over 0.93 miles long, filled with 581 gallons of hydraulic
oil.
Built in their workshops in Nantes and Tournefeuille, they are controlled by an extensive team of
puppeteers, typically three in the main section, manipulating the spider's different joints.
The spider is propelled by a crane-like vehicle that bears and distributes the weight of this
gigantic creature.
In 2019, Calais unveiled another monumental creation, the Dragon of Calais.
This legendary creature, brought to life by 17 individuals and accompanied by a musical
ensemble, traverses the city during a three-day spectacle.
The Dragon has been tamed by the inhabitants of Calais and has chosen to settle permanently
in the city.
It now roams the Calais waterfront, carrying around fifty passengers on its back.
Designed as an integral part of the city, this gigantic reptile weaves through the city
center, interacting with residents and visitors alike.
For now, we'll conclude our exploration of La Machine's creations.
But there are lots more to uncover!
Their work never ceases to amaze people who come across it.
So leave a comment below if you want a video showcasing all of their work!
Hand of Man Christian Ristow
Christian Ristow is synonymous with spectacle.
This robotic artist has been entertaining audiences under the name Robochrist Industries
since 1996.
We can witness his performances at events like Coachella, where he has staged robot
fights, such as the one in 1999 where two robots began demolishing cars and mannequins
in front of a giant baby, or Burning Man in 2015 with his installation "Subjugator," where
one of his giant robots was responsible for destroying a flaming sculpture.
We could talk for hours about his various projects, but today we want to focus on one
of his best projects, at least in our opinion: Hand of Man.
This project originated from Christian Ristow's desire to create an interactive experience
where he wouldn't be the only one having fun during his performances.
So, he decided to create a huge mechanical monster powered by diesel called Hand of Man.
This monumental creation debuted at Burning Man in 2008, allowing the audience to become
part of the destruction.
The hydraulic, diesel-powered contraption is operated by a lightweight glove controller.
The controls are so simple and intuitive that anyone can walk up, put their hand into the
glove, and immediately begin operating the 25-foot-tall robot.
In addition, Ristow allowed audience members up to three minutes on the control couch to
experience the awesome power of controlling a larger-than-life crushing machine.
This machine can lift and crush various objects, including small cars.
If you're a fan of animatronics and robotics in general, you must check out Ristow's work.
World's Biggest Animatronic Baby StudioADI
If you've watched our videos for a while, you know we're huge fans of StudioADI or Amalgamated
Dynamics.
They are behind many incredible animatronics that we can find in films.
We've covered them a few times before for animatronics like the Bedazzled Lava Demon,
the Graboids in Tremors, and the Death Becomes Her Meryl Streep animatronic.
But while many of the animatronics they have created are terrifying, this one takes the
prize!
Trust us when we say this is straight out of a nightmare.
Take a look at the world's biggest Baby.
It's like something from a horror film.
This Baby was created for the Baby World Expo in 2010 in Shanghai, specifically for the
Spanish pavilion.
The purpose of this gigantic animatronic was to create an unforgettable memory for the
guests before leaving the expo.
The Director of Communications, Pedro Molina, mentioned that their goal with this Baby was
not just to have people come and see it but to observe the expressions on their faces
and see them smile.
The message conveyed is that the future is promising.
Creating the Baby was a challenge as the team had to apply all their knowledge on a large
scale.
The animatronic went through the extensive process that we have discussed numerous times,
including sculpture and mold creation.
However, the most crucial aspect of this Baby was the development of mechanisms for facial
expressions.
They achieved this by using gigantic servos.
A massive latex mask was created for the Baby's face, and each hair follicle, including the
eyelashes, was individually implanted by hand.
Finally, this Baby made its debut, and it was a huge success.
And while the message behind it was very positive, we find this Baby to be nightmare fuel.
This is likely due to the uncanny valley effect.
Regardless of your opinion, this Baby is undoubtedly a technological marvel.
Giant Pumpkin Scare Factory
Another great company that specializes in scaring people with its creations.
The Scare Factory Inc is a full-service Design and Fabrication Animatronics Studio that creates
Haunted Attractions and everything that goes into them.
They have a huge catalog of animated characters, furniture, fixtures, and props for any scary
attraction.
Not only that, but they also design and execute complete attractions with different themes
so that they can be customized, or clients can choose from some themed attractions that
have already been developed and put together by the team, like the Hollywood Horror attraction
that takes guests through scene after scene of old Hollywood horror film-like settings
and finds terrifying things around each corner.
Of course, their main products are animatronic, and they have a variety of them to choose
from.
Some of which are seriously huge!
There are many animatronics in this category, but today we're going to focus on the Pumpkin
King.
This animatronic is terrific and very scary, and its design is very interesting.
When it is resting, it appears as if there's a huge Jack o Lantern surrounded by a small
cluster of trees.
But suddenly, the Pumpkin King wakes up, and the bunch of trees and vines actually transform
to become The Pumpkin King's arms, legs, chest, and back as the character stands up.
When it is standing, the animatronic measures 17 feet tall, and it features four independent
far-reaching arm movements, head pan & jaw movement.
