Tussaud models are moving with the times
SINCE Madame Tussaud first toured her collection of waxworks in the late 18th century, the famous faces on show have remained steadfastly static.
But a new generation of animatronic models that identify and interact with visitors is coming after the Shanghai branch of Tussauds took delivery of its first robotic celebrity.
The robot of Chinese film actor Jing Boran of Monster Hunt and his animated companion Wuba has been built by Engineered Arts, the Cornish firm that also animated King Kong’s face in the film Kong: Skull Island.
It is Tussauds’ first intelligent figure. It not only moves, but senses people and changes its behaviour based on its surroundings. It is also the first to be made from silicon, not wax.
Will Jackson, director of Engineered Arts, said: “This is not just animatronic. This is robotics, so we’re bringing in senses, perception, face recognition, person detection, age and gender recognition.” The robot is an attempt by Tussauds to modernise its attractions.
Abroad, visitors in Germany meet a virtual reality version of Youtube star Bibi, while those in Japan can dance with celebrities. Earlier this year in London, the company unveiled a figure of actor Tom Hardy with a core temperature of 37 degrees and a heartbeat of 60 per minute, so fans could “cuddle up” to it. When Meghan Markle was added to the capital’s collection this week, her engagement ring was fitted with lighting to make it sparkle.
Iam loving the new Harry and Meghan show down at Madame Tussauds in London, which is holding a special stag and hen do to commemorate the couple’s wedding later this month.
Yes, it’s a big fat publicity stunt, but I don’t care because Madame Tussauds is, hands down, just about the most giggly fun you can have sober; and I say this as a card-carrying member of the National Trust and English Heritage.
Yes, I know it costs £35 and there always seems to be a huge queue snaking out the door and past the old Planetarium (which has now been subsumed into Madame T’s because who cares about asteroid belts when you can see heavenly bodies?) – but that’s because the whole spectacle is ace.
I hadn’t planned on being impressed when I went but there is something unexpectedly, irrationally hilarious about seeing simulacra of famous people. Don’t ask me why.
Whether it’s down to the deification of false gods or just an opportunity for irreverent selfies, the end result is the same: laughter and giddiness.
A stand at Madame Tussauds is our equivalent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, an unfailing barometer of acclaim, success and national esteem. When Gary Barlow admitted in his 2006 autobiography that his Take That waxwork had been melted down and recycled into Britney Spears, it was a poignant reminder of the fleeting nature of celebrity. But, then, when he was once again in the ascendant, it transpired that he’d just been kept in storage and was rehabilitated with a few more wrinkles.
I went quite a few years ago and still recall with a smile how I held Tom Cruise’s hand, cuddled Henry VIII and hung out with Rihanna, while culturally appropriating her Caribbean dance hall moves in those halcyon days before cultural appropriation was even a thing. Later, I even got to go behind the scenes and discovered that the models are made by eye. There’s no injection moulding or plaster casts, just artistry, with every last lash added individually and, in the case of Meghan, each freckle lovingly reproduced. “A face without freckles is a night without stars,” Meghan’s father told her as a child. And a star without a Madame Tussauds waxwork is scarcely a star at all.