Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Marionette

A couple of days ago we took another short trip out to the countryside to visit my wife's grandparents.  Jack and Tess love visiting their great-grandparents, and so do I, because they always seem to have some vintage gifts for me.  This time it was an old box of wooden odds and ends that they thought I'd like.  Looking inside that box I started getting all kinds of ideas for toys.  The first thing I made was this little marionette.  I've always wanted to try it.  I kept the design as simple as possible.  It ended up having a Pixar vibe to it.  It sure is a blast to play with.  I can't wait to let the twins try it when they get up from their nap.  If you want to see it in action, I made a quick video below. (Complete with one of my electronic tunes I did a few years ago.)



34 comments:

  1. AMAZING! I totally get the Pixar vibe. Great music/sound effects :)

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  2. infinitemonkeytheoryMay 12, 2010 at 6:59 PM

    two words: awe some!

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  3. I played the video, the music got my husband to come over so we watched it again. We like it!!!

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  4. Awesome! I hope it's ok that I put the video on my blog (and linked to your page). Have a great day!

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  5. whaouou !!!! amazing !!
    you always have good ideas !!

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  6. You always have the best ideas! Can't wait for your book!

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  7. I ♥, ♥ and ♥ it!

    Love,
    Miriam

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  8. Ok. Drop dead cool. I love the Luxo vibe. Reminds me what my animation teacher used to say : it's not about the complexity of the character, it's about the movements and what you express with it. You totaly nailed it :)

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  9. I was captivated watching that. Especially the part where he lifts up his leg and realizes his legs aren't long enough to climb onto the cube. Well done.

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  10. Hahahaha I love it!!! Cool!!

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  11. Awesome, amazing, totally versatile toy! Isn't it amazing how children are drawn to these simple things?

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  12. Thanks for all of the nice comments everyone! I'm looking forward to making some more short movies with this puppet. It's so fun. I'd like to get out my synthesizer and vocoder to make some cool little voice for it or something.

    Oh, and Jack and Tess love this toy, and they're very intrigued with the video. Tess kept saying, "Is that robot real?"

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  13. Danke, wir haben soooo gelacht :o)!Viele, liebe Grüße, Petra

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  14. That is just TOO much fun! I love the video. It does indeed have a Pixar feel to it! Thanks for sharing!
    Erin :)

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  15. Wow - a tap dancing marionette, your children must love this. great fun!

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  16. Hi Joel!
    I just wanted to tell you how much I adore your blog. Everything is so cute and creative. I can only imagine how stimulating your kids home environment is! Anyhow, cute video! Can´t wait for more :)

    -Caitlin

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  17. wow, the box of wooden toys is amazing!

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  18. I had entirely too much fun watching that guy dance!

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  19. My son loves watching this little movie. What a great and fun way to reuse wooden pieces!

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  20. Awesome clip!
    I could watch it again and again! Amazing how something so simple can instantly make you smile! :-)

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  21. you are a genius
    so simple
    so great
    love it
    thank you

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  22. Just found your blog....and Im super excited. What great and inspiring ideas! Love the marionette!

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