Metal Knee-slappin' Good Time
August 7, 2012 10:24 AM Subscribe
Four RealDolls for the price of one, AND they can sing!
posted by HuronBob at 10:27 AM on August 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by HuronBob at 10:27 AM on August 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
Piracy is to blame for these musicians not being able to earn a living.
posted by Egg Shen at 10:27 AM on August 7, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by Egg Shen at 10:27 AM on August 7, 2012 [5 favorites]
You wouldn't download an animatronic hillbilly!
posted by elizardbits at 10:28 AM on August 7, 2012 [20 favorites]
posted by elizardbits at 10:28 AM on August 7, 2012 [20 favorites]
Piracy is to blame for these musicians not being able to earn a living.
Funny, the animatronic pirates blame the hillbillies.
posted by munchingzombie at 10:29 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Funny, the animatronic pirates blame the hillbillies.
posted by munchingzombie at 10:29 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Pop in the included CD and press play.
Love how they DON'T TELL YOU what music is on the CD. Handy that they remind you to press play, though. One might forget.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:32 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Love how they DON'T TELL YOU what music is on the CD. Handy that they remind you to press play, though. One might forget.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:32 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
(designed and built by someone who used to work on animatronics at Disney World)
And who apparently said "sheesh, this is easy!"
posted by anazgnos at 10:32 AM on August 7, 2012
And who apparently said "sheesh, this is easy!"
posted by anazgnos at 10:32 AM on August 7, 2012
That video really spoils the magic. I went from believing in Animatronic Hillbilly Family Musicians to seeing them as just another piece of good-time inducing machinery.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 10:33 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 10:33 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
No one could have guessed the origin of the robot apocalypse but in retrospect it was inevitable.....
posted by The Whelk at 10:35 AM on August 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 10:35 AM on August 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
Weather protector (as seen in photo), CD player, accessories, speakers, plugs, etc. all included.
They had to put as seen in photo because they knew I wasn't the only one ready to buy, thinking the porch was included with the set. Sorry, no porch, no deal.
posted by cashman at 10:35 AM on August 7, 2012
They had to put as seen in photo because they knew I wasn't the only one ready to buy, thinking the porch was included with the set. Sorry, no porch, no deal.
posted by cashman at 10:35 AM on August 7, 2012
Our local grocery store (Farm Boy) has a creepy animatronic doll of the titular farm boy, complete with dog, that sings songs with titles like "Nothing rhymes with Oranges" and "Salad Days" and other suitably grocery-sounding things. Thanks to this post, I'm going to have "Salad Days" going through my head all day. :(
posted by LN at 10:35 AM on August 7, 2012
posted by LN at 10:35 AM on August 7, 2012
I thought this was going to be the creepy anamatronic bears from Disney World. "There's blood on the saddle agin!" (not again, agin)
posted by immlass at 10:36 AM on August 7, 2012
posted by immlass at 10:36 AM on August 7, 2012
Our local grocery store (Farm Boy) has a creepy animatronic doll of the titular farm boy, complete with dog, that sings songs with titles like "Nothing rhymes with Oranges" and "Salad Days" and other suitably grocery-sounding things.
DOLE
FRESH
VEGETABLES
ARE
GOOD
FOR
YOU
posted by The Whelk at 10:37 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
DOLE
FRESH
VEGETABLES
ARE
GOOD
FOR
YOU
posted by The Whelk at 10:37 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Pop in the included CD and press play.
Anyone else want to use a different CD to have the cognitive dissonance of a "hillbilly family" playing something like "Enter Sandman" or Nine Inch Nails or something?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:37 AM on August 7, 2012 [19 favorites]
Anyone else want to use a different CD to have the cognitive dissonance of a "hillbilly family" playing something like "Enter Sandman" or Nine Inch Nails or something?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:37 AM on August 7, 2012 [19 favorites]
I don't think they look genuinely inbred enough to be real hillbillies. Although, the banjo player's teeth are pretty messed up, so, yeah, they got that.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:40 AM on August 7, 2012
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:40 AM on August 7, 2012
This is pure horror
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:40 AM on August 7, 2012
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:40 AM on August 7, 2012
When I was a kid I went with my dad to the Legoland in Denmark, and they had a "mine cart ride" (not Lego related) which featured some rather crude animatronic Old West miners with overalls, beards, pickaxes, et cetera. They would say things like "Hand me the dynamite, pardner" in extremely thick Danish accents.
