Latest news with #animatronic
Fox News
4 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Disney's grandchildren divided over new animatronic of Walt as one calls it 'dehumanizing'
Disney's Imagineers are working on a new animatronic of iconic American visionary Walt Disney, but some members of his family have opposing views about whether it celebrates his legacy or dehumanizes him. Disney's Main Street Opera House plans to unveil a new theme park attraction called Walt Disney – A Magical Life, featuring an audio-animatronic of the company's founder. But Joanna Miller, one of Disney's grandchildren, slammed the idea of an animatronic as "dehumanizing" in a viral Facebook post. Among her claims, she suggested that her grandfather had told early Imagineer Sam McKim he never wanted to be commemorated with an animatronic. She went on to speak to the Los Angeles Times about why she believes it goes against her grandfather's wishes. Shortly after she wrote her post, she met with Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Imagineers to see the animatronic in production, crediting the current company head as being "very kind" and noting he listened to what she had to say. The robot itself, however, left her cold. "I think I started crying," Miller told the L.A. Times. "It didn't look like him, to me." She wrote in a separate letter to Iger, "I strongly feel the last two minutes with the robot will do much more harm than good to Grampa's legacy," and worried people "will remember the robot, and not the man." As for claims that Disney would not have wanted to be commemorated as an animatronic, Imagineer Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz said, "In all our research, we never found any documentation of Walt saying that. We know that it's anecdotal and we can't speak to what was told to people in private." After Miller's comments were published, The Walt Disney Family Museum shared a statement with Fox News Digital indicating other family members feel far more positively about the animatronic of the Disney family patriarch and were included in the process of its production. "Walt Disney Imagineering invited museum Board members—five of Walt Disney's grandchildren and three of his great-grandchildren—to view the progress of the attraction's development, which included a preview of the new Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt in its animated form," the statement said. "As part of their meticulous eVorts to produce a historically accurate likeness, Walt Disney Imagineering also reached out to the team at The Walt Disney Family Museum for guidance in identifying items that Walt Disney regularly wore," it added. Chris Miller, Disney's eldest grandson and a member of the museum's Board of Directors, said in the release, "I watched the show with my sisters Tammy and Jenny and the Imagineering team welcomed our feedback." He added further, "The level of innovation and technological advancement has exceeded anything that has been seen before in Audio-Animatronics. While our family has our own memories of Walt as our grampa, we left the presentation feeling confident that he will be depicted in the show as the public remembers him from his introductions on the "Disneyland and Wonderful World of Color TV" series." Tamara Miller, Disney's granddaughter and vice president of the museum's Board of Directors, offered similar praise. "It was an honor to be welcomed by Imagineering to preview the 'Walt Disney – A Magical Life' attraction. Having this representation at the park that grampa built is the right place for this, to educate people about who he was and introduce him to new audiences," she said in the release. "This attraction is a great opportunity for an audience to get a good representation of him. We believe that our grandfather would have been enthusiastic about the project. I look forward to having my children and grandchildren see this representation of my grandfather." Fox News Digital reached out to The Walt Disney Company for comment.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
New Disneyland attraction SLAMMED by Walt Disney's granddaughter who calls mechanical tribute to him a ‘robotic grampa'
WALT Disney's granddaughter has slammed the entertainment giant for turning its late founder into a 'robotic grampa'. Disney is unveiling an animatronic Walt Disney for Disneyland's 70th anniversary celebration this July - despite repeated protests from his granddaughter Joanna Miller. 4 4 4 Joanna Miller told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday that her beloved grandfather would have hated being turned into a talking mechanical replica. 'I think I started crying,' she said, recalling the moment she first saw the figure. 'It didn't look like him to me.' Miller said she voiced her concerns early on, sending a letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger when the idea was first proposed. She said she later met with Iger and the team responsible for creating the attraction, telling him: 'I strongly feel the last two minutes with the robot will do much more harm than good to Grampa's legacy. "They will remember the robot - and not the man.' Despite Iger being 'very kind" and despite his promises to protect her grandfather's legacy, she said her request that they scrap the animatronic was ultimately ignored. Miller told the LA Times she wasn't speaking on behalf of any family members except her grandfather and mother. She added that it 'pains' her to call out the very company he created. In a Facebook post in November, Miller wrote that the company's "idea of a robotic grampa" made her feel "so so sad and disappointed". She explained: "The idea of a Robotic Grampa to give the public a feeling of who the living man was just makes no sense. "It would be an imposter. They are dehumanizing him. People are not replaceable." Disney announces brand new theme park She also argued that her late grandfather had "told Sam McKim that he never wanted to be an animatronic", claiming that she has been provided with first-hand proof to back this up. The figure will appear in a new attraction called Walt Disney - A Magical Life, located in the park's Main Street Opera House. The proposal to show 'what it would be like to stop by Walt's office' was announced by Disney last year. The company said it would be "a fitting tribute" to the man who made "significant advances with Audio-Animatronics". Walt Disney co-founded The Walt Disney Company (originally called Disney Brothers Studio) in 1923, with his brother Roy O. Disney. Walt is regarded as a pioneer of Audio-Animatronics, famously bringing Abraham Lincoln to life at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Josh D'Amaro, chair of Disney Experiences, told people at D23, the company's annual fan event: 'Creating our first Walt figure is an idea that's been whispered in the hallowed halls of imagineering for years, decades, even.' He added: 'We just had to wait for innovation to catch up with our dreams. And we're finally ready.' Disneyland California, which opened on July 17, 1955, will celebrate its 70th anniversary this July. 4
