Martin JagoAnimatronics · Puppets · SFX

Mulan

Walt Disney Pictures
April - November 2018

For Disney's live-action Mulan, Martin developed and built the mechanical horse riding rig and a collapsing Phoenix shrine animatronic with NZFX.

Special FX Supervisor - Steve Ingram

Special Effects Technician & Puppeteer

Creature fabrication for the SFX riding rig built for Mulan's horse, Black Wind. Animatronics Model Designer and puppeteer of the Phoenix Shrine statue which young Mulan damages multiple times in the opening sequences.

Videos

Mulan poster

Behind the scenes

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  • Foam horse neck and head with pencil markings and drilled holes sitting beside the black steel riding rig frame in a workshop

    Cheese Ghosted Neck

  • Black furred horse rig with saddle mounted on a steel truss arm on a trailer in front of a bare mountain on location

    Hose Buck on Location

  • Black furred horse rig with saddle on a trailer platform, with a camera crane head at left and crew working around it in a sunny field

    Horse Rig On Set

  • Green covered horse rig on a trailer beside a camera truck and crew on an open grass plain with rocky hills behind

    Horse Rig With Camera Trailer

  • Line of riders on horseback silhouetted along a grassy ridge with a snow capped peak behind them under a cloudy sky

    Horsemen on the Hill

  • Mounted riders in dark armour carrying banners and spears stand in a group on a grass plain in front of snowy mountains

    Böri Khan's Horsemen

  • Riders in black hooded costume sit on dark horses while one of the crew and a performer stand between them, with the rig trailer in the foreground

    Horsemen Relax Between Scenes

  • Three crew in silhouette spread artificial snow by hand from sacks on a hillside at sunrise above low cloud

    Snow Patrol

  • One of the crew in silhouette on a snowy mound throws a handful of artificial snow into the air under a bright sun

    Making it Snow

  • Film unit base camp with caravans, vehicles, a crane and a trailer carrying a covered rig, set against snow covered mountains

    Unit Base in the Mountains

  • Concept reference photo of the painted Phoenix statue and a winged guardian lion statue, each standing on a carved stone plinth against black

    Phoenix Design

  • Concept art: young Mulan leaps through a courtyard past a hen toward a cracked Phoenix statue while an elderly woman with a staff watches

    Storyboard

  • Grey mould sections with bolted flanges and pink putty patches lying stacked in the boot of a car

    Workshop Phoenix Molds

  • Four pale yellow and blue cast wings and a bird head laid out on a white trestle table beside broken wing pieces

    Workshop Wing Lineup

  • Painted Phoenix and winged guardian lion statues on stone effect plinths on a workshop bench with shelves and paint tubs behind

    Workshop Shrine Statues

  • Phoenix statue with its wing removed showing a grey plate with three round magnet faces, on a plinth in the workshop beside the guardian lion

    Workshop Plynth Core

  • Close view of three round steel magnet cores set into a rough grey cast surface with two small screws beside them

    Workshop Wing Electromagnets

  • Phoenix statue head and neck showing a cracked joint and worn blue green paint, photographed against the stone paving of the courtyard set

    Head Repair

  • Phoenix statue with spread wings on a stone plinth in front of the open shrine doorway with red lanterns and a radio control case at right

    Phoenix at the Shrine

  • Phoenix statue on its plinth with the head turned sideways and one wing broken at the shoulder, with a white sheet laid beside it

    Phoenix Broken Neck

  • Underside of a Phoenix wing with a wooden stick support and a crack where it meets the body, under red lanterns

    Wing Repair

  • Close view of a Phoenix wing joint where a cracked section has been rejoined, showing carved feather grooves and green tinted paint

    Staggered Wing Repair

  • Phoenix wing hanging from the body with a rough broken tip and an angled feather section, over stone paving with a costumed person's legs behind

    Broken Wing Tip

  • Phoenix statue with raised head and spread wings on its plinth, one wing joined back at the shoulder with a pale repair line, in the courtyard set

    Broken Phoenix Repaired Front

  • Phoenix statue side view with tall tail feathers on a plinth, a broken wing tip hanging down, and crew standing beside it in the courtyard

    Broken Phoenix Repaired Side

  • Phoenix statue on its plinth with a wing and body chunk broken away and lying nearby while one of the crew stands in the background

    Breaks on Set

  • One of the crew kneels at night beside the Phoenix statue on its plinth, working on it under red light with a bright lamp screen behind

    Shooting Last Minute Touchups

  • Night shoot with a camera on a crane arm at left facing the Phoenix statue on its plinth while crew bend and stand nearby

    Shooting Camera Lineup

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