Widow Munch Stop Action Figure from Corpse Bride

Description:

Widow Munch, wearing a gray dress with a black shawl and a large gray hat is one of the 30 puppets that were part of the 2005 stop motion animated film Corpse Bride, produced and directed by Tim Burton and animated by Mike Johnson. This macabre story is based on a 19th century Russian fairy tale, and stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Emily Watson. This phenomenal production required three groups of artists, including the story board (drawing) department, the animator fabrication workshop and the camera crew that filmed the movie.

Twenty three animators worked on the film to create these marvelous puppets made of metal, silicone, foam, and fabric at the cost of $30,000 per puppet. A total of 300 puppets were made for the film.

Tiny, intricate mechanical paddles and gears were attached at the ball joints and inside the head and were adjusted with Allen wrenches. The eyes are made of urethane and each side of the head is operated independently, including the eyebrows and lips. This ground breaking technology enabled the animators to achieve a greater range of movement and reduced the need to make replacement heads for each change in facial expression.

In addition to the advancement in animation that contributed to the realism of the figures, the movie was photographed digitally and allowed for more flexible and tighter shots thereby adding a 3-D dimensional quality to the characters.

Date Made: 2005

Associated Name: Burton, Tim

Location: Currently not on view

Subject: PuppetryMovieEntertainment, FilmAnimation

Subject:

See more items in: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment, Movie Collection

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Gift from Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 2013.0001.07Accession Number: 2013.0001Catalog Number: 2013.0001.07Collector/Donor Number: 175651

Object Name: puppetfigure, animation

Physical Description: Cloth (overall material)foam latex (overall material)feathers (overall material)Measurements: overall: 15 in x 7 in x 8 in; 38.1 cm x 17.78 cm x 20.32 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-d302-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1444991

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