An 'animatronic' is a robotic puppet. The term 'animatronics' was coined in the early 1960's by the Walt Disney Imagineering Company, to describe their moving models and figurines on display at Disney Land. Since the early days of film making, it was the responsibility of the Special Effects or Art departments to provide mechanical props: As time moved on and audiences became more critical, a new branch within Visual Effects emerged under the adopted name of 'animatronics'.

It is the intention of the Neal Scanlan Studio to continue advancing this wonderful form of movie magic, giving directors of the future new opportunities to delight and thrill their audience.