… MAJOR brownie points to anyone who knows which old Disney movie today’s post title is referencing. I’d send actual brownies, but that’s ONE thing an exclusive production blog hasn’t quite perfected yet- edible entries.
Anyway, the time has come to talk about the largest member of our SHREK family!
DRAGON.
While the prospect of creating Gingy was the FIRST thing to attract me to this project, DRAGON was… the most daunting. But I mean that in the most excellent way possible. As the great Brian May of the rock band Queen once said:
“Fat-Bottomed Girls, you make the rockin’ world go ’round.”
Errr. Wrong quote.
“Most of the things that are worthwhile in life are scary.”
Yes. That’s the one! The challenge of building a giant Dragon puppet fit the bill on both counts. Scary, but abso-freakin-lutely worthwhile!
Time for a quick moment of personal disclosure: when I was in fourth grade, my friends and I decided to dress as a large 4 person ‘Box Dragon’ for Halloween. Basically, we each designed our own section and stapled ’em together with lengths of fabric. When we weren’t getting stuck in doorways and tripping over floor mats, we were the hit of the Lincoln Elementary School parade! And, heck, if you stepped in for a closer look, you got the added bonus of seeing just how hard we rocked that glitter glue, Crayola markers and crayon look!
Swag, baby. Swag.
Not pictured: Fire and the general
populace fleeing for their lives.
I should probably back up now and assure you that, no, we’re not simply hauling that old sucker out of mothballs (lovely as it may be…)
See, I’ve learned a lot since 1993. 20 years ago, (dear lord) when my mother hatched that design, she might have been working with simple materials, but I picked up an important lesson from her. Namely- if you have an idea, BUILD IT. As a kid, my parents never once ran out to the corner drug store and bought a costume. Mom made ’em all. In fact, her mom was the same way. Grandma Barber had quite an impressive home crafting & sewing space too, so I suppose, in a way, PacKay Productions is a continuation of what I’ve been surrounded by my entire life: ridiculous creativity!
For those keeping their stat sheets up to date, Dragon went from a simple 6 foot sketch with limited “mechanisms” to…. 16 feet. 3 puppeteers. Flapping wings. Blinking eyes.
No limits. 🙂