This animatronic has been used in several attractions during Halloween time, but one
of the most iconic ones is Fright Fest at Six Flags Great America.
This animatronic resided in front of the Columbia Carousel, where he would talk to incoming
guests entering the park.
It used to be the original "ruler" of Fright Fest, but in 2015, that position was passed
on to Nox, the Demon Overlord.
So the animatronic was moved to Seven Sins Cemetery, where he became the guide to the
souls of "fondly remembered rides."
This is an amazing animatronic, and we can only hope to see it in action someday!
Giant robot Stan Winston Studios, Legacy Effects, and Conde Nast Entertainment
One of the highlights of San Diego Comic-Con 2013 was undoubtedly a fantastic collaboration
between YouTube, Wired, Stan Winston School, Legacy Effects, and Nast Entertainment to
create a gigantic animatronic suit called "The Robot" or "The Wired Mecha."
This robot stands at 9 feet 9 inches tall and is equipped with four arms.
The Wired team contacted Stan Winston, who brought Legacy Effects into the project.
The complete process of creating this mecha is covered in a seven-part series on the Wired
channel, which we highly recommend.
You can find the link in the description.
The suit was specifically created to make the audience truly believe they were seeing
a robot and not a person in a costume.
Meticulous attention was paid to the design to incorporate all the necessary animatronic
elements to control the robot and its four arms in a believable manner.
The project was completed in just 24 days and was ultimately presented by Adam Savage,
known for his work on MythBusters and his channel, Adam Savage's Tested.
The suit is capable of interacting with the public thanks to a voice synthesizer, allowing
the actor inside to speak like a robot.
Before its official presentation, the team invited Stan Lee to see the suit and give
his approval.
This collaboration was incredible, and the project aimed to inspire people to create
the best cosplays for Comic-Con.
It undoubtedly succeeded, as Comic-Con showcases some of the world's best cosplays.
T-Rex Giant Animatronic Creature Technology
Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular was a live adaptation of the award-winning
television series Walking with Dinosaurs.
And just like the series, this show brought to life these dinosaurs in a way that the
people experiencing it thought they were real!
This show was created by the Creature Technology company, and the production cost $20 million
to stage and used puppetry, suits, and animatronics to create 16 Mesozoic-era creatures representing
ten species.
The dinosaurs moved across the stage as if they were really there, and the way this was
achieved was by having expert puppeteers behind these movements.
Most of these animals were a mix between a puppet and an animatronic.
To be able to control the biggest dinosaurs, at least three people are needed.
The first person was hidden in the dinosaur's base; drove the animatronic and monitored
the hydraulics and batteries.
The other two were the voodoo puppeteers.
Their job was to move the dinosaur.
One of them was in charge of the main movements, like the tail or the neck, with the other
was in control of the secondary movements, like blinking or the mouth, and also managed
the sound effects.
One of the show's biggest and most impressive animatronic dinosaurs was, of course, the
T-Rex.
As with any Jurassic Media, the T-rex is one of the most exciting and terrifying creatures,
and seeing it come to life in this show was spectacular.
And if seeing it in the show was imposing, imagine when back in 2018, when the show was
about to open, the team took the T-Rex animatronic to the BBC headquarters as a way to promote
the show!
The dinosaur was seen walking outside the HQ, where people could take pictures and video
it!
It was pretty amazing!
Giant Talking Skull Distortions Unlimited
We've talked many times before about Distortions Unlimited and their work.
But we keep covering their creations because they keep surprising us with some of the most
terrifying and amazing animatronics and props there are!
For those of you who don't know them, Distortions Unlimited is a company created by Ed and Marsha
Edmunds.
They have been making props, masks, and animatronics since 1978, and their creations have been
a mainstay of the dark amusement industry for many years.
They have created animatronics like the Sleeping Giant, a huge animatronic that stands at 11
feet tall when it stands up, or the Reaper, which stands 13 feet tall when it is activated.
Both of these animatronics are huge, impressive, and very scary.
But we've covered both of them before.
Today we're taking a look at this giant skull!
The skull was created by Distortions for the popular Mini Golf franchise Monster Mini Golf.
Monster Mini Golf is an 18-hole miniature golf course full of monster-themed décor
featuring fun-loving, animated monsters.
Many of them are created by Distortions Unlimited, so you can expect to find some of their most
popular creations, like the sleeping giant, the Reaper, the evil tree, and many more.
And, of course, one of these is the Giant Skull animatronic.
This giant skull is made of foam, latex, and metal, with very creepy glowing red eyes.
It moves from side to side and even talks telling some great skull-inspired jokes.
The skull was completely hand painted by Distortions, like all of their projects, and after the
initial paint and details were done, it was painted with UV light paint so that it would
glow and shine in the scene.
Most of Distortions Unlimited's animatronics are usually available for the public to purchase,
so you can go on their page and get an evil tree for your yard year-round.
But surprisingly, this animatronic skull was custom-made for Monster Mini golf.
So if you want to see it, you must go to one of the 30 Monster Mini Golf locations, but
it sure is worth it!