It was awesome.
posted by brundlefly at 10:41 AM on August 7, 2012 [9 favorites]
It was awesome.
posted by brundlefly at 10:41 AM on August 7, 2012 [9 favorites]
"Selling due to change in business model."
How I wish I could see a copy of that original business plan. "Invest $10,000 in animatronic hillbilly family musicians" is the single greatest business plan line item ever.
What do you think the new business plan is? Hologram rappers?
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:42 AM on August 7, 2012 [15 favorites]
How I wish I could see a copy of that original business plan. "Invest $10,000 in animatronic hillbilly family musicians" is the single greatest business plan line item ever.
What do you think the new business plan is? Hologram rappers?
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:42 AM on August 7, 2012 [15 favorites]
the cognitive dissonance of a "hillbilly family" playing something like "Enter Sandman"
The animatronic hillbilly performance couldn't be any more mechanical than Metallica's is at this point.
posted by Egg Shen at 10:43 AM on August 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
The animatronic hillbilly performance couldn't be any more mechanical than Metallica's is at this point.
posted by Egg Shen at 10:43 AM on August 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
Who else dashes through Stew Leonard's at top speed because animatronic shit is fucked up?
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:43 AM on August 7, 2012
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:43 AM on August 7, 2012
Faux porch included if buyer wishes to dismantle and arrange for transport.
posted by achrise at 10:46 AM on August 7, 2012
posted by achrise at 10:46 AM on August 7, 2012
"Selling due to change in business model."
I imagine in a year or two they'll be selling off their animatronic dubstep DJ family, having learned a valuable lesson about chasing trends.
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:46 AM on August 7, 2012 [18 favorites]
I imagine in a year or two they'll be selling off their animatronic dubstep DJ family, having learned a valuable lesson about chasing trends.
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:46 AM on August 7, 2012 [18 favorites]
"Invest $10,000 in animatronic hillbilly family musicians"
$14,000.
Faux porch included if buyer wishes to dismantle and arrange for transport.
How did I miss that!?
posted by cashman at 10:47 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
$14,000.
Faux porch included if buyer wishes to dismantle and arrange for transport.
How did I miss that!?
posted by cashman at 10:47 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Can these be modified to look like bears?
We're the bears who sing for Duke
Do-dah Do-dah
Drinking moonshine 'till we puke
Oh the do-dah *HYUK*
posted by borkencode at 10:49 AM on August 7, 2012 [4 favorites]
We're the bears who sing for Duke
Do-dah Do-dah
Drinking moonshine 'till we puke
Oh the do-dah *HYUK*
posted by borkencode at 10:49 AM on August 7, 2012 [4 favorites]
Who else dashes through Stew Leonard's at top speed because animatronic shit is fucked up?
Are you kidding? When the new one opened in Newington (and I still lived nearby) I would time my visits so I could check out each and every one, every time.
I uh, guess I had a lot of time on my hands. Or Something.
posted by pupdog at 10:50 AM on August 7, 2012
Are you kidding? When the new one opened in Newington (and I still lived nearby) I would time my visits so I could check out each and every one, every time.
I uh, guess I had a lot of time on my hands. Or Something.
posted by pupdog at 10:50 AM on August 7, 2012
This is why I need to win the lottery.
posted by bongo_x at 10:51 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by bongo_x at 10:51 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Oh, well, if the faux porch is included.
Faux porch! That's where the extra $4,000 went!
pupdog, I guess you and I have different Uncanny Valley thresholds.
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:52 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Faux porch! That's where the extra $4,000 went!
pupdog, I guess you and I have different Uncanny Valley thresholds.
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:52 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
I'm envisioning a new business plan...
