| 1 | %%% |
| 2 | %% |
| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
| 4 | %% |
| 5 | %%% |
| 6 | |
| 7 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1567095772029453000 |
| 8 | %% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 9 | %% |
| 10 | [[quoteright:349:[[Film/{{MothraVsGodzilla}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/you_mean_godzilla_was_just_a_guy_in_a_rubber_suit_yes_but_not_just_any_guy.png]]]] |
| 11 | [[caption-width-right:349:[[TropeCodifier The original]] Man in a Rubber Suit, Creator/HaruoNakajima.]] |
| 12 | |
| 13 | ->''"MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT!"'' |
| 14 | -->-- '''Harry Knowles''' of ''Ain't It Cool News'' on ''Film/Godzilla1954'' |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Monsters played by humans in costumes. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | This is the single most important special effect of all time, bar none. The man in rubber suit technique was Hollywood's original go-to method (and still utilized extensively in {{Toku}}) for portraying the {{Kaiju}}, the [[RubberForeheadAliens extra-terrestrial invader]], the experiment GoneHorriblyWrong, and [[EldritchAbomination the supernatural terror]] before computer generated effects were a twinkle in a programmer's eye. This is not to say that the method is perfect -- many a great riff has been made at the expense of the [[SpecialEffectsFailure weaker displays of this technique]] -- but even at its lowest the man-in-suit still takes notoriety in the form of NarmCharm. Some special effects artists, such as Creator/RickBaker, built their entire career on this. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Note: Not necessarily made from rubber. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Compare PantomimeAnimal, RubberForeheadAliens. StarringSpecialEffects is a sister trope for animated or puppet creations in live-action films, and it's possible for both tropes to be featured in one movie. Not related to DressedAllInRubber. In-universe examples, if resembling a real animal, can qualify as AnimalDisguise. SerkisFolk can be considered the modern descendant, with the main difference being that the "suit" is added in digital post-production. Also compare StopMotion, the other main method of animating monsters before CGI became commonplace. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | ---- |
| 25 | !!Examples: |
| 26 | |
| 27 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 28 | |
| 29 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 30 | * ''Manga/KaijuGirlCaramelise'' is a series about a {{Notzilla}} called Harugon, but while the monster herself is not an example, the Kaiju-obsessed Manatsu Tomosato owns several suits. She tricks Kuroe into wearing a three-headed dragon suit resembling King Ghidorah, and when confronting Arata at his apartment building she wears a Harugon suit. |
| 31 | * One issue of ''{{Manga/Kochikame}}'' had Ryotsu end up stuck as a giant. After the initial shock wore off, he resolved new routines that took advantage of his size to help out around the city. One of them was wearing a NotZilla costume to film more realistic footage for movies. |
| 32 | * Invoked for the designs of the monsters in ''Anime/SSSSGridman'' and its sequel ''Anime/SSSSDynazenon'', which look big enough to hide a person inside and utilize mocap technology to make the movements appropriately clunky. This is even done in-universe with Anonymous, whose ravenous "B" form hides in the cheap-looking "A" form until it gets sufficiently pissed off. |
| 33 | [[/folder]] |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 36 | * ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'': InUniverse. The Decepticon Skullgrin used his Pretender shell to become a star in monster films. |
| 37 | [[/folder]] |
| 38 | |
| 39 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 40 | * The one-panel NewspaperComic ''ComicStrip/{{Bizarro}}'' once showed a newscaster announcing, "The city is being attacked by an enormous Japanese actor in a rubber suit!" and sure enough, it's recognizably Godzilla ravaging the background. |
| 41 | [[/folder]] |
| 42 | |
| 43 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 44 | * In ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'', [[AscendedFanboy Fred]] dons a {{kaiju}} costume that allows him to [[BreathWeapon breathe fire]] and calls himself "Fredzilla". This is in stark contrast with his other five teammates who all wear matching suits of high tech armor. |
| 45 | [[/folder]] |
| 46 | |
| 47 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 48 | * ''Film/ThreeHundred'': Despite the extensive use of [=CGI=], rubber suits were still used for deformed characters such as Ephialtes and the uber-immortal. |
