The Mayor

Here is another photo from the Nightmare Before Christmas exhibit at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. The Mayor of Halloween Town is one of my favorite puppets from the movie. I love his tall hat and rotating head.

Nightmare 3-D

Puppet designers and builders alike, I recommend you go see the 3-D presentation of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. The 3-D effect adds another layer of enjoyment to this entertaining and wonderfully inventive movie. I noticed textures and background elements I had never seen before. The newly discovered detail helped me appreciate the craftsmanship of the puppets and sets on an even greater level.



Disney's El Capitan Theater in Hollywood has some of the original stop-motion puppets on display in its downstairs gallery. The light is very low to protect the fragile characters. Here is a photo of Jack Skellington and trick-or-treaters Shock and Barrel.

Exhibit Extended

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences exhibit "It's Alive" has been extended through Sept. 10. If you haven't seen the exhibit yet, I recommend you check it out. Where else can you see Fizzgig and the Predator in the same room?



The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The exhibit is open Tuesday through Friday, from 10 am to 5 pm, and weekends, from noon to 6 pm. Admission is free.

To see more photos from the exhibit, check out my Flicker photo set.

Cat

Some of the animatronic characters featured in The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences exhibit "It's Alive" demonstrate the large amount of mechanical hardware and cables it takes to bring them to life. Much of the hard work that went into creating this cat puppet built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop for Cats and Dogs will never be seen by the audience.



The sophisticated mechanics of this cat puppet hang below the body, out of sight of the camera, like the intricate root system of a plant.

Worm Guys

These aliens from Men in Black 2, built by Rick Baker's Cinovation, are featured in the The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences exhibit "It's Alive."



I think it's interesting how often puppets in movies are bigger or smaller than I imagined. The worm guys from Men in Black 2 appear to stand about 2 feet tall in the film, but as this photo indicates, some of the puppets are much larger. Including the stand, this worm guy is over 5 feet tall. I would guess that the larger versions of the characters were used for close-up shots that required subtle movements for a more nuanced performance.

SkekEkt

Here is another highlight from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences exhibit "It's Alive." SkekEkt is the Skeksi court Ornamentalist from Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal. In the film the Skeksi have huge hulking bodies. They are imposing figures, towering over the Gelflings and Pod People. When I saw this head, I was surprised by the size. It's not much bigger than the average hand puppet, and much smaller than I imagined.

It's Alive

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is currently hosting a wonderful exhibit of animatronic characters and creatures, called "It's Alive." Guests can view character designs, maquettes and animatronic puppets from a variety of movies including Labyrinth, Star Wars, Spiderman 2 and The Dark Crystal.

The exhibit showcases work from such premier creature-effects shops as The Jim Henson Creature Shop, Tippett Studio and Amalgamated Dynamics and features the work of artists Rick Baker, Lyle Conway and Ray Harryhausen.



Among my favorite pieces were three versions of the Audrey 2 plant puppets from the 1986 film Little Shop of Horrors. In my opinion, Audrey 2 is still one of the best animatronic characters created for film. It was interesting to see the massive bundle of cables jutting from the neck of the medium-sized plant.



It was also cool to come face to face with iconic characters from my childhood, including Sir Didymus, from Labyrinth, and Johnny 5, from Short Circuit.





The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The exhibit runs through August 20 and is open Tuesday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends, from noon to 6 p.m. Admission is free.