• Buy the Hillbilly Family Animatronic Band
• Buy used Rockafire Explosion animatronic band
• Stage awesome "Battle of the Bands"
• Profit!!!
posted by Thorzdad at 10:53 AM on August 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
• Buy the Hillbilly Family Animatronic Band
• Buy used Rockafire Explosion animatronic band
• Stage awesome "Battle of the Bands"
• Profit!!!
posted by Thorzdad at 10:53 AM on August 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
Questions and answers about this item
Q: That's one hell of an animatronic hillbilly family musicians set you've got there. What do you call it?
A: "The 'rist-o-crats!"
posted by PlusDistance at 10:53 AM on August 7, 2012 [4 favorites]
Q: That's one hell of an animatronic hillbilly family musicians set you've got there. What do you call it?
A: "The 'rist-o-crats!"
posted by PlusDistance at 10:53 AM on August 7, 2012 [4 favorites]
Jesus christ what is going on with banjoist?!
hold me I feel cold
posted by barnacles at 10:54 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
hold me I feel cold
posted by barnacles at 10:54 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Welp, seeing the behind-the-scenes, under-the-porch spoilers totally ruined it. :(
posted by mudpuppie at 10:54 AM on August 7, 2012
posted by mudpuppie at 10:54 AM on August 7, 2012
A few years ago I was out dirtbikin' around Northeast Tennessee when I ran into the remains of Coal Town, a hillbilly-themed amusement park that inexplicably failed in the 1970s. It appears to have been pretty thoroughly forgotten except for the odd motorcyclist who finds it by accident. I find it surprising that enough people thought it was a good idea that it got built in the first place.
Of course, a $14,000 animatronic singing hillbilly setup wouldn't have worked for Coal Town. Not when actual hillbillies are cheap and plentiful.
posted by workerant at 10:59 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Of course, a $14,000 animatronic singing hillbilly setup wouldn't have worked for Coal Town. Not when actual hillbillies are cheap and plentiful.
posted by workerant at 10:59 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
The included CD is a bluegrass remix of the theme song from Blade Runner.
posted by mr.ersatz at 10:59 AM on August 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by mr.ersatz at 10:59 AM on August 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
I want to prop this up in a ghost town somewhere, running perpetually on repeat - all hours of the day and night, all seasons.
posted by MysticMCJ at 11:00 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by MysticMCJ at 11:00 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Can't they just be retrofitted with snowboards or parachutes or something?
posted by dhartung at 11:01 AM on August 7, 2012
posted by dhartung at 11:01 AM on August 7, 2012
Wait, is it haunted? I don't buy anything off eBay unless its haunted.
posted by griphus at 11:04 AM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by griphus at 11:04 AM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
Does this mean they're closing Never Ending Horror Hillbilly Park? But I have so many fond nightmares from that place!
posted by orme at 11:06 AM on August 7, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by orme at 11:06 AM on August 7, 2012 [4 favorites]
I had a friend back in the 80s who worked for a toy store. After closing, he would be cleaning up, and, to amuse himself, he would put tapes by The Pogues in the Teddy Ruxpin demo model. Apparently, the bear's eyes would roll up in its head, and it would go into convulsions, which pretty much seems appropriate.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:06 AM on August 7, 2012 [9 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:06 AM on August 7, 2012 [9 favorites]
Darn it all, Greg Nog, stop stealing my youth!
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:08 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:08 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
I'm so thrilled that cliched stereotypes and images of exploited Appalachian people are still ok to mock and ridicule. What ever would I do if I actually had to work to come up with humorous observations?
posted by custardfairy at 11:08 AM on August 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by custardfairy at 11:08 AM on August 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
It appears to have been pretty thoroughly forgotten except for the odd motorcyclist who finds it by accident.
Man, Elena Filatova sure gets around.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:09 AM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
Man, Elena Filatova sure gets around.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:09 AM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
I'm in for $50. Let's start that MetaFilter theme park we've been talking about. Somebody post it to Kickstarter, quick!
posted by dirtdirt at 11:10 AM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by dirtdirt at 11:10 AM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
Right, since you've brought up Teddy Ruxpin....