| 49 | * The Xenomorph from ''Film/{{Alien}}''. They are [[NightmareFuel MUCH scarier]] than most people in rubber suits though because they have such a un-human like head (which even requires [[http://static2.keptelenseg.hu/ep/774bc5d4d855561ecffeea27e72076d9.jpg lots of animatronics]]) and body that its hard to tell yourself they're just men in suits. Even more so in the first movie, where the alien was played by a [[EvilIsBigger 7FT 2INCHS TALL]], but [[LeanAndMean slender]]...student. Though in this case they cut down the appearances of the Xenomorph [[NothingIsScarier to the bare minimum]] because otherwise they looked like this trope. In later movies they afford to work more on the movement of the aliens. The VFX supervisor who started playing the Alien in the third movie (including ''Film/AVPAlienVsPredator'') [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0940430/?ref_=sr_2#actor_main made a career out of this.]] |
| 50 | * One early rubber-plus-animatronics example was 1959's ''Film/TheAlligatorPeople'', in which the transformed protagonist's final gator head had a working jaw. Still looked very fake, the moreso because he winds up interacting with an actual alligator. |
| 51 | * In the film ''Film/TheBadAndTheBeautiful'', a director and a producer are assigned to make a low-budget horror film about cat men, who are supposed to be played by people in crappy suits. They declare that "five men dressed like cats look like five men dressed like cats", and they make the film without showing the monsters (a reference to the real classic horror film ''Film/CatPeople''). |
| 52 | * The Penguin in ''Film/BatmanReturns'' has two species of tame penguins helping him. The large emperor penguins are portrayed by little people in suits, and it's very much possible to watch the entire film without catching this. |
| 53 | * ''Film/Beowulf1999'' reimagined Grendel as a man in a rubber suit... with a clearly visible zipper ([[spoiler:it also reimagined Grendel's mother as a CuteMonsterGirl who would later prove to have flammable blood]]). |
| 54 | * Pearl (the grotesquely obese vampire) from ''Film/Blade1998''. It sounds like a grim kid's TV show. |
| 55 | * ''Film/TheBraveArcher'' 4 has Yang Guo's pet, a [[GiantFlyer condor the size of a human]], played by a burly extra in a suit. |
| 56 | * The kung-fu fantasy film, ''Film/BuddhasPalm'' has a {{Kirin}} which is portrayed by two suit actors using this method. |
| 57 | * ''Film/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'': Like Lord of the Rings before it, the live action Narnia films were replete with rubber suits, although to accurately portray the leg structure of the hooved fauns, satyrs and minotaurs, [=CGI=] was used in addition to the physical costumes. |
| 58 | * ''Film/ConanTheDestroyer'': Dagoth, the god/monster Conan faces off against at the end, was played by wrestler Wrestling/AndreTheGiant in a rubber suit. |
| 59 | * ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' is the TropeCodifier for FishPeople depicted this way. |
| 60 | * A few scenes in ''Film/{{Cujo}}'' had Cujo being played by a man in a costume, while other scenes opted for a Rottweiler in a similar costume. |
| 61 | * ''Film/EscapeFromThePlanetOfTheApes'' film had a painfully obvious human in a gorilla suit who killed one of the apes at the zoo. |
| 62 | * The Thing was played by a rubber-suited Creator/MichaelChiklis in ''Film/FantasticFour2005'' and its sequel. Supposedly he ''requested'' this, because he wanted to [[EnforcedMethodActing feel some of Ben Grimm's pain.]] |
| 63 | ** Speaking of the sequel, [[ComicBook/SilverSurfer the title character]] in ''[[Film/FantasticFour2005 Rise of the Silver Surfer,]]'' when not entirely CGI, is this trope -- particularly when ComicBook/DoctorDoom has stolen his powers and [[CoolBoard cosmic surfboard.]] |
| 64 | * The 1936 ''[[Film/FlashGordonSerial Flash Gordon]]'' serial may be the UrExample for {{Kaiju}}, as it featured a man in a suit portraying a giant dragon some 18 years before Toho lit upon the idea. |
| 65 | * In ''Film/TheFly1986'', the final humanoid stage of the DoomedProtagonist's SlowTransformation into an insectoid monster is realized in this manner as the logical extension of the increasingly elaborate makeups used in earlier scenes. The prospect of having to act through pounds of makeup and rubber put off many big-name actors from taking the role but Creator/JeffGoldblum was up for just such a challenge...and ''became'' a name in the process. |
| 66 | * ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' is an interesting case; Originally, Godzilla was to be animated in stop-motion, like ''Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms''. Creator/EijiTsuburaya informed the producers that the necessary scenes would take seven years to complete, so he was instead told to create the monster another way. He came up with a new plan: instead of splicing a tiny stop-motion model into live-action footage, make a realistic monster suit and build a set where everything is tiny compared to ''it.'' It worked. Applications of this method in the years after Tsuburaya's death in the Showa period turned out not to be as impressive, however... but they do have their [[NarmCharm charm]]. |
