Have you ever wondered what it takes to keep an Audio-Animatronic looking show-ready day after day, year after year? The latest episode ofĀ Imagineer That!Ā has the answer.
The episode focuses on the Country Bear Musical Jamboree at Walt Disney World, with Trixie, Bunny, Bubbles, and Beulah as the main subjects. Tom Morrow 2.0, the mini-animatronic host of the series, visits Walt Disney Imagineering to field a viewer question about how these beloved figures are maintained, and Show Quality Art Director Britney walks through exactly what that process looks like.
Britney’s role has her analyzing animation, figure finishing, costumes, cosmetology, and range of motion – essentially everything that makes Trixie look and move the way she should. Every show, every day, has to look like opening day.
“My job as an art director for show qualityā¦I come through, I do show reviews. We’re looking for details to make sure that our country bears are show-ready every day, just like day one. I work with multiple artists who paint these figures, fur them. Costumers replace her outfits and keep her looking fresh every day. Her outfits get laundered and everything. She gets her nails refreshed, repainted, re-glittered.”
On the animation side, Imagineers check range of motion, singing timing, and posture. Figure finishing covers fur shape, contour, and eye direction (details most guests might not consciously notice, but would if something was off). Costumery and cosmetology handle the outfits, the makeup, and the freshly re-glittered nails.
The episode shows that these figures are treated as characters with histories worth preserving. Disney puts real care into maintaining them, making sure everything looks and sounds great for their guests. The show must go on!
The latest episode ofĀ Imagineer That!Ā is available now on the Disney Parks YouTube channel.
