Next-Generation Audio-Animatronics Revealed by Walt Disney Imagineering

Walt Disney Imagineering just shared a truly incredible demonstration of the next generation of Audio-Animatronics. In the latest episode of “We Call It Imagineering,” Imagineers Leslie Evans and Joel Peavy showed off a character that combines real-time front projection mapping with the mechanics of traditional animatronics.

Disney has combined projection mapping with animatronics before, most notably on EPCOT’s Frozen Ever After and Magic Kingdom’s Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. The latest tech is lightyears beyond those characters, which use rear mapping to display their faces. That’s not the case with what’s happening inside Walt Disney Imagineering’s Mock-Up Bay.

“The texturing that we can get by using front projection is really incredible. The detailing on the skin, we can play around with shaders, we can change the material properties, we can do transformations that we’ve never been able to do before.”

Leslie Evans, Executive R&D, Walt Disney Imagineering

One of those transformations happened when Imagineers “cut” the figure’s face, resulting in blood trickling down its cheek. It also blushed, cried, and morphed into a metallic character. Those effects will be a huge boost for storytelling, as the animatronics can convey much more emotion than current models.

We don’t know exactly when the new tech will roll out, but Disney did tease three characters who could make great use of it: Mike Wazowski, Lightning McQueen, and Hades. And with each of them getting new Walt Disney World homes — Monstropolis, Piston Peak, and a villains-themed land — it’s hard to believe that lineup was a coincidence.

Watch “We Call It Imagineering” to see this amazing Audio-Animatronic in action. The entire episode is excellent, but the segment starts at 26:00.

The next generation of Audio-Animatronics looks less like an upgrade and more like a creative unlock. I can’t wait to see more from the Mock-Up Bay.