I knew a guy once who used to be part of a comedy troupe, and they decided for one of their gigs they wanted to make a video of Teddy Ruxpin talking while he was slowly catching on fire. They contacted the local firehouse to help them out and ask if they had some kind of controlled accelerant and a guy who could help them set up the shot.
However, the guy they sent out from the firehouse apparently really, REALLY hated Teddy Ruxpin. He showed up with the accelerant, and they handed him the Teddy Ruxpin and let him go to work while they were setting up the camera. And the guy got a little carried away with the amount of accelerant they put on, but they didn't know, and they were all caught up in other things anyway. So the shot was set up, they turned the camera on, turned the Teddy on, and cued the fire.
What they'd MEANT to happen was a slow flame start and slowly grow over the course of a minute, gradually consuming a cheerfully-chatting and oblivous Teddy. What DID happen was a great FOOM of flame as Teddy Ruxpin lit up like the fires of Mauna Loa.
They kept the film anyway, slowed it down and looped it with "Carmina Burana."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:12 AM on August 7, 2012 [11 favorites]
I knew a guy once who used to be part of a comedy troupe, and they decided for one of their gigs they wanted to make a video of Teddy Ruxpin talking while he was slowly catching on fire. They contacted the local firehouse to help them out and ask if they had some kind of controlled accelerant and a guy who could help them set up the shot.
However, the guy they sent out from the firehouse apparently really, REALLY hated Teddy Ruxpin. He showed up with the accelerant, and they handed him the Teddy Ruxpin and let him go to work while they were setting up the camera. And the guy got a little carried away with the amount of accelerant they put on, but they didn't know, and they were all caught up in other things anyway. So the shot was set up, they turned the camera on, turned the Teddy on, and cued the fire.
What they'd MEANT to happen was a slow flame start and slowly grow over the course of a minute, gradually consuming a cheerfully-chatting and oblivous Teddy. What DID happen was a great FOOM of flame as Teddy Ruxpin lit up like the fires of Mauna Loa.
They kept the film anyway, slowed it down and looped it with "Carmina Burana."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:12 AM on August 7, 2012 [11 favorites]
The teddy bear has become the cochlea of the mind's ear. That's why I refused to appear on cassette tape. Except on cassette tape. Of course, "Ruxpin" was not the name I was born with. That's my cassette tape name. Soon, all of us will have special names — names designed to cause the bear to gesticulate wildly.
posted by griphus at 11:13 AM on August 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by griphus at 11:13 AM on August 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
Do animatronic hillbillies dream of electric sheep?
posted by jenkinsEar at 11:14 AM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by jenkinsEar at 11:14 AM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
Do animatronic hillbillies dream of electric sheep?
No. They do keep electronic hogs, however, who are allowed to digitally root in the e-holler.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:17 AM on August 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
No. They do keep electronic hogs, however, who are allowed to digitally root in the e-holler.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:17 AM on August 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
An iHog like this you don't download all at once.
posted by griphus at 11:18 AM on August 7, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by griphus at 11:18 AM on August 7, 2012 [5 favorites]
I'm so thrilled that cliched stereotypes and images of exploited Appalachian people are still ok to mock and ridicule.
Mocking cliched stereotypes and the misguided people who invest thousands of dollars in creating animatronic replicas of same as part of their "business model" is pretty much what we do here.
If you don't think that someone's gross classism combined with their incompetence in buying horrible animatronic recreations of their ridiculous stereotypical minstrelsy is grimly hilarious, there it is. I laugh or else I would never stop crying.
posted by Sidhedevil at 11:21 AM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
Mocking cliched stereotypes and the misguided people who invest thousands of dollars in creating animatronic replicas of same as part of their "business model" is pretty much what we do here.
If you don't think that someone's gross classism combined with their incompetence in buying horrible animatronic recreations of their ridiculous stereotypical minstrelsy is grimly hilarious, there it is. I laugh or else I would never stop crying.
posted by Sidhedevil at 11:21 AM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
Do animatronic hillbillies dream of electric sheep?