We would love to see this animatronic in action!
Another fantastic project from the Distortions Unlimited team!
Giant Animatronic Head Siemens Legacy Effects
Whenever we think about animatronics, we link them to the entertainment industry.
We might think about theme parks, films, live shows, or television.
But animatronics have also had many more applications in the last few years.
We have seen a rise in companies dedicated to robotic research in the last few years,
such as Boston Dynamics and Engineered Arts.
And then, there are companies that create animatronics both for entertainment and often
they also make them for educational purposes.
Legacy Effects is one of these companies.
You might know Legacy Effects for their work in the Jurassic World Apatosaurus animatronic
and many more projects.
But one remarkable example of animatronics used for educational purposes is the collaboration
between Legacy Effects and Siemens to explain the technology behind the Biograph Medical
Imaging System.
They created a huge molecular imaging animatronic head.
Legacy Effects utilized 3D scanners to create a highly detailed base, which was then refined
using ZBrush to sculpt a reference model.
The gigantic sculpture was meticulously handcrafted to create the mold for the animatronic.
The animatronic's eyes were painstakingly hand-painted to achieve maximum detail.
Each hair follicle was individually inserted by hand onto the giant latex mask, which was
painted with meticulous detail to simulate the natural deterioration of the skin.
In addition, a massive LED screen was incorporated at the back of the head to display the visual
representation of a brain with neurodegenerative diseases.
The main function of this animatronic was to demonstrate the difference between a normal
brain and one affected by beta-amyloid plaques, one of the leading indicators of Alzheimer's
disease.
To achieve this, the team focused on developing mechanisms to control expressions, primarily
in the upper face.
Gigantic programmable servos were used and could be controlled remotely if needed.
The animatronic debuted in 2012 at a conference in Chicago, where Siemens showcased the Biograph
system.
Thanks to this animatronic, Siemens' team was able to explain the high precision of
their new medical technology effectively.
It's an ingenious and impactful use of animatronics.
Giant Animatronics Fixxon Filmes
As you know, here at Fastpass Facts, we love to explore and discover companies that create
animatronics around the world.
In our search, we came across FIXXON, a company located in Brazil.
It was founded in 2000 by the creative genius and Special Effects Director Christian Scherf.
This company has worked on several promotional projects for companies like Netflix, Disney
Plus, DreamWorks, Sky, and others.
While many of these projects are props for promotionals, they also specialize in creating
animatronics, and what's truly impressive about their work is the grand scale of the
animatronics they create.
And today, we will feature some of these gigantic animatronics that they have brought to life.
The first one we'll focus on is this huge bird that they created for an exhibition of
artist Nina Pandolfo's work.
This animatronic was used for an interactive display in which guests could enter the animal's
nest and find this cute but immense bird animatronic!
One of the things that makes these types of animatronics more complex is that they need
to be fully developed and built because they are entirely exposed to the public.
So there is no chance of having a partially built animatronic like they sometimes create
for movies and tv shows.
Another great project from this studio is this giant hand that moves its fingers, opening
and closing them.
They have also developed large-scale animatronic puppets for the Shrek musical, like the Dragon,
which has animatronic wings and eyes.
The team at Fixxon utilizes different techniques to produce these animatronics, ranging from
simple mechanisms using pneumatics to complex systems with servos.
Their work has gained worldwide recognition, and their animatronics continue to leave audiences
in awe.
Stuffed Animals Sochi Olympics
Another creation from Creature Technology.
They are one of the leading companies in creating giant animatronics, and we will showcase more
of their work in future videos.
In this video, we talked about their work in the Walking with Dinosaurs live shows.
They also created the giant animatronic Kong that appeared in the theatrical production
of King Kong, and we covered it in our Kong animatronics video.
And another one of their fantastic projects has been the "How to Train your Dragon" dragons
for different productions.
But one of their most notable international projects was the creation of the gigantic
animatronic mascots for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games.
These animatronics were used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the event.
A team of 50 people was in charge of designing these three massive animatronics: a polar
bear, a leopard, and a hare.
The creatures were designed using Maya and ZBrush, and their mechanisms were tested using
SolidWorks.
These animatronics are composed of hydraulics and servos.
For example, the bear's face alone has 16 servo motors and 30 axes of movement.
The servos used for these animatronics are the same ones used by NASA.
Together, the three animatronics weigh 595 pounds, with the bear being the tallest at
26 feet.
These animatronics operate through a hybrid performance of pre-recorded sequences and
live performance, allowing for precise playback and flexibility in a live setting.
The bear even has a camera in its nose to assist the driver and puppeteer, along with
cameras at the front and rear of the chassis trained on the mascot to aid the puppeteer.
During the closing ceremonies, the bear played a significant role over the other two animatronics.
The bear symbolically blew out the Olympic Cauldron fire to mark the official end of
the Olympic Winter Games and also was able to shed a single tear.
These animatronics are genuinely spectacular and undoubtedly made the ceremony one of the
best in recent years.
Event creators should take a cue from this event and start including more animatronics
in their shows!
Wanna know more about giant animatronics, be sure to check out this video.