| 67 | * A far more convincing gorilla example was Digit in ''Film/GorillasInTheMist''. |
| 68 | * ''Film/HaloNightfall'': Axl the Yonhet is pretty clearly an actor in a costume, in sharp contrast to the film's other aliens, who are all CGI. |
| 69 | * The ''Film/{{Hellboy|2004}}'' series of movies (both directed By Guillermo Del Toro) use this technique a lot, and to great effect. In fact, Del Toro's movies almost always opt to minimize the use of CGI as much as possible. Granted though, their rubber suits are most often pretty damn advanced (containing heaps of animatronics and whatnot). |
| 70 | ** One of the rubber-suited actors, Creator/DougJones, built a career out of this, including two other Del Toro movies, ''Film/PansLabyrinth'' (both the Faun and the Pale Man) and ''Film/TheShapeOfWater'' ([[FishPeople "The Asset"]]). |
| 71 | * ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'' turned Creator/JimCarrey into the title character via a full-body suit that was painful and stifling for Carrey to the point that he almost quit early on; he needed help from a military torture expert to handle the experience. When he was ''performing'' in it, however, [[https://filmschoolrejects.com/jim-carrey-grinch/ he was able to turn it to his creative advantage]], and designers Creator/RickBaker and Gail-Rowell Ryan won Best Makeup Oscars for their work. |
| 72 | * ''Film/JurassicPark'' and its sequels used men in (partial) suits for the ''Velociraptors'' in some shots. The raptor that walks to the fallen Udesky and plunges its sickle-shaped claw into his back in [[Film/JurassicParkIII the third film]] was a man wearing raptor 'pants'. |
| 73 | * In ''Film/KingKong1976'', Creator/JeffBridges' character reacted to the plunderers' initial disbelief upon seeing the giant ape by saying "What do you think it was? A man in an ape suit?"... which is exactly what it looked like, because it was. Played by make-up artist Creator/RickBaker, who wound up uncredited. |
| 74 | * Used in the film ''Film/TheLastDinosaur'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B619J7VeYAY here.]] |
| 75 | * Played with in ''Film/TheLastMimzy''. At the beginning, the Scientist's lab gets attacked by two "alien" creatures that look like people in rubber suits. At the end, we learn that they ''were'' people in rubber suits. More specifically, they were people in all-enclosing protective suits because of the poisoned-beyond-repair environment. They shed their costumes [[ATruceWhileWeGawk when they see sunlight for the first time in ages]]. |
| 76 | * Hyde (the EvilTwin of Dr. Jekyll) in ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' movie combines blue screen, forced perspective and a rubber suit so spectacularly obvious that, like much of the movie, it borders on SpecialEffectFailure. (And ''borders'' is a very generous term.) |
| 77 | * ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' produced record numbers of rubber suits, primarily for the various types of orcs but also for various other creatures, in fact the only characters who weren't either this or RubberForeheadAliens were the human roles. This trend was somewhat subverted by ''Film/TheHobbit'' films due to their greater use of the SerkisFolk techniques. |
| 78 | * The first two ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' films play with this on vastly different sides of the quality spectrum. |
| 79 | ** Goro from [[Film/MortalKombatTheMovie the first film]] is a very elaborate example, with only the lower torso fitting in this category directly, with the rest of the costume being an elaborate animatronic that while rather goofy in the face, is otherwise pretty effective. A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVi2klX_feE making of]] was posted by the suit's creators. |
| 80 | ** On the more [[SpecialEffectsFailure obvious side]], there's Baraka and Motaro from ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation''. Baraka in particular looks extremely lame, even for 1997. Motaro on the other hand is married to some god-awful CGI for his back half, while his front half is simply the actor wearing a pants suit done up to look like centaur legs, and poorly at that. |
| 81 | * The UrExample is probably the 1929 film version of Creator/JulesVerne's ''Literature/MysteriousIsland'', with some really UglyCute [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b6OYnb9cnPY/Uu-XlUz5W8I/AAAAAAAAZUo/SrBg3QV_Idw/s1600/1929c.jpg undersea beings.]] |