I thought they squealed like a rasterized pig for you.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:22 AM on August 7, 2012
I thought they squealed like a rasterized pig for you.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:22 AM on August 7, 2012
Ok true confession time. When I was a green lass, the family used to pack up and motor across the upper Midwest from our home in Montana to visit relatives in Omaha. Our path sometimes took us to Glacier National Park, sometimes we visited Yellowstone on the way but our road always took us through the Bad Lands of South Dakota, and Mt. Rushmore was on that route, as well as Wall, South Dakota. There were authentic Burma Shave signs on the way into Wall, and freakin’ dinosaurs in the town square that every kid wanted to climb on but the thing that fascinated me the most in the middle of this hot dusty little tourist town, was the animatronic band in the Wall Drug Store, who inevitably played “One More Round” over and over. I was fascinated. My mother, when seeing this post and following the eBay link, opined, “I feel hot and bored just seeing a reminder of driving across endless Dakotas.” But for a kid, those were great times. Thanks Mom and Dad, and thanks for this post!
posted by Lynsey at 11:22 AM on August 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Lynsey at 11:22 AM on August 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
Mocking cliched stereotypes and the misguided people who invest thousands of dollars in creating animatronic replicas of same as part of their "business model" is pretty much what we do here.
Oh, no - that I'm down with. I was mostly thinking of the comment above about inbreeding and poor dental care.
posted by custardfairy at 11:24 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Oh, no - that I'm down with. I was mostly thinking of the comment above about inbreeding and poor dental care.
posted by custardfairy at 11:24 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Dissapointed that nobody has yet mentioned what some folks are doing with the Rock-A-Fire Explosion animatronics from defunct Showbiz Pizza places.
posted by mrbill at 11:35 AM on August 7, 2012
posted by mrbill at 11:35 AM on August 7, 2012
Grandpa has a bit of a wide stance, if you know what I mean.
I mean he has a wide stance.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 11:37 AM on August 7, 2012
I mean he has a wide stance.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 11:37 AM on August 7, 2012
I ran into the remains of Coal Town, a hillbilly-themed amusement park that inexplicably failed in the 1970s
Hmm. Wasn't previously aware that it was possible to use the phrases "hillbilly-themed amusement park" and "inexplicably failed" together in a sentence like that.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 11:38 AM on August 7, 2012
Hmm. Wasn't previously aware that it was possible to use the phrases "hillbilly-themed amusement park" and "inexplicably failed" together in a sentence like that.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 11:38 AM on August 7, 2012
Do animatronic hillbillies dream of electric sheep?
I thought they squealed like a rasterized pig for you.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 13:22 on August 7
For you, they may..
posted by obscurator at 11:39 AM on August 7, 2012
I thought they squealed like a rasterized pig for you.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 13:22 on August 7
For you, they may..
posted by obscurator at 11:39 AM on August 7, 2012
This one is even better.
Somehow it is not at all surprising that the Black Eyed Peas are perfectly suited to Animatronics.
posted by rtimmel at 11:47 AM on August 7, 2012
Somehow it is not at all surprising that the Black Eyed Peas are perfectly suited to Animatronics.
posted by rtimmel at 11:47 AM on August 7, 2012
I find myself wondering if the CD player is an aftermarket modification, and whether the automatons ever came even remotely close to appearing to be in sync with the music.
