Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
How do you make digital characters feel like they were created for the original Star Wars trilogy? For Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, sometimes the answer is to deliberately treat CG like practical effects.
Animation supervisor Hal Hickel, production visual effects supervisor John Knoll, and property department’s Josh Roth reveal how Jon Favreau’s practical-first philosophy shaped the movie. Hickel explains why digitally animated Grogu is kept within the physical puppet’s limitations and how fully CG characters can be staged as though they were puppets or animatronics, leaving audiences to question which technique they’re actually seeing.
This The Mandalorian and Grogu behind-the-scenes conversation also explores the movie’s bigger theatrical canvas. Knoll discusses designing imagery for an IMAX screen and finding ways to make action visually distinctive, while Roth explains how the prop department searches for vintage objects with the right 1970s aesthetic before transforming them into something that belongs in the Star Wars galaxy.
They also unpack the redesign and animation of Rotta, an unusually athletic Hutt who needed to fight, emote, and form a bond with Grogu.
Chapters:
0:00 The Practical-First Approach to Star Wars
1:42 How Grogu’s Puppet and CG Animation Work Together
3:45 Taking The Mandalorian From TV to IMAX
5:49 Mando’s Blaster and Practical Props
6:21 Designing New Star Wars Battles and Weapons
7:41 Recreating the Original Trilogy Prop Aesthetic
9:22 Why Rotta Was the Biggest Animation Challenge
11:05 Making CG Look Like Practical Effects
Our Social Media:
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Video By Maggie Lovitt & Joaquin Rodriguez Carvalho
For copyright matters, please contact us at: legal@valnetinc.com
#themandalorianandgrogu #starwars #collider
How do you make digital characters feel like they were created for the original Star Wars trilogy? For Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, sometimes the answer is to deliberately treat CG like practical effects.
Animation supervisor Hal Hickel, production visual effects supervisor John Knoll, and property department’s Josh Roth reveal how Jon Favreau’s practical-first philosophy shaped the movie. Hickel explains why digitally animated Grogu is kept within the physical puppet’s limitations and how fully CG characters can be staged as though they were puppets or animatronics, leaving audiences to question which technique they’re actually seeing.
This The Mandalorian and Grogu behind-the-scenes conversation also explores the movie’s bigger theatrical canvas. Knoll discusses designing imagery for an IMAX screen and finding ways to make action visually distinctive, while Roth explains how the prop department searches for vintage objects with the right 1970s aesthetic before transforming them into something that belongs in the Star Wars galaxy.
They also unpack the redesign and animation of Rotta, an unusually athletic Hutt who needed to fight, emote, and form a bond with Grogu.
Chapters:
0:00 The Practical-First Approach to Star Wars
1:42 How Grogu’s Puppet and CG Animation Work Together
3:45 Taking The Mandalorian From TV to IMAX
5:49 Mando’s Blaster and Practical Props
6:21 Designing New Star Wars Battles and Weapons
7:41 Recreating the Original Trilogy Prop Aesthetic
9:22 Why Rotta Was the Biggest Animation Challenge
11:05 Making CG Look Like Practical Effects
Our Social Media:
facebook.com/collider
x.com/Collider
Our Website
collider.com
Video By Maggie Lovitt & Joaquin Rodriguez Carvalho
For copyright matters, please contact us at: legal@valnetinc.com
#themandalorianandgrogu #starwars #collider
