After seven years in development, Walt Disney Imagineering is putting the finishing touches on the most lifelike animatronic ever created for a new show coming to Disneyland starring a robotic version of the Anaheim theme park’s visionary founder.
The new $5 million “Walt Disney — A Magical Life” show featuring the world’s first audio-animatronic figure of Walt Disney will debut July 17 in the Main Street Opera House as part of Disneyland’s 70th anniversary celebration.
Imagineering is pushing the boundaries of artistry and technology to faithfully recreate Walt’s appearance, movements and mannerisms — from his face, eyes and hair to his hands, skin and clothing.
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The animatronic figure will be based on a life-sized sculpture of Walt modeled after how he looked in 1963 — when many of his biggest projects were in development.
The audio track will be based on historical recordings from interviews spanning decades that have been painstakingly assembled and blended into a seamless presentation.
In programming the animatronic, Imagineering went to great lengths to create a performance that captured Walt’s facial features, expressive eyebrows, the glint in his eyes and the way he used his hands to accentuate points.
The animatronic’s hands were based on a bronze cast of Walt’s hands made in the 1960s from a plaster mold by an orthopedic surgeon.
Every hair on Walt’s animatronic head was individually punched. Imagineering even researched the grooming products he used to replicate his hairstyle.
Walt had a habit of not blinking when he spoke – a trance-inducing tendency that was built into the animatronic’s characteristics.No detail was left to chance — from his ears, teeth and fingernails to his facial structure, skin texture and posture. Every physical characteristic has been made to look as accurate, authentic and natural as possible.
Imagineering worked with the Disney Studios, Disney Archives and the Walt Disney Family Museum to dress the animatronic in re-creations of the suit, tie, shoes and rings from Walt’s personal wardrobe. Even the Smoke Tree Ranch logo from his Palm Springs-area vacation home was worked into his attire.
Visitors will have to wait awhile before seeing the new animatronic during “Walt Disney — A Magical Life” at Disneyland.
The show starts with a 15-minute adaptation of “Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream,” the documentary film that plays at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. The film follows Walt’s journey from his Missouri childhood to the creation of Mickey Mouse, his animation and film career, the opening of Disneyland and plans for Disney World.
After the film, the show concludes with a two-minute visit with an animatronic Walt in his studio office as he talks about how he got started, his thoughts on his career and his dreams for the future.
The new “Walt Disney — A Magical Life” animatronic show will initially run solo at Disneyland’s Main Street Opera House before playing in rotation with “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.”