(The song in the video is a bland bluegrass rendition of John Hardy.)
posted by usonian at 11:53 AM on August 7, 2012
(The song in the video is a bland bluegrass rendition of John Hardy.)
posted by usonian at 11:53 AM on August 7, 2012
I'm not going to say you should attach a Fleshlight to grandpa's robot hand, but ... you might want to think about it.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:55 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by uncleozzy at 11:55 AM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Items located on farm about 1 hour west of Boston just off Rt. 2.Huh. I wonder if this used to be an attraction at Davis' Farmland.
posted by usonian at 12:00 PM on August 7, 2012
When I lived in California (so 12 years ago) there was a plant nursery in the hills of Huntington Beach on land surrounding a working oil derrick. It was an odd place with ever changing stock and you never knew what you were going find: exotic perennials, common shrubs, hard-to-find flowering trees, but even better were the two huge storage sheds which featured used stuff, most of it rusty metal like the 15 foot tall suit of armor. And if you looked in all the nooks and crannies you would stumble across the 4 or 5 amusement park-type dummies scattered about. They were very crude and I remember thinking they looked like the old-style Knott's Berry Farm dummys, better seen from afar rather than close up. At least one of them was an "Injun" and another a prospector. I always wondered about their origins-- if some cheesy roadside attraction I had never heard of had closed down and sold off their stock-- and I wondered where on earth they would find a new home. For all I know they are still there at the nursery, gathering dust.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:04 PM on August 7, 2012
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 12:04 PM on August 7, 2012
The scariest thing about this is there's someone subject a poor cat to this contraption (from the fifth picture in the ebay ad). The feline does not appear soothed by their dulcet tones.
posted by exogenous at 12:09 PM on August 7, 2012
posted by exogenous at 12:09 PM on August 7, 2012
"Who's pickin a banja here...?"
posted by Windopaene at 12:24 PM on August 7, 2012
posted by Windopaene at 12:24 PM on August 7, 2012
For you, they may..
Touché, Mr. obscurator, I reckon.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:24 PM on August 7, 2012
Touché, Mr. obscurator, I reckon.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:24 PM on August 7, 2012
Huh. I wonder if this used to be an attraction at Davis' Farmland.
The email for questions is marshallfarm@live.com, and located in Fitchburg - the Marshall Farm looks to be a similar sort of Upick orchard/petting zoo/corn maze Entertainment farm that closed a couple years ago. I'd guess this is some of the remnants, or someone thought they'd bring it back...
posted by pupdog at 12:25 PM on August 7, 2012
The email for questions is marshallfarm@live.com, and located in Fitchburg - the Marshall Farm looks to be a similar sort of Upick orchard/petting zoo/corn maze Entertainment farm that closed a couple years ago. I'd guess this is some of the remnants, or someone thought they'd bring it back...
posted by pupdog at 12:25 PM on August 7, 2012
I'm not going to say you should attach a Fleshlight to grandpa's robot hand, but ... you might want to think about it.
Not really, no.
Dissapointed that nobody has yet mentioned what some folks are doing with the Rock-A-Fire Explosion animatronics from defunct Showbiz Pizza places.
What some people are doing...
posted by louche mustachio at 12:34 PM on August 7, 2012
Not really, no.
Dissapointed that nobody has yet mentioned what some folks are doing with the Rock-A-Fire Explosion animatronics from defunct Showbiz Pizza places.
What some people are doing...
posted by louche mustachio at 12:34 PM on August 7, 2012
"I wonder if this used to be an attraction at Davis' Farmland."
No relation.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 12:45 PM on August 7, 2012
No relation.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 12:45 PM on August 7, 2012
Self-aware robot witness protection program.
posted by Kafkaesque at 12:46 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Kafkaesque at 12:46 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
I just noticed this:
Everything Else > Weird Stuff > Slightly Unusual
OH YEAH SLIGHTLY
posted by louche mustachio at 1:05 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Everything Else > Weird Stuff > Slightly Unusual
OH YEAH SLIGHTLY
posted by louche mustachio at 1:05 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
I don't think they look genuinely inbred enough to be real hillbillies. Although, the banjo player's teeth are pretty messed up, so, yeah, they got that.
Gosh, isn't it great to make fun of hillbillies? I know I sure "enjoy" being stereotyped by where I came from.
Mocking cliched stereotypes and the misguided people who invest thousands of dollars in creating animatronic replicas of same as part of their "business model" is pretty much what we do here.
Really? every stereotype? What if these oh so funny robots were in blackface stereotypes?
posted by Isadorady at 1:11 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Gosh, isn't it great to make fun of hillbillies? I know I sure "enjoy" being stereotyped by where I came from.
