Guests at Disneyland Resort are being invited to help playtest a free-roaming Audio-Animatronic figure of Groot from the “Guardians of the Galaxy” series of films.
Disney Parks’ YouTube channel shared some footage showing the animatronic playing with guests. Also in the video Imagineers can be seen talking about the latest developments in Audio-Animatronic technology, including Groot.
“We want to bring these characters to life in the most authentic way possible,” says Imagineer Joel Peavy. “For us, that means a walking robotic actor that has a tightly integrated design in a compact platform that can not only move and gesture, but really emote in style.”
The playtest involves a dance-off between Groot and Star-Lord including the audience, similar to the permanent “Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Dance-Off!” show that takes place in front of their respective Disney California Adventure attraction.
In the video, Imagineers noted that guests are particularly engaged, more so than they expected. According to Disney Live Entertainment’s Michael Serna, “They’re seeing this wonderfully lovable character they’ve known for years in the film, but now they get to experience them up close, and they’re going to see him do things he’s never done in front of us, dance, you move around and groove and walk around near us. I see that sort of excitement in everybody’s eyes that they just feel like ‘am I really seeing this or is this some kind of CGI?’”
Despite these being semi-public tests, Disney stated “There are no immediate plans for use [of these figures] in Disney theme parks; however, a prototype in the form of Groot is being used to test unique traits, gaits, and capabilities.”
Would you enjoy having a dance-off with Groot?