Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
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Behind the Scenes of A Gnome Named Gnorm (1990) - FULL STORY here: bit.ly/GnormYT
Gnorm's puppet had a cable-controlled body and head with full facial movements. Five people operated the facial movements and expressions individually: one wore a head apparatus equipped with a sensor that detected jaw movement. Finger movements controlled the lips. Other operators were responsible for moving the brows, controlling the squints and cheeks, the eye movements, the eyelids, the two-axis ears, and the tongue movement to achieve the correct pronunciation.
The head and body movement were controlled by two joysticks: one for the head to turn right, left, and tilt, and one for the spine to perform body twists, lean overs, and back bends. For hand movements, the crew strapped in a person's arms to work in conjunction with the puppet. So they got all the compound movements of the hands, which were very hard to duplicate with mechanics.
“Gnorm became a very real character to all of us,” Richard Landon commented. “In the beginning, Stan would come up to us and say: ‘Who’s controlling the eyes? You? Okay, I want the eyes to do this as the head moves this way.’ However, as we progressed further into the shoot, Stan stopped talking to us and began speaking directly to Gnorm. You always know you’re doing a great puppeteering job when the director starts talking to the puppet instead of you.”
VIDEO: Compilation from Gnorm's puppet testing at Stan Winston Studio
Read the full #BehindTheScenes story of A Gnome Named Gnorm (1990): bit.ly/GnormYT
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SUBSCRIBE to #SWSCA on YouTube: bit.ly/Zp70T4
SUBSCRIBE on YouTube: bit.ly/Zp70T4 and RING THE BELL!
Behind the Scenes of A Gnome Named Gnorm (1990) - FULL STORY here: bit.ly/GnormYT
Gnorm's puppet had a cable-controlled body and head with full facial movements. Five people operated the facial movements and expressions individually: one wore a head apparatus equipped with a sensor that detected jaw movement. Finger movements controlled the lips. Other operators were responsible for moving the brows, controlling the squints and cheeks, the eye movements, the eyelids, the two-axis ears, and the tongue movement to achieve the correct pronunciation.
The head and body movement were controlled by two joysticks: one for the head to turn right, left, and tilt, and one for the spine to perform body twists, lean overs, and back bends. For hand movements, the crew strapped in a person's arms to work in conjunction with the puppet. So they got all the compound movements of the hands, which were very hard to duplicate with mechanics.
“Gnorm became a very real character to all of us,” Richard Landon commented. “In the beginning, Stan would come up to us and say: ‘Who’s controlling the eyes? You? Okay, I want the eyes to do this as the head moves this way.’ However, as we progressed further into the shoot, Stan stopped talking to us and began speaking directly to Gnorm. You always know you’re doing a great puppeteering job when the director starts talking to the puppet instead of you.”
VIDEO: Compilation from Gnorm's puppet testing at Stan Winston Studio
Read the full #BehindTheScenes story of A Gnome Named Gnorm (1990): bit.ly/GnormYT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOIN the Stan Winston School Community!
stanwinstonschool.com
tiktok.com/@stan_winston_school
facebook.com/StanWinstonSchool
instagram.com/stanwinstonschool
pinterest.com/stanwinston
Visit our WEBSITE: stanwinstonschool.com
SUBSCRIBE to #SWSCA on YouTube: bit.ly/Zp70T4