| 82 | * The 1957 movie ''Film/NightOfTheDemon'', directed with dark understated dread by veteran Creator/JacquesTourneur, from a story by horror master Creator/MRJames, was considered by many to be undercut by ExecutiveMeddling insistence on a rubber-suit demon (showing up at the beginning, no less). |
| 83 | * In ''Film/NightOfTheLepus'' this is how the '''Giant Killer Bunny Rabbits''' are portrayed when they attack people. The suits...pretty much look nothing like giant bunnies. |
| 84 | * ''Film/OilyManiac'', another Shaw production, uses this method to depict the titular villain, a BlobMonster whose body is composed entirely of crude oil. Incidentally, the monster is played by the same guy (Creator/DannyLee) who was Infra-man! |
| 85 | * ''Film/PacificRim'': |
| 86 | ** As a love letter to every monster movie ever, the movie gives this a nod. While the {{kaiju}} are all completely computer generated, they are designed in such a way that they could, conceivably, be played by a man in a rubber suit. |
| 87 | ** Early on in the film, we see this trope played straight in a ShowWithinTheShow parodying the kaiju in-universe. |
| 88 | * Played to great effect in ''Film/{{Predator}}''. The original Predator costume was a rather goofy and awkward lizard; the crew asked for a new monster design very shortly after seeing the original. The designer decided to try something with mandibles... |
| 89 | * The RodentsOfUnusualSize from ''Film/ThePrincessBride''. |
| 90 | * A original monster called the Tiburonera (He who hunts sharks!) appears in a short film titled "Shallow Water" made by Sandy Collara. He even made the rubber suit himself, stating that practical effects will always have more realism than CGI. No argument there, the creature looks awesome. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POiPgG2RyGk Here's the trailer.]] |
| 91 | * ''Film/SmokingCausesCoughing'': The Tobacco Force fight human sized monsters who are this. At some point a little girl looks at a video that they have made, and comments that the monster looks fake. This film also features hand puppets and animatronics. |
| 92 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'': |
| 93 | ** Original footage with Jabba the Hutt, who was actually a ludicrously complex puppet with two full-sized people inside his torso plus a midget in the tail and a team of offscreen operators for his eyes and facial expressions. |
| 94 | ** Chewbacca and the Ewoks count as well. |
| 95 | ** And the Droids are men in tin suits. |
| 96 | * The Creator/ShawBrothers superhero movie, ''Film/TheSuperInframan'', uses this technique to create it's plethora of monsters, including a tentacled plant elemental, a dragon-man, a rock monster and the BigBad's OneWingedAngel form, which is a huge dragon. |
| 97 | * This technique was used for the HumongousMecha sequences in the ''Series/TekkoukiMikazuki'' film series. |
| 98 | * ''Film/TyrannosClaw'' have people in suits portraying the giant prehistoric rodent, and a tribe of furry ape-people. Averted for the dinosaur sequences, whom were played by animatronics. |
| 99 | * ''Film/UnknownIsland'' from 1948 for the Ceratosaurs did this. The Ground sloth was also a suit, but mostly fur and rubber mask. |
| 100 | * As part of its deliberately retro FX vibes, the [[LizardFolk Zorgon]] aliens from ''Film/{{Zathura}}'' were portrayed by guys in lizard costumes, with the Zorgon heads coming out where a human's chest would be. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools They're much better than the trope would lead you to believe, however]], and it's quite possible to go through the entire movie thinking they're just really good CGI. The towering mechanical robot was also done partly as a costume (the torso and head were real, but the arms and legs were CGI.) |
| 101 | [[/folder]] |
| 102 | |
| 103 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 104 | * In the novel ''Literature/ShamblingTowardsHiroshima'', the protagonist, Syms Thorley, is a BMovie actor who specializes in this kind of effects. He is employed by the US navy to dress up as a Franchise/{{Godzilla}} {{expy}} and destroy a scale model of Japan to avert the use of a real horde of gigantic, mutated iguanas. |
| 105 | [[/folder]] |
| 106 | |
| 107 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 108 | * This is the bread and butter of all {{Toku}} superhero shows since Series/UltraQ where the heroes and villains solely exist as people in rubber (or spandex, or leather) suits, having utilised the technology introduced and innovated by Toho in their Kaiju films and really ran with it. Some fans use "suitimation" to describe the use of costumed "suit actors" to portray monsters and heroes alike. In the 2000s, the shows began to mix in some 3D computer-generated animation for when a costume would not suffice, such as for a complex robot combination or a monster with a non-human silhouette. |
