Chuck Fawcett & Steve Andersen Launch "FGR8" Animatronics Company
Images: Courtesy of FGR8
(eap) Leisure industry professionals Chuck Fawcett and Steve Andersen have launched a new animatronics company called FGR8. Fawcett is an experienced leisure industry professional – e.g. he founded Animax Designs already as a student in the 80s and turned it into one of the most popular animatronics studios of the market. He currently serves as CEO of Allureum, which operates leisure destinations, and as Chairman and co-founder of Medici XD and Mousetrappe Media, which specialize in the development of media and integrated technologies for leisure destinations.
After Fawcett and Andersen (former EVP and Head of Operations at Animax) left Animax Design, industry colleagues have been waiting with excitement for their professional return. “The achievements of Chuck and the FGR8 team in the field of puppetry and animatronics are nothing short of revolutionary,” emphasizes Jeff Conover, Creative Director at Walt Disney Imagineering. “They have mastered the art of character creation, blending design, movement, and emotional depth in their work.”
Chuck Fawcett (FGR8’s President and Chief Creative Officer)
In addition to Disney, the two have already brought characters to life for Universal Studios, DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. and Sesame Workshop and others. With FGR8, they aim to take the next step and drive forward developments in the field of organically powered animation solutions and soft robotics. They are exploring how emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence can improve the interactivity of characters and provide new ways of thinking about the design, development and control of animatronics.
“We specialize in the seamless integration of internal robotic systems with external soft figure finish in animatronic characters,” says Andersen. The focus, he says, is on the often-underestimated connective tissue in physical character design, emphasizing the critical relationship between engineered mechanical components and flexible materials.
Steve Andersen (FGR8’s CEO)
“We don’t just create the most realistic and believable animatronics on earth,” says Fawcett, FGR8’s President and Chief Creative Officer, “we create the impossible. FGR8 is not just about carrying on the work we started; it’s about reimagining the potential of animatronics, blending the timeless magic of puppetry with tomorrow’s technology. It’s the art of animatronics.”
FGR8 understands itself as a kind of “boutique” store, working together with selected top customers. ■
