The Character Shop

Rick Lazzarini and TCS create the first Animatronics Study Program of its kind! See the Animatronics Institute website at: http://www.animatronicsinstitute.com for the latest info.

Animated, puppeteered, walking, hopping, "Annoying Fees" for a Time Warner Cable ad...

Gus the Groundhog gets a 2.0 makeover, shoots his 28th Commercial spot, and helps the PA Lottery break records by helping contribute to over $1 BILLION in increased lottery ticket sales over the past 3 years! (updates coming soon!)

Dancing Chimps for an Arby's spot ( update coming soon!)

A unique "Steampunk" action prop for Barry Sonnenfelds' new Warner Bros. TV Series "Pushing Up Daisies"...

TCS creates a set of Grim Reaper hands for a hilarious Time Warner Cable spot...

Have you seen the Arby's ad with the cat stuck in the wallpaper? Yep, we did it! Click the link to see just how much is involved in creating such a seemingly simple effect. Oh, the details, the details!

A realistic catfish for a Visa Print Ad!

A Water Buffalo battering ram for Bud Lite...

A devious rattesnake gag for the Jimmy Kimmel show. Rick plays the snake's "handler":

Played as a joke during the show, it's taken off on the Intertoobz and become a bona-fide urban legend!: http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/kimmelsnake.asp

A cute chipmunk for a ComCast spot:

Realistic animatronic slithering reptiles SNAKES ON A PLANE! (more updates coming soon!)

We created the incredibly popular "Foster Imposters" 13 years ago. After a 2 year hiatus, The Foster Farms Chickens are BACK!

And a strange little marionette named "Fash" for Old Navy:

... Goofy animatronic chicken puppets for Perdue Chicken...A Pinocchio suit and animatronic head for DiGiorno Pizza......a wisecracking Ventriloquist Dummy for Sprint...A Chimp hand and Tiger tail for an Aussie Bank ad...More Gus the Groundhog Pennsylvania Lottery spots (we just shot the 19th one!)...Did you know that TCS did the character design for the pesky flies "Buzz" and "Scuzz" for the movie "Racing Stripes"?...A rare look at a Robot Dog that never made it to air...A retrospective page, looking at the work Rick did on Jim Cameron's "ALIENS"...We've also updated our Feature Films and Commercials pages!

Here is some of our other recent work; to see more details, click on a pic or visit the archives at the "What's New!" page.

So, what have you got for us?

The Character Shop is an award-winning special effects company that excels in animatronics, puppets, robotics, and makeup effects,. We are well-known for our innovative, believable, dependable, and high quality work. We have worked on many feature films, including Snakes on a Plane, Aliens vs Predator, Willard, Sweet Home Alabama, Dr. Dolittle 2, Dude, Where's my Car?, Mimic, Escape from L.A., Operation Dumbo Drop, Outbreak, Hook, and The Santa Clause. We've been profiled on national T.V. many times, making appearances on Letterman, Movie Magic, Entertainment Tonight, American Journal, Inside Edition, E!, and others.

We do quite a bit of commercial work, too! We have created many characters for major clients' campaigns, including Honda, Texaco, Hostess, Sprint, DiGiorno, Foster Farms, Duracell, Miller Beer, AT&T, Coca-Cola, TV Guide, Heineken, and Budweiser.

You've probably seen our work many times, and may have been curious as to who created some of those characters and creatures. Maybe you're simply interested in how those darn special effects work.

Hopefully, you're a producer who has a decent budget for your upcoming project, yet still wants the highest value possible while looking for that secret weapon: a facility that gives the same or better quality as the high-priced shops, but with faster delivery, better service, and a dramatic cost difference.

Well, you've come to the right place. Enjoy!

The Character Shop Simi Valley, CA 93065 (805) 306-9441 (805) 306-9444 FAX email:lazzwaldo (at) mac.com

A note about rentals and "off the shelf" items:

We get many calls per day asking if we have a certain animal or creature "already existing". TCS is primarily geared toward custom character design, development, and construction. Most of the characters we create are one-of-a-kind designs and their imagery is proprietary to the Clients who commissioned them; some are corporate mascots whose re-use would dilute their impact. Also, the functions in our pre-existing puppets are specific to the spot they were built for; the sheep that sits on a chair isn't likely to work for the shaved sheep that goes running into the pasture! If we've got a picture on this site or in one of our ads, it's representing the work we've done in the past, and the range we're capable of; it doesn't necessarily mean we've got that item "in stock", and ready to go. However, some of the animals we create are more generic, so hopefully there's a chance that we can help out your project, whether it's a custom build or otherwise!