| 109 | ** The granddaddy of them all, the ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' uses nothing but people in rubber suits. Series from the 1990's onwards, but especially in the 2010s like ''Series/UltramanOrb'' and ''Series/UltramanGeed'' even have the heroes have forms that can be switched around during fights. |
| 110 | ** ''Franchise/KamenRider'' still relies on suits despite being on the air during the reign of three successive Japanese emperors, for both the heroes and villains. The earlier Heisei[[note]]''Series/KamenRiderKuuga'' until ''Series/KamenRiderFourze''[[/note]] seasons rely on two-part episodes to cut down on the costs of creating monsters for a full fifty-ish episode series, plus at least two movies. The later Heisei series, on the other hand, are less reliant on 'monster of the week' plots and thus require less monsters to be made. |
| 111 | ** ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', while putting their heroes in spandex (apologies to [[Series/PowerRangersRPM Doctor K]]) the villains and their MonsterOfTheWeek minions are always in rubber suits, save for the occasional lady villain not in a full-body costume (eg. Rita Repulsa). |
| 112 | *** ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'' even lampshaded their situation when they happen across an episode of ''Series/BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger'' (the ''Super Sentai'' show that their own show was based on. [[ItMakesSenseInContext It's a long story]].): |
| 113 | ---->'''Conner:''' Oh come on! That is ''SO'' a guy in a rubber suit!\ |
| 114 | '''Ethan:''' No one said this was a documentary. Use your imagination. \ |
| 115 | '''Conner:''' Like anyone's gonna believe a combination... bear, mushroom, ATM monster?!\ |
| 116 | '''Kira:''' Is it really any stranger than anything we've been fighting? |
| 117 | ** As a competitor to the anniversary years of Ultraman, Super Sentai, and Kamen Rider, ''Series/MadanSenkiRyukendo'' put this to work, although often mixing things up with CGI monsters, such as with a monster who is best described as a flying mood ring laser elephant. Ryukendo's spiritual successors ''Series/TomicaHeroRescueForce'' and ''Series/TomicaHeroRescueFire'' kept up this tradition, although most MonstersOfTheWeek would be CGI creations. |
| 118 | ** Toho even threw their experience into the television ring with their Series/ChouSeiShinSeries trilogy, with even the heroes in costumes beyond simple spandex. |
| 119 | ** As a {{Toku}} version of ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon'' made use of the rubber suited people for their monsters of the week. |
| 120 | * ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'', with all the NarmCharm, couldn't pass up this trope. Some Magog even have visible zippers. |
| 121 | * ''Series/TheATeam'': In one episode, Hannibal is shown to be in a Franchise/{{Godzilla}} costume as part of a job. Also seen in the opening credits, without the headpiece on while smoking one of his iconic cigars. |
| 122 | * The dinosaurs of ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' fall into the "not necessarily rubber" category of this trope. |
| 123 | * The Boohbahs from ''Series/{{Boohbah}}'' are fuzzy full-body puppets that appeared in [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation very bright colors]]. |
| 124 | * ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' had a few of these. "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E5ReptileBoy Reptile Boy]]" and "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E14BadGirls Bad Girls]]" are notable examples, though the lower halves of both demons weren't seen because one was in a tank of slime and the other a giant snake. |
| 125 | * The Canadian children's series [[Series/Cucumber1972 Cucumber]] featured a moose and a beaver who are this |
| 126 | * Spoofed in ''Series/{{Danger 5}}'' along with other NarmCharm clichés. |
| 127 | * Most of the dinosaurs in ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}''. The rest, however, are played by hand puppets. |
| 128 | * ''Series/TheDayOfTheTriffids1981''. Though only the flower head was rubber, the triffids were operated by a man crouched inside, cooled by a fan concealed in the fiberglass neck. The clackers however were radio-operated. |
| 129 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'', too many times to mention. |
| 130 | ** For his [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E2TheDaleks first-ever]] ''Doctor Who'' story (the second-ever for ''Doctor Who'' generally) Creator/TerryNation invented the Daleks as a way to ''avert'' the trope. They still had ''plungers'' for hands. His [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E5TheKeysOfMarinus second story]] (the fifth aired on ''Doctor Who'') however already featured the Voord, literally, People In Rubber Suits. (Possibly. Perhaps the suits have fused with their actual bodies.) |
