Latest news with #animatronics
Gizmodo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Disney Brings ‘Haunted Mansion' to Early Halloween Decor Shopping—But at What Cost?
It's only the start of June, and already Halloween fanatics have to fight for their lives to acquire the newest spooky season decor. Lowe's just revealed this year's Disney Haunted Mansion collection and choices were definitely made in sculpting the iconic figures from the Disney Parks ride. Just give a little gander at the groundskeeper—he's even more terrifying than the Hitchhiking Ghosts! The eyes, so fleshy and protruding like they've seen a thing or two on a Doombuggy passing by. He looks absolutely nightmarish, so there's no doubt he will work for the best lawn jump scares. He'll set you back $249. At least with the Knight, the sculpt fares better, right? It's really more befitting to have the dead center stare come from the severed head, methinks. This hallway icon is available for $349 and is musical, featuring 'Grim Grinning Ghosts' along with its motion programming. Speaking of grim grinning ghosts, here are the Hitchhiking Ghost animatronics ($299), which we think approximates the designs from the ride closely enough while having that bought-in-a-Halloween store campiness in their outlandish design. Check out the rest of the Haunted Mansion Halloween decor in the spooooooky gallery below which includes new light up busts and punny gravestones. Order for Summerween fun through Lowe's and they may haunt your doorstep by next week's Friday the 13th!
Geek Culture
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
Jurassic World: The Experience Brings Prehistoric Thrills To Singapore From 29 May
Before the world of dinosaurs and apex predators roars back to life on the big screen with Jurassic World: Rebirth , Singapore will first revisit the franchise's legacy in style. Jurassic World: The Experience is set to turn back the clock starting 29 May, transforming Gardens by the Bay into a prehistoric landscape. Held at Cloud Forest, it leans into the buzz once doors open, leading visitors through a short passageway adorned with themed decor, including a giant eye peeking out of foliage. Then comes the distinctive logo that fans have come to know and love, with two Brachiosaurus – each towering at 8.5 metres – standing in front of the waterfall. Moving on from Brachiosaurus Falls to Where It All Began reveals tiny Compsognathus on display, accompanied by iconic audio excerpts from the films, alongside a chance to get up close and personal with dinosaur babies on the side. Operating on the concept of a petting zoo, the interactive session invites the public to lay their hands on them, while the Aviary exhibit features a pair of Velociraptors fixing their gaze on Pterandon nests in the distance. A protective Pteranodon hovers above, joining its other counterparts in the skies. Hot on its heels is Tyrannosarurus Breakout, one of the biggest highlights of the event. A ferocious, animatronic T-Rex serves as the centrepiece, letting out a loud roar as it breaks through a shattered fence designed to mirror the set design used for filming. The apex predator isn't the only sign of life here: cycads, ancient plants that grew across the land during the dinosaur era, can be found amid the action, with their roots tracing all the way back to over 280 million years ago. In fact, Evolution Walk is where the undergrowth gets to shine. Apart from chronicling its over-time growth from freshwater algae to the various species now inhabiting the earth, the education trail also showcases 3D recreations of long-extinct plants. At the end of the road lies Stiggy Truck, where a Stygiomoloch emerges from a cargo box after a few seconds of violent shaking. The next encounter thrusts the Brachiosaurus back into the spotlight again – this time, surrounded by staggeringly tall ancient conifers as it sways its long neck gently. But the true fun begins at the Dilophosaurus Ambush, where the carnivorous dinosaurs lie in ambush amongst toppled crates and open cages, bearing their frills and hissing away just like in the first Jurassic Park film. It leads into Muzzle Raptors, featuring the pack of sisters Echo, Delta, and Charlie, who evoke a lifelike quality with their displays of micro-expressions, such as blinking eyes and jaws locked in a grimace. An interesting note about the zone is how it inherits the same setup that riders encounter while queuing for Jurassic World VelociCoaster in Universal Studios Orlando, which makes for a neat attention to detail. Saving the best for the last, Blue, the leading raptor of the Jurassic World movies, is at the front and centre of The Final Roar. Here, visitors can catch the intelligent dinosaur in the flesh, complete with a dramatic entrance, jaw-snapping sound effects and an opportunity to get even closer to the setpiece. As Jurassic World: The Experience comes to a close, remember to snap a few shots against different animated backdrops at the Jurassic World Gate, or soak in a contemplative arrangement inspired by iconic soundtracks across the franchise at the Prehistoric Grove. The adventure officially ends at the retail store, where exclusive Jurassic World merchandise like plushies, t-shirts, pins and magnets designed in the style of warning signs, luggage tags, and more, await. Jurassic World: The Experience will be open from 9am to 9pm starting 29 May at Cloud Forest. Tickets are priced at S$22 for Singapore Residents belonging to the children (3-12 years old) or seniors (60 and above) category, and S$26 for adults, with purchase available on Garden by the Bay's website. Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth's theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia's greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Jersey Zoo welcomes 'lifelike' dinosaur animated puppets
A zoo has invited visitors to see "lifelike" dinosaurs in Zoo says the animated puppets roar, blink and move like real dinosaurs, and will be on show from 25 to 31 will also be "meet-and-greets" with a 5m (16ft) triceratops and 4m (13ft) zoo said visitors could get their picture taken, attend a ranger academy and learn how to get the velociraptor to turn and roar. The zoo said the dinosaur attraction had been set to open on Saturday 24 May but it had to postpone the event by one day due to matters outside of its Zoo's education team said it would also be hosting fossil-handling sessions in the Discovery Centre every day. Visitors can see a triceratops tooth and touch coprolite, a spinosaurus vertebrae and a fragment of T-Rex tooth, it Osborne, director of commercial at Jersey Zoo, said the dinosaur activities were fun as well as educational and immersive. He said he hoped visitors would "learn more about the fascinating animals that used to roam our planet".Mr Osborne added: "As a conservation organisation, we are fighting every day to stop more species from going extinct and hope this event will inspire our guests to think more about the impact they are having on the natural world, as well as the steps they can take to protect it."
Geek Dad
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Dad
Highway to Halloween: The Lowe's Haunted Haunted Sea Diver Animatronic
We just passed the 'Halfway to Halloween' date, which landed midway between April 30th and May 1st. And so it's about time to start sharing with our readers some of the great ways you'll be able to decorate for spooky season! You may recall that I reviewed a couple of Lowe's 12-foot animatronics in 2024: the Bone Collector and the Scarecrow. While Lowe's will be releasing a bunch of all-new animatronics later this year (including a 12-foot vampire!), to mark 'Halfway to Halloween,' they re-released a few of their more popular 2024 pieces. One of those is the Haunted Living Haunted Sea Diver, part of their Haunted Harbor collection. What Is the Lowe's Haunted Living Haunted Sea Diver Animatronic? The Lowe's Haunted Living Haunted Sea Diver Animatronic is a 72″ indoor/covered outdoor prop manufactured by Tekky and distributed exclusively at Lowe's. It retails for $349 and is currently only available at Lowe's website (though it may become available again to purchase at stores this Fall). Here's the overview from Lowe's: IT came from the bottom of the deep dark sea…to terrify the company! Life-size Animated Haunted Deep Sea Diver includes elaborate steampunk diving suit with harpoon gun and seaweed details, LED lights and cinematic sounds. The Haunted Deep Sea Diver makes the scene this Halloween as a premium animatronic, engineered for maximum fun and fright by Lowe's Haunted Living and Tekky. Deep Sea terror comes alive to reveal it's gruesome, green glowing skeletal face! Realistic side-to-side movement, scary sounds from the sea, and terrifying LED lighted skull face reveal! Sound, human, or footpad/button activated (footpad/button sold separately). Easy to assemble, battery-operated 'fright prop' for convenient display — no wires to trip over (4AA batteries included). Or power your prop with the 6V 2A DC adapter — included — when a standard outlet is available. The shipping package. Image by Paul Benson. Assembling the Haunted Sea Diver was fairly straightforward. Basically, if you've ever assembled an animatronic, you should be able to put this one together in just a few minutes. And even if you haven't, the included instructions are easy to follow. They even include batteries! Image by Paul Benson. Several of the components were attached to the cardboard divider with twist ties, so this did slow down the initial assembly. However, the trade off is that the parts were secure during shipping so arrived in perfect shape. All the pieces fastened to the cardboard divider. Image by Paul Benson. I had a nice surprise while unpacking all the pieces: the base came with an attached sandbag! Many animatronics need to be weighted down to stabilize them, so it made me smile to see a sandbag included in the box. The base (and sandbag) right out of the box. Image by Paul Benson. Here's a quick look at the assembly: This slideshow requires JavaScript. The only slight snag I had was with getting the clothing up over