Mocking cliched stereotypes and the misguided people who invest thousands of dollars in creating animatronic replicas of same as part of their "business model" is pretty much what we do here.
Really? every stereotype? What if these oh so funny robots were in blackface stereotypes?
posted by Isadorady at 1:11 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
What if these oh so funny robots were in blackface stereotypes?
Are you fucking kidding me? I would mock the shit out of anyone who thought that having animatronic blackface figures was part of a "business model."
How are you missing that it's grimly hilarious that these people think that monetizing horrible stereotypes is a smart business decision?
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:27 PM on August 7, 2012
Are you fucking kidding me? I would mock the shit out of anyone who thought that having animatronic blackface figures was part of a "business model."
How are you missing that it's grimly hilarious that these people think that monetizing horrible stereotypes is a smart business decision?
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:27 PM on August 7, 2012
I looked at this listing while logged into my ebay account, and, no joke, I now have truck-nuts in my "recommended for you based on previous activity" section on my front page.
posted by Ideal Impulse at 1:42 PM on August 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by Ideal Impulse at 1:42 PM on August 7, 2012 [6 favorites]
While Teddy Ruxpin would have seizures if you put the wrong tape in, my sister had an animatronic Big Bird which was like Teddy Ruxpin, but you could put other tapes in him and he'd move along to the music.
That was delightful.
posted by Katemonkey at 2:01 PM on August 7, 2012
That was delightful.
posted by Katemonkey at 2:01 PM on August 7, 2012
Everything Else > Weird Stuff > Slightly Unusual
Bookmarked!
posted by achrise at 2:04 PM on August 7, 2012
Bookmarked!
posted by achrise at 2:04 PM on August 7, 2012
Thinking about a recent post ... Pirate Ship REAL! 30ft Schooner Custom Built,40HP Mercury 20 passenger sailboat
posted by achrise at 2:15 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by achrise at 2:15 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
> Ah, Whelk, that's just the tip of the Stew Leonard's animatronic iceberg. There's also the Singing Chickens, Chiquita Banana, the Farm Fresh Five, and that doesn't even factor in the bluegrass dog band (bad jokes, other people's bluegrass tracks) which, alas, appears not to be on youtube.
posted by BWA at 2:22 PM on August 7, 2012
posted by BWA at 2:22 PM on August 7, 2012
(And this in Connecticut, mind. Commute-to-New-York-City-distance Connecticut.)
posted by BWA at 2:23 PM on August 7, 2012
posted by BWA at 2:23 PM on August 7, 2012
Question:
What is the line between a faux porch and an actual porch if the faux porch is actually functionally identical to an actual fully functional porch?
posted by vibrotronica at 2:35 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
What is the line between a faux porch and an actual porch if the faux porch is actually functionally identical to an actual fully functional porch?
posted by vibrotronica at 2:35 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
I am not going to Burning Man this year, but I have not-so-gently encouraged my (giant) theme camp to buy this thing and haul it out there.
posted by mykescipark at 2:38 PM on August 7, 2012
posted by mykescipark at 2:38 PM on August 7, 2012
You all may laugh and laugh, but this is the kind of thing my family would drive literally dozens of miles out of our way to see on our 1970s road trips. We didn't have TVs in our headrests back then. True story.
posted by Miko at 3:02 PM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Miko at 3:02 PM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
So how much do we each need to contribute, to purchase this and have it shipped to various meetups?
posted by davejay at 3:59 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by davejay at 3:59 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
I'm pretty sure my sister has told stories of live monkeys at her CT-area Stew Leonard's.
posted by Navelgazer at 4:06 PM on August 7, 2012
posted by Navelgazer at 4:06 PM on August 7, 2012
I just asked the seller a question if they come alive at night. No answer yet...
posted by govtdrone at 4:20 PM on August 7, 2012
posted by govtdrone at 4:20 PM on August 7, 2012
Oh hell no. I've seen Westworld, and this will NOT end well!