| 131 | ** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E7TheSensorites The Sensorites]] are people in velour suits, with visible zippers. |
| 132 | ** The Dalek storyline "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]" (which capitalised on how un-rubber-suity the Daleks look) still contained a totally gratuitous encounter with one as a WackyWaysideTribe, which, curiously, is considered by fans to be the first true ''Doctor Who'' "monster" (the first non-humanoid, non-robotic adversary). |
| 133 | ** The Zarbi (First Doctor, "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E5TheWebPlanet The Web Planet]]"): giant ''ants'' with two very, very humanoid legs. Future companion Creator/PeterPurves (who played Steven) actually auditioned for the part of a Zarbi, but the casting director was too impressed with him and wanted to spare him the indignity, and promised to have him back when he wanted "a real actor" -- which indicates the lack of respect afforded to these parts. (The director stuck to the deal and had Purves back playing a human character for [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E8TheChase "The Chase"]].) |
| 134 | ** Scared of those new series Cybermen? The original Cybermen were guys in a balaclava and a (somewhat loose) catsuit, carrying plastic stuff suspenders-like. Plus a funnel on their heads. And a serious speech impediment. It actually worked; they were ''terrifying'' instead of being ridiculous, because of how [[SurrealHorror bizarre]] and [[UncannyValley lifeless]] they were. |
| 135 | ** It's not limited to rubber suits, either -- [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E4TheKrotons The Krotons]] from the eponymous Second Doctor serial resemble walking cardboard boxes with a (sometimes spinning) cardboard diamond on top. |
| 136 | ** At least once, in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E2TheArkInSpace The Ark in Space]]", the monster (a Wirrn larva) was actually made out of green bubble wrap — but considering that bubble wrap had only just been invented (to the point where it wasn't even called 'bubble wrap' yet), the overall effect worked, if only for about five years after the episode's premiere. Supposedly the bubbles went 'pop-pop-pop' as the extras inched their way across stage reducing cast and crew to hysterics and the sound department to tears. Most of the scenes with the larva are recorded silently with incidental music over the top -- if there's dialogue in the scene, a layer of smooth plastic is placed underneath the larva to reduce the likelihood of the bubbles bursting. The Wirrn looks better but, like the Zarbi, is a bipedal insect. |
| 137 | ** The Terileptil Leader from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E4TheVisitation The Visitation]]" is notable in that it's the first rubber-suit monster to feature animatronics inside the head, which allowed its gills to move and eyes to blink. |
| 138 | ** Interestingly enough, "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E3TheRescue The Rescue]]" used this trope [[spoiler: to conceal the [[ScoobyDooHoax twist]]. ''Doctor Who'' fans were used to rubber suit aliens, so it actually came as a surprise that the villain really was a human wearing a costume, not a real alien. And it was more convincing than many of the "real" alien costumes of the era.]] |
| 139 | * ''Series/DonkeyHodie'': According to a Variety article, Stanley is played by a puppeteer who gets inside his body. |
| 140 | * ''[[WesternAnimation/FilmationsGhostbusters The Ghost Busters]]'', the live-action TV series, had Tracy the Gorilla in a ShoutOut to old-fashioned horror-comedies. Bob Burns, who played Tracy, got the part because he owned the gorilla suit! |
| 141 | * The ''Series/InTheNightGarden'' characters Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy, Makka Pakka, and the Tombliboos are puppets of this type. |
| 142 | * All of the characters in the Australian kids show ''Series/JohnsonAndFriends'' are LivingToys depicted as full-body puppets. |
| 143 | * The various Krofft Brothers productions, ranging from miscellaneous creatures (''Series/HRPufnstuf'') to an entire show of anthropomorphic hats (''Lidsville''). |
| 144 | * The Sleestaks from ''Series/LandOfTheLost1974'' and ''Series/LandOfTheLost1991'' |
| 145 | * ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'' uses specific prosthetics made of encapsulated silicon and practical makeup for the Orcs. Only the people who would fit the created costumes were casted. Even better, Jamie Wilson, who worked on the cinematic trilogies, is the head of prosthetics for the show. |