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Walt Disney's granddaughter denounces animatronic portrayal of animation legend
Walt Disney's granddaughter has condemned the entertainment giant he founded for re-creating the late entrepreneur as a soulless 'robotic grampa' for the 70th anniversary celebration of California's Disneyland theme park in July. Disney, who died in 1966, will appear as an animatronic figure in a new attraction called Walt Disney – A Magical Life in the park's Main Street Opera House that commemorates the resort's 17 July 1955 opening. When the project to show 'what it would be like to stop by Walt's office' was announced last year, company officials said it would be 'a fitting tribute' to one of the pioneers of modern entertainment. But in an interview with the Los Angeles Times published on Tuesday, Joanna Miller said her grandfather would have hated his regeneration into a talking mechanical replica – and accused the company of ruining the legacy of her beloved 'Grampa'. 'I think I started crying,' Miller said of the moment she first saw the figure. 'It didn't look like him to me.' She said she laid out her fears in a letter to Disney's chief executive, Bob Iger, when the venture was first proposed and later met him and members of the team creating the attraction. 'He was very kind. He let me do my spiel,' Miller recalled, but she said her plea to drop the animatronic fell on deaf ears. She also spoke out in a Facebook post in November, in which she said Disney was 'dehumanizing' her grandfather, who loved to meet crowds at the park in person and would spend hours chatting with them. 'The idea of a robotic Grampa to give the public a feeling of who the living man was just makes no sense,' she wrote. 'It would be an imposter, people are not replaceable. 'You could never get the casualness of his talking, interacting with the camera, [or] his excitement to show and tell people about what is new at the park. You cannot add life to one empty of a soul or essence of the man.' On a personal level, she said she remembered magical childhood days with her siblings when their grandfather would take them to his studios and let them play with whatever he had been working on. 'He's ours,' she said. 'We're his family.' As for the public's experience of watching the animatronic and hearing Disney's computerized voice, Miller told Iger: 'I strongly feel the last two minutes with the robot will do much more harm than good to Grampa's legacy. They will remember the robot – and not the man.' Miller told the Times she was not speaking on behalf of her five siblings or other descendants of her grandfather. 'I do speak for my grandfather and my mother,' she said, adding that it 'pains' her to be speaking out about the company he created. 'When you get older, you just start to get pissed off. And you get tired of being quiet. So I spoke up on Facebook. Like that was going to do anything,' she said. 'The fact that it got back to the company is pretty funny.' A spokesperson for the Walt Disney Company on Tuesday directed the Guardian back to a press release about the attraction issued in August 2024. Josh D'Amaro, chair of Disney Experiences, told attendees of D23, the company's annual fan event, that the company would strive to create an authentic version of Walt Disney using animatronic technology more advanced than 60 years ago, when he introduced a figure of Abraham Lincoln at the 1964 New York World's Fair. 'Creating our first Walt figure is an idea that's been whispered in the hallowed halls of imagineering for years, decades, even,' D'Amaro said. 'We just had to wait for innovation to catch up with our dreams. And we're finally ready.'
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Science and Media Museum unveils new galleries
An animatronic puppet and a recreation of a community radio station are among the new exhibits set to be unveiled at the National Science and Media Museum. The Bradford museum's sound and vision galleries have seen a £6.8m transformation and feature more than 500 exhibits - covering photography, film, television, animation and video games. A museum spokesperson called the revamped spaces a "true labour of love and collaboration", adding it showcased collections in "new and innovative ways". The galleries, spanning two floors of the museum, will reopen from 10 July. The March Hare puppet was created for the 1999 Alice in Wonderland film by Muppets creator Jim Henson's studio. The galleries will also feature an "authentic and interactive" version of Bradford Community Broadcasting's (BCB) radio studio. Other exhibits include the camera used to document Captain Scott's 1910 Antarctic expedition and TV pioneer John Logie Baird's 1926 television apparatus. Visitors will also be able to see a mixing desk used by electronic punk band The Prodigy, fangs worn by Christopher Lee as Dracula and an Alien head and torso from the 1979 hit film. A section will also be dedicated to the infamous Cottingley Fairies hoax. Jo Quinton-Tulloch, museum director, said: "Our collections and the rich narratives they tell touch upon all our lives, from the first photographic negative and film footage to the advent of radio and television. "Our sound and vision galleries showcase how everyday objects have the power to be extraordinary." A spokesperson for The National Lottery Heritage Fund added: "In 1995, the museum was one of the first transformational projects in Yorkshire that received National Lottery funding from the Heritage Fund. "After 30 years, we're proud to have supported the museum with another transformational grant for these fantastic new galleries." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Dracula's fangs and 'alien' head to go on show Museum will be open again for City of Culture year