the clear shoulder piece. It did take me a few minutes to accomplish that task, partly due to the thickness of the costume. However, that extra padding really helps to sell the diving suit look (though the costume has a very pronounced crease in the right leg that I'll have to try and iron out). Once assembled, all you have to do is connect a few wires, and then plug in the control box. The control box seems identical to those used in the other Lowe's/Tekky animatronics that I've reviewed. The Sea Diver can be activated either by the motion sensor on its front, or using a separately available step pad. Here's a look at the Haunted Sea Diver, all lit up: You don't really see the skull until he turns on. Image by Paul Benson. I took him outside in the evening to shoot a quick video, where you can see him perform his two phrases: Lowe's Haunted Living Haunted Sea Diver Animatronic – Final Thoughts I think that the Haunted Sea Diver is one of the best-looking animatronics that Lowe's has sold in recent years. The thick costume really helps give the illusion of a bulky, old-fashioned diving suit, and the molded plastic gloves and boots look great, both in their sculpt and in the paint work. But the best part of the animatronic has to be that seaweed-covered diving helmet, with the glowing skull inside. That really sells the whole 'haunted diver' bit, and creates a wonderfully eerie effect. This is an animatronic that can certainly be a bit creepy, especially at night. My girlfriend's teenage daughter got a bit of a jumpscare just from walking in and seeing it standing in the living room. But it's also pretty family friendly. There's no gore, and the voice lines are more Pirates of the Caribbean in flavor. And if you're of a certain age, you'll definitely be reminded of Captain Cutler from Scooby Doo . The infamous Captain Cutler. Image by Paul Benson. There are a lot of things Lowe's and Tekky got right with this animatronic. Besides the great overall look, I loved the inclusion of the sandbag and batteries. I would have preferred to have seen a bit more seaweed on the model, but that's something that can be easily, and inexpensively, added. If you watched the video I shot, you're sure to notice something that I discovered right away: the motor is very loud. Granted, I can turn up the voice volume on the animatronic, but that doesn't change the volume of the mechanism itself. I also wish that there was a bit more complex movement to the animatronic than simply turning side to side. I would have loved to have at least seen the jaw move as he spoke. However, the simple motion is still fairly effective in bringing the Haunted Sea Diver to life (or undeath). As a friend suggested, it would look great posed with some tentacles, as if the Diver was trying to escape the grasp of the giant octopus that had doomed him. Overall, the Haunted Living Haunted Sea Diver Animatronic is a great-looking piece, and will fit into your decorations well if you're going for a nautical horror theme for Halloween. Lowe's also has the lighted Kraken lawn decoration and a Steering Captain animatronic from 2024 in their Halfway to Halloween offerings, so you can easily build a horrifying seafaring display that way. For more information or to purchase the Haunted Living Haunted Sea Diver Animatronic, head over to Lowe's website. Lowe's provided a Haunted Sea Diver for evaluation, but had no input into this review. Dead me tell no tales…Image by Paul Benson. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mission to replace dinosaurs after 'brutal' theft
A campaign has started to help replace two lifelike animatronic dinosaurs after the originals were stolen. The two dinosaurs belonged to Tom Pruen - owner of the Bristol-based Raptor's World who rent the beasts out to entertain people at events across the country. The pair, called Rexy and Yoshi, are worth between £5,000 and £10,000 each and were in the back of a van that was stolen from a hotel car park in Thurrock, Essex, on Sunday morning. "The financial aspect is brutal - I'm a father-of-three and my kids have grown up knowing that dad takes out dinosaurs for a living and as funny as that sounds it's really hit my youngest hard," said Mr Pruen. "My dinosaurs are very dear to me, they're like children to me and we attend so many events across the UK. "My dinosaurs are my livelihood and my passion," he added. Mr Pruen said the van was insured, but the lost contents represent half of his business. More news stories for Bristol Watch the latest Points West Listen to the latest news for Bristol Now, some friends have started a fundraising campaign looking to replace the stolen items. "We're really hoping that people do donate small amounts – we don't expect anyone to go to the ends of the earth with it. "Even if you don't donate and just share it we will be really grateful and hopefully we will get back on our feet." Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Two of our dinosaurs are missing - head ranger Headlines: Dinosaur theft and concert preparations Tracks show flying giants walked with dinosaurs