posted by grapesaresour at 4:25 PM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by grapesaresour at 4:25 PM on August 7, 2012 [3 favorites]
I could buy this: My neighbors already hate me.
posted by Mojojojo at 4:34 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Mojojojo at 4:34 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
The website of Sunshine Motion Company is brilliant. And full of all-caps:
HAVE A REAL FUN TIME WITH SUNSHINE MOTION COMPANY'S MUSICAL BANDS! HILLBILLY, SKELETONS, PIRATE BANDS. YOU NAME IT WE WILL BUILD IT! WE CAN EVEN MAKE PERSONALIZED SOUND TRACKS WHERE THEY CAN TAKE BREAKS IN-BETWEEN MUSIC AND TALK ABOUT YOUR PLACE OF BUSINESS OR TELL JOKES. GREAT FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT AND FUN!
posted by honest knave at 5:38 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
HAVE A REAL FUN TIME WITH SUNSHINE MOTION COMPANY'S MUSICAL BANDS! HILLBILLY, SKELETONS, PIRATE BANDS. YOU NAME IT WE WILL BUILD IT! WE CAN EVEN MAKE PERSONALIZED SOUND TRACKS WHERE THEY CAN TAKE BREAKS IN-BETWEEN MUSIC AND TALK ABOUT YOUR PLACE OF BUSINESS OR TELL JOKES. GREAT FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT AND FUN!
posted by honest knave at 5:38 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Man, they really changed when Florian left.
posted by davebush at 8:56 PM on August 7, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by davebush at 8:56 PM on August 7, 2012 [5 favorites]
Chiquita Banana
BECAUSE BANANAS COME FROM THE EQUATOR DO NOT PUT THEM IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR
sorry some things are just seared into my mind.
posted by The Whelk at 9:00 PM on August 7, 2012
BECAUSE BANANAS COME FROM THE EQUATOR DO NOT PUT THEM IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR
sorry some things are just seared into my mind.
posted by The Whelk at 9:00 PM on August 7, 2012
I am not going to Burning Man this year, but I have not-so-gently encouraged my (giant) theme camp to buy this thing and haul it out there.
They look like they'd fit right in with the Empire of Dirt.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:08 PM on August 7, 2012
They look like they'd fit right in with the Empire of Dirt.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:08 PM on August 7, 2012
Works great until someone mentions those damned McCoys
posted by Mchelly at 9:11 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Mchelly at 9:11 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
"Band featured for a few seasons at petting zoo/amusement park in Massachusetts."
Now imagining a Tennesee petting zoo with animatronic Massholes.
posted by bendybendy at 3:52 AM on August 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
Now imagining a Tennesee petting zoo with animatronic Massholes.
posted by bendybendy at 3:52 AM on August 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
HOLY MOTHER OF CRAP I LOVE THE INTERNET.
Upthread I talk about a guy I knew who told me about making a video about burning a Teddy Ruxpin with a comedy troupe he was in.
I have just found that clip.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:22 AM on August 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
Upthread I talk about a guy I knew who told me about making a video about burning a Teddy Ruxpin with a comedy troupe he was in.
I have just found that clip.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:22 AM on August 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
custardfairy: "I'm so thrilled that cliched stereotypes and images of exploited Appalachian people are still ok to mock and ridicule. What ever would I do if I actually had to work to come up with humorous observations?"
The last group of people you can mock with impunity is poor white Southerners.
posted by dunkadunc at 10:52 AM on August 8, 2012
The last group of people you can mock with impunity is poor white Southerners.
posted by dunkadunc at 10:52 AM on August 8, 2012
The last group of people you can mock with impunity is poor white Southerners.
I thought it was interesting that that was stated as one of the driving forces behind the Hatfield and McCoy’s miniseries.
posted by bongo_x at 11:10 AM on August 8, 2012
I thought it was interesting that that was stated as one of the driving forces behind the Hatfield and McCoy’s miniseries.
posted by bongo_x at 11:10 AM on August 8, 2012
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Really?
posted by The Whelk at 10:25 AM on August 7, 2012 [10 favorites]