| 146 | * ''Series/LostInSpace'': Effects studio Spectral Motion and Shannon Shea (who did costumes for ''Jurassic Park'' and ''Predators'') were specifically hired by Netflix to create the robot suit. They went as far as adding green fabric to certain portions of the suit, so that digital artists could create areas where people could see right through it. |
| 147 | * Franchise/TheMuppets: Large scale Muppet characters like [[Series/SesameStreet Big Bird]] and [[Series/TheMuppetShow Sweetums]] are played by performers in full costumes operating the mouth and other facial features with one hand. For the Gorgs in ''Series/FraggleRock'', a remote-control rig was made to allow puppeteers to control the face from the outside, allowing the costumed performers full motion of the arms for a more expressive performance. This technology was used for other Henson productions, including the aforementioned ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}''. |
| 148 | * ''Pig's Breakfast'' plays with this. Some aliens crash on Earth (played by people in rubber suits) and are consequently mistaken for people in rubber suits due to appear on a children's TV show (because of the [=UFO=] sightings of them crashing). They prove to be so popular they end up getting a permanent gig [[HiddenInPlainSight hiding in plain sight]]. |
| 149 | * Polkaroo from the long-running Canadian children's series ''Series/ThePolkaDotDoor'' is this. |
| 150 | ** Bear, Marigold, Humpty, and Dumpty became this in Polka Dot Shorts. |
| 151 | * Legion from ''Series/RedDwarf''. |
| 152 | * ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures''. Like ''Series/DoctorWho'', except a smaller budget = less CGI + more people in rubber suits. |
| 153 | ** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]]: |
| 154 | --->'''Chrissie:''' I'm telling you; my ex-husband is being chased by a dwarf in a suit -- now I've seen it all! |
| 155 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'' mostly has RubberForeheadAliens, but some (the Gorn, for instance) play this trope straight. " [[{{Recap/StarTrekS1E18Arena}} Arena]]" became one of the most iconic episodes because of this. |
| 156 | ** As time went on those species that were once men in suits were replaced by SerkisFolk. The Gorn appearance in ''Enterprise'' was all CGI, for example. |
| 157 | *** ''{{Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds}}'' goes back to using a suit for the adult Gorn starting with Season 2's finale, "Hegemony." The new suit weighs 100lbs, contains a robotic tail, and even has custom clothes such as the EV Suit seen in its debut. Their first use for it? [[{{Awesome/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds}} Zero-G wire work with minimal CGI assists.]] |
| 158 | * In ''Series/WalkingWithBeasts'', they originally wanted to portray the ''Australopithecus'' this way, but in the end chose {{CGI}} because of the different body proportions between humans and protohumans. However the sequel, ''Series/WalkingWithCavemen'' went back to the rubber suit approach. Both of these effects are generally regarded as the series' less stellar FX accomplishments. |
| 159 | * ''Series/TheXFiles''. Spoofed in "[[Recap/TheXFilesS03E20JoseChungsFromOuterSpace Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space']]". Scully begins performing an autopsy on a [[TheGreys Grey Alien]] found dead in a field, only to find a zipper; it turns out to be a rubber suit. The video footage is edited and sold as a tape of an actual AlienAutopsy. |
| 160 | * Influenced by the Kroffts, ''Series/YoGabbaGabba''. They actually use several suits that come originally from the concerts given by the creators' band, the Aquabats (q.v. below). |
| 161 | * ''Series/WonderWoman1975'': Gargantua is played by an actor in an oversized gorilla suit, with an extra tall head. |
| 162 | [[/folder]] |
| 163 | |
| 164 | [[folder:Multiple]] |
| 165 | * The "full-body" Muppet characters (e.g. [[Series/SesameStreet Big Bird, Barkley, Mr. Snuffleupagus]], [[Series/BearInTheBigBlueHouse Bear]], [[Series/MopatopsShop Mopatop]], [[Series/TheMuppetShow Thog, Sweetums]], [[Series/{{Sesamstrasse}} Samson]], [[Series/{{Sesamstraat}} Pino]], [[Series/PlazaSesamo Abelardo]]) fall into the "not necessarily rubber" category of this trope. |
| 166 | [[/folder]] |
| 167 | |
| 168 | [[folder:Music Videos]] |
| 169 | * During Music/TheAquabats' live shows, they are attacked between songs by various rubber-suited monsters, in addition to obese luchadors and evil milk-men. At least one, Dr. Cyclops ([[{{Refuge in Audacity}} who appears to be a giant, anthropomorphic dildo]]), went on to become a character in the creators' kids show, ''Series/YoGabbaGabba''. |
| 170 | * In an early music video ("Elephant Parts", 1981), Music/MichaelNesmith is wearing the bottom half of a rubber suit while singing "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDhbK7NFpQw Her Name Was Rodan]]". |
| 171 | [[/folder]] |
| 172 | |
