Tyrannomon and Greymon V-Pet Commercial Animatronic Puppets

The Tyrannomon and Greymon animatronic puppets sitting next to each other in a video by Youtube user Horrordomain.

## Description

The Tyrannomon and Greymon animatronic puppets (also called "Digibots") are one-of-a-kind movable character props that were used in one of the first English commercials promoting the original run of the Digimon V-Pet toys. This commercial first aired in 1997. In the commercial, the two puppets can be seen roaring, growling, and fighting each other as they act out a battle between the two starring children's v-pets.

The commercial featuring the puppets could be seen running during ad breaks of various children's shows, most likely on channels like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and during Saturday morning cartoon blocks on Fox-affiliate channels.

It's said that the animatronics also made appearances in various interviews, possibly to further promote the v-pets, or even to promote Digimon's cartoon series or the franchise in general. They potentially were even seen on MTV at one point, though further information regarding the circumstances around that appearance is unknown, and no known documentation of any of these interviews or appearances has been found thus far.

## Design

The two animatronic puppets were created by Fred Spencer, a Hollywood veteran known for his puppetry work on films like Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice”, Francis Ford Coppola’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula", and "Team America: World Police".

Both puppets measure about 40" long and 20" wide. They contain endoskeletons made of metal, which house the components that make the puppets move. The outer layer (or "skin") is made of painted foam latex. Some of the puppets movements are controlled by a series of levers on a joystick-like device which connects to each puppet via cables. These cables extend out back beyond either puppet so they can be controlled out of sight from the cameras. There is also a remote control that drives other parts of the puppets.

The cable-controlled motion features include:

* Moving jaws (with the range of motion being up, down, and side-to-side)
* Moving hands (to act out swiping or grabbing with claws)
* Wagging tails

Animatronic motion features include:

* Moving and blinking eyes
* Moving facial features, including servo motors allowing for the "lips" to move in and out to better create a snarling look

The puppets arms were controlled by handheld rods, which were waved around to make them move.

The puppets are painted in a more realistic style, have bumpy and scaly textured skin, and even have more reptilian eyes than later depictions of their characters. Tyrannomon especially looks very dinosaur-esque or reptilian. Greymon looks a little more faithful to his cartoony counterpart, but interestingly features horns that are made to look more bone-like and a studded metal guard on his snout.

## Post-Commercial Circulation

It is unknown where these animatronic puppets were stored officially during or after their heyday, however, at some point they entered the hands of private collectors.

For a period of time they were both owned by Youtube user Horrordomain, who showcased them in a video on his youtube channel posted on May 12, 2009 titled "HORRORDOMAIN.COM DIGIMON DINOSAUR ANIMATRONIC PUPPETS" (which can be seen below in the Videos section). It is unknown how he came to acquire them.

In Fall of 2009, both animatronics were individually put up for sale by Premiere Props via auction on the the website icollector.com. Each Digimon had a starting bid of $50.00 USD. On October 24, 2009, both animatronics completed their auctions and were sold. Sadly, at this point Greymon and Tyrannomon were separated and went to different collectors. Tyrannomon sold at auction for $175.00 USD (before taxes, fees, and shipping), and Greymon sold for $125.00 USD (before taxes, fees, and shipping).

At the time of the auction, both animatronics seemed to be in need of various repairs. Greymon's nose horn had fallen off (luckily it was included in the lot), and Tyrannomon's foam latex had several tears and missing pieces. It is unknown if the collectors who purchased the lots restored or repaired the puppets.

The animatronics have not officially been seen since being sold in 2009, though several photos of both Greymon and Tyrannomon together surfaced on Facebook around 2016 or 2017 in a now defunct Digimon Collecting group. The post, original poster's name, and the information included in it have unfortunately been wiped from the internet, as Facebook deleted the group (and several others relating to Digimon as a part of a crack-down on fanpages by Bandai) in it's entirety in 2018.

Fortunately, the images from that post were reposted elsewhere on sites such as Reddit and Digimon fansites. The original source of these photos is currently unknown, as well as the date when they were taken. It is assumed that they were snapped somewhere around 2009, as both puppets are together and seem to be in better condition than they were when they were sold.

The Tyrannomon animatronic puppet, pictured here on a shelf as a part of someone's personal collection.The Greymon animatronic puppet, pictured here on a shelf as a part of someone's personal collection.

## Gallery

Listing photo: Greymon animatronic puppet. The photo shows that his nose horn had fallen off, though it was included in the auction.Listing photo: Greymon animatronic puppet. The photo shows that his nose horn had fallen off, though it was included in the auction.Listing photo: The remote control used to help some of Greymon's parts move.Listing photo: Tyrannomon animatronic puppet. This photo shows that the puppet had a few tears and missing pieces of it's foam latex "skin", as well as the fact that some of it's scales had fallen off.Listing photo: Tyrannomon animatronic puppet. This photo shows that the puppet had a few tears and missing pieces of it's foam latex "skin", as well as the fact that some of it's scales had fallen off.Listing photo: Tyrannomon animatronic puppet. This photo shows that the puppet had a few tears and missing pieces of it's foam latex "skin", as well as the fact that some of it's scales had fallen off.Listing photo: The remote control used to help some of Tyrannomon's parts move.A screenshot of Greymon from the 1997 commercialA screenshot of the Tyrannomon and Greymon animatronic figures battling in the 1997 V-Pet commercialA screenshot of Tyrannomon and Greymon next to each other on the set of Horrordomain's video.

## Videos

Below are two videos that feature the Tyrannomon and Greymon animatronic puppets.

**\*\*\*Please be advised that the following video contains flashing lights\*\*\***

## Bootlegs

No known bootlegs or recreations of these animatronic puppets exist.

## Fun Facts and Trivia

* On set, the Digimon puppets were given "pet names". Tyrannomon was nicknamed "Gizmo" and Greymon was called "Bull".

## Sources

* "Digimon V-Pet English Commercial" uploaded by Youtube user 123Greymon
* "HORRORDOMAIN.COM DIGIMON DINOSAUR ANIMATRONIC PUPPETS" by Youtube User Horrordomain
* "Digimon Tyranomon Digibot Puppet Movie Props" listing by Premiere Props on iCollector.com
* "Digimon Greymon Digibot Puppet Movie Props" listing by Premiere Props on iCollector.com
* Digimon4ever.com (Via The Wayback Machine)