THE BALLOON MAN

How to bring your ‘Dragon’ to life

 
Photo by Lisa Tomasetti
DreamWorks Animation worked with Global Creatures, the Australian company behind "Walking with Dinosaurs," to create a live arena production of its hit film "How to Train Your Dragon."
from: bizjournals.com
L.A. Biz by Annlee Ellingson
December 19, 2012,
What if dragons were real? What if you could really fly?
These were the questions the creative forces at DreamWorks Animation were asking themselves as they worked on “How to Train Your Dragon,” the animated adaption of Cressida Cowell’s storybook that went on to gross nearly $500 million worldwide in 2010. Then members of the team saw “Walking with Dinosaurs,” a live arena show by Australian company Global Creatures that brings the Jurassic era to life, and the idea was hatched for “How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular”—a life-sized reimagining of the heartwarming tale of a boy Viking and his pet dragon that revitalizes and extends the franchise.

 

Photo by Todd Kaplan
"How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular" "hits all the senses," said Eric Stevens, head of live entertainment at DreamWorks Animation.
“As a company, DreamWorks is always looking for ways to connect with our audience,” Eric Stevens, head of live entertainment at DreamWorks Animation, told me in a chat about the production. “And I think this show in particular, the film provided a really unique opportunity to do something very, very special in the live space.”

After witnessing a 36-foot brachiosaurus reach the upper deck of the Staples Center in “Walking with Dinosaurs,” “we said, ‘Imagine if we could take their technology and combine it with the storytelling of the DreamWorks film … to create a really new entertainment experience,’” Stevens recalled. “And after meetings in Australia with the Global Creatures team, we realized that the two companies together could really do something unique and special.”
read more here:
http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2012/12/19/how-to-bring-your-dragon-to-life-video.