Returning favorites, from the first film, include the woolly mammoth and the pigasaurus. The juicer and the vacuum cleaner (who evolves into a lawn mower for the Bedrock scenes), are introduced as shower gifts at a most unusual bridal luncheon.
The polorock camera was featured in the carnival scene and making their Rock Vegas debut are the octopus who doubles as a masseur/croupier and the alarm bird. Of course, the most famous new addition is puppy Dino, who comes alive in a very special series of events at the local carnival.
Following principal photography, the company commenced three weeks of blue screen photography where The Great Gazoo comes to life with the help of Cumming and the magic provided by visual effects team from Rhythm and Hues. According to Rhythm & Hues’ Smith, “Gazoo is accomplished by what we call two dimensional shots.”
And Cumming knows all too well just what this means. “I had to get strapped in a harness and come in at 4:00 in the morning to get a big huge prosthetic head put on and purple contacts poked in my eyes. I was getting chaffed in areas that should never be chaffed,” he jokes.
There was also a real spirit of collaboration between all the different units. For example, the Bronto Roller Coaster was designed by Henson London and animated by Rhythm and Hues.
Levant had only one real request in this area. “I really wanted to have a Bronto Bridge where Fred and Barney drive across the back of a 600-foot long brontosaurus. This required quite an amalgamation of design and talents to make this a reality. And there were signature moments, like Fred doing his twinkle toe bowling, though this time in tandem with Wilma, that we wanted to recreate.”
And what did director of photography Jamie Anderson enjoy most about working on the film? “The most fun was working with Brian, because he has so much fun, because of his sensibility and his playfulness. The film was a big, bright comedy, a fun fantasy kind of world. It’s not everyday you get to bring a cartoon to life.”