Tim Burton’s puppets are coming to Lisbon!
The exhibition “TIM BURTON – The Animation Puppets is a tribute to some of the animation movies created by this American director.
Tim Burton started his career at Disney as an animator and is today one of the world’s best known film directors, with over 20 movies in live-action and stop-motion and 3D animation.
This exhibition will show the original drawings and puppets used in Tim Burton’s movies, as well as some models, drafts and character studies used in the production of Mars Attacks! (1996), Corpse Bride (2005) and Frankenweenie (2012).
“We are showing the works of one of the most brilliant directors ever. He started his career when he was still an Animation student and the love for animation runs in his veins, as it does in ours. This puppetry work is overwhelming! Each puppet is a watchmaker masterpiece. We will be able to see the mechanisms used to animate their heads, their bodies, and finally grasp that inside every image we see on screen there’s a highly complex structure allowing the animation artists to give each “actor” his or her most complex expressions and movements.” Fernando Galrito, MONSTRA’s Artistic Director.
The puppets in display at this exhibition were produced by the British studio Mackinnon & Saunders. Mackinnon & Saunders is a world leader in character development for stop motion puppets. The company also produces high-quality animation in its studios near Manchester. M&S has developed and fabricated hundreds of puppets for feature films including Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr Fox and Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks!, Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie. The company also provided support services to the puppet department at US-based Laika Studios on feature films Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls and to Wes Anderson’s London-based puppet department for Isle of Dogs.
The company’s puppet-making credits for children’s TV shows include Moon & Me, Raa Raa the Noisy Lion, Twirlywoos, Postman Pat, Bob the Builder, Pingu, and many others.
The exhibition “Tim Burton – The Animation Puppets” will be showing at the Museu da Marioneta from February 6th to April 19th. It is co-produced by the Museu da Marioneta and MONSTRA – Lisbon Animation Festival, happening 19 – 29 March.