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Let’s Give Them Something To Talk About
August 28, 2007 7:36 am
Our “Vacation Celebration” rolls on asSparky LD returns with another piece in his Behind the Scenes Series. This week, he focuses on some new headgear you’re favorite animated pals might be sporting over at WDW’s Magic Kingdom and beyond.      Â
       The talking characters heads now being used at Walt Disney World are certainly something to talk about. Their first appearance was in a touring show called “Mickey’s Magic Show”. They were intergraded into the Disney  parks last fall in “Dream Along With Mickey”.  The heads are very simple to operate and look amazing. The heads work like this: The eye and mouth movements are operated by triggers in the gloves, one per hand. When you bend your fingers in towards your palm, it triggers the movements. The heads were rumored to be computer controlled, but that’s not the case. The heads are completely controlled by the performer inside. If you watch the show notice how they keep their hands, either in motion, or hiding them to a certain extent to cover the fact that the movements are controlled through the hands.
       The heads don’t always work properly. I have seen shows using both static and moving heads. I have also seen a show were Goofy blinked his speech instead of mouthing it. I have seen times where eyes wouldn’t work or the mouth wouldn’t work. The heads also tend to not be used to certain weather conditions. Mostly rain and high winds will cause malfunctions. So they don’t usually them in those conditions. The only character yet that doesn’t have a talking head is Pluto. Pluto isn’t in Dream Along With Mickey. But in recent rumors, they are expanding the talking heads into the Celebrate the Seasons stage show adding a talking head for Pluto. There have also been reports of talking heads being added to the horses and reindeer. I don’t see why, as neither of them talk or have sound effects.
       Now as for adding them to meet and greets, that would be tough to do, as most characters sign autographs and would have to bend their fingers to hold the pen, thus making weird movements. Plus the characters would have to talk if they had the moving heads in Meet and greets. This would mean micing the performer and having a speaker in the costume and a voice altering system in the costume as well.  Adding them to parades would be a great idea, although it would be costly seeing how many of them they would need.   Stage shows, other than the Castle Forecourt Stage, could work as well. Other reports state the expansion into Festival of the Lion King for Timon. Now currently, Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is the only park that is using these heads. I personally wouldn’t be surprised, if in the next 2 years or so, that these heads will be expanded into the other parks. My opinion on these heads is that they are amazing. It’s not really a new technology, just a newer take on a much older technology. This technology is used in Sweetums, and in Big bird, but in a different format. If these heads are what’s to come in the Disney’s entertainment endeavors, then I’m quite happy with this great big beautiful tomorrow.
Topics: The Magic Kingdom |
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