bobzilla wrote:

I was the "animator", while he filmed. I made one or two creatures, but wasn't very good at it and they would fall apart while animating. I eventually used the Aurora Prehistoric Scenes models to try to animate, but they would never stay in place. I distinctly remember making Return to the Forbidden Valley as a sequel to Gwangi.

I was amazed by that movie. I was (am) a huge dinosaur fan and that was not only animated perfectly (I think Gwangi and the rhedosaurus were some of Ray's smoothest animation.) but it was such a detailed model. Those neck muscles were amazing and the overall detail was astounding.


I count myself very lucky to have made to the Ray Harryhausen exhibit last summer at the Motion Picture Academy where they had a number of his original puppets on display. The Gwangi puppet is even more amazing in person than on the screen with a level of detail that just amazed me. The older I get the more I appreciate Ray and his art because I'm able to understand a little better just what he was doing. 

Jim Aupperle