The Walrus

Creator: Ray Harryhausen

Film: Sinbad and the eye of the tiger 1977

Walrus Video Clip

 

What you see here was a Walrus Giganticus! a huge creature that attacks Sinbad when they reach the icebergs. They find themselves resting in the middle of a snow storm when Sinbad is awoken by the sound of cracking ice. He investigates and soon this creature emerges from the icy depths of the water and attacks them. The Giant beast goes ahead and kills two of Sinbad's men, one by tossing him into the icy water and the other by crushing him under its giant feet. Sinbad and the rest manage to cover the Walrus' head with a fishing net but the creature fights to get free and is too heavy for Sinbad to catch.

 

 

 

Finally the creature has its fun and decides to return to the dark and icy waters, he dives back in from the same opening in the ice cap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walrus Giganticus Facts

 

 

• The Walrus had an armature covered with pure latex rubber, limiting the amount of movements, but Ray managed to solve the problem to some extent by cutting away some of the unseen latex to relieve the stress on the armature.

 

• The slabs of ice were made from Styrofoam mounted on wires, and at the time the model was rising, these sections where animated separately to fall away.

 

• The model of the Walrus was about 20 inches long with bristles for whiskers and tusks made out of resin.

 

Credit: An Animated Life

By Tony Dalton