| 173 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 174 | * ''[[Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs Walking With Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular]]'' live show uses it with great effect for raptor-sized predators and a baby ''T. rex'', in combination with animatronics for large dinosaurs. |
| 175 | * Even the noise scene has these: California duo [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tRdeZpV1EQ Rubber O Cement]] has made it a prominent aspect of their stage presence. |
| 176 | [[/folder]] |
| 177 | |
| 178 | [[folder:Theme Parks]] |
| 179 | * Most of the non-human "walkaround" characters (and a few of the more caricatured human ones) at theme parks such as [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disney]] and Ride/UniversalStudios fall into the "not necessarily rubber" category of this trope. |
| 180 | [[/folder]] |
| 181 | |
| 182 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 183 | * There are even Microman figures released with rubber oversuits to turn them into Showa-style kaiju. |
| 184 | [[/folder]] |
| 185 | |
| 186 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 187 | * In every main-series iteration of ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' after II, the Kilrathi. Series creator Chris Roberts was NEVER happy with their appearance. |
| 188 | [[/folder]] |
| 189 | |
| 190 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 191 | * Parodied in ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'', where Jabba's Gamorrean guards are humans in rubber suits ''in-story'', apparently because Jabba has some bizarre tastes (it also conveniently makes them immune to Artie's Lost-Orb-enhanced shock prod). Apparently everyone else non-human-looking servant Jabba's palace is like that too, leading them to think Chewbacca isn't a real wookiee and C-3PO isn't a real droid and taking their protests as (the result of too much) MethodActing. |
| 192 | * The ''Webcomic/YuGiOhCardGameGustoFanComic'' frequently depicts the [[http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=22148805 Synchro-Summoned Mist Wurm]] as Caam wearing the Mist Wurm Suit. |
| 193 | [[/folder]] |
| 194 | |
| 195 | [[folder:Web Video]] |
| 196 | * ''WebVideo/TheManInTheSuit'' is an Main/AnalogHorror series which revolves around one of these. The titular man is an actor for Godzilla who takes a particular liking to wearing the suit to the point of taking it home even when asked not to. However, [[PlayedForHorror it quickly takes a turn for the worse]] as [[spoiler: the man ends up [[ClingyCostume fusing with suit]] and becoming a Godzilla-like creature.]] |
| 197 | %%* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHl6QkC9__8 Some very ambitious LARP players.]] |
| 198 | [[/folder]] |
| 199 | |
| 200 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 201 | * Done as a ShowWithinAShow segment on ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}''. Doug and his friends watched a horror movie where you didn't see the shapeshifting killer monster (in his real form at least) until the end of the movie. Doug was so scared that he closed his eyes and missed the scene. He started to suffer from nightmares afterwards, and reasoned that sitting through the whole scene with open eyes would make them go away, so he kept trying to see it but always ended up wimping out, until the final time, where he managed to not only see the monster, but laugh as it was an obvious rubber suit with a clearly visible zipper. When he mentioned this to his friends they all admitted that they had closed their eyes too. |
| 202 | ** Dr. Rubbersuit is one of the villains Doug imagines himself fighting as Quail Man. |
| 203 | * Lampshaded by the ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers'' cartoon, with a Godzilla-like monster called "Maninsuit". |
| 204 | * On ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'', Fred got a job in a monster movie not as the monster, but as the stand-in for the actor playing the monster. |
| 205 | * Parodied with Chameleon Sr. in ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes''. Despite having a {{Notzilla}}[=-=]esque child that looks exactly like he does, he's actually a ''giant'' in a monster suit. |
| 206 | * ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'': Oh the ghost is here, [[ScoobyDooHoax it's a crook in a suit]]. The ghost is here, he's protecting some loot. |
| 207 | * Owen from ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama World Tour'' dressed up as Godzilla for his team's commercial in Japan. |
| 208 | --> '''Alejandro:''' [[BadBadActing Oh nooo, a large, out-of-shape monsteeeer!]] |
| 209 | [[/folder]] |
| 210 |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Main / PeopleInRubberSuits
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
