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Adam Savage finds breathing chests and flexing muscles at LAIKA

His Wildwood puppet-department tour reveals how miniature engineering gives stop-motion characters movement beneath their skin and clothes.

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Adam Savage’s Tested Story of October 28, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? 1,339,310 views so far, and here is what is inside it.

Adam Savage Behind the Scenes at LAIKA Studios!

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2:08Miniature costumes need scaled fabrics, tailoring and internal supports so their folds don't betray the puppets' size.
11:15Spring-steel hand armatures use pinned joints to withstand repeated posing throughout production.
15:05Jones displays the studio's smallest animatable armature and explains using different puppet scales for different shots.
18:15Silicone fur developed with the VFX team helps prevent unwanted movement between frames.
23:03Internal torso mechanisms called breathers let animators create subtle chest movements.
24:02Three mechanical systems make puppet biceps flex automatically when their arms bend.

Even a puppet's sweater needs a skeleton. At LAIKA, Oliver Jones shows Adam Savage how wires and internal supports let miniature costumes hold their shape, rather than folding like full-size fabric draped over a tiny body.

That attention to scale runs through "Adam Savage Behind the Scenes at LAIKA Studios!", a tour of the Wildwood puppet department. Jones, the studio's head of character and practical effects, opens up the characters to reveal the mechanisms audiences aren't supposed to notice.

Prue's internal armature combines computer-aided design, 3D printing and mechanical joints. The challenge isn't simply making her move: the machinery has to fit inside her silhouette. Hands face another problem, repeated handling throughout production. Jones demonstrates spring-steel versions whose pinned joints lasted through the whole film.

Then the tour gets beneath the skin. At about 23 minutes, Jones demonstrates a "breather," a torso mechanism that lets animators suggest the small rise and fall of a chest. Next come mechanical muscles: internal systems that make a bicep flex as an arm bends. It's this pairing of breathing and flexing that several viewers single out in the comments, while another asks for a traveling exhibition of the puppets.

The film's animal coats require a different kind of collaboration. Jones explains how the practical-effects and VFX teams developed silicone fur to avoid unwanted frame-to-frame flickering, known as "boiling." Keeping something still can require as much engineering as making it move.

Savage's delight is especially clear when Jones produces a cast-bronze bird armature near the end. "Oh my goodness! I see every technology you've mentioned so far right here in the bird armature!" he says. After costumes, hands, fur and muscles, the bird brings the workshop's separate inventions together in one small body.

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What viewers say

Oh my God, the breathing animation took my breath away, but the BICEPS ANIMATE?! Actual, literal, wizards
@dodger3294See it on YouTube
After the movie finishes its theatrical run, the studio needs to set up the Wildwood Exhibition that tours the country. Everyone should see these in exhibit.
@ChrisAguilera-b2iSee it on YouTube
The casual "👀Can I show you something else?" at 21:31 absolutely SENT me. They've taken SO much pride in their work and I'm aching to see the final product.
@HaganConnellSee it on YouTube

2 more comments

The engineering that goes into making these new techniques is just mind boggling too.
@orbitalfox9094See it on YouTube
It was such a pleasure welcoming you to the studio, Adam! Thanks for sharing a closer look at the incredible craftsmanship, artistry, and engineering that bring our puppets to life.
@LAIKAStudiosSee it on YouTube

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The facts

Channel: Adam Savage’s Tested
Subscribers: 7,300,000 ▲ 10,000 this week
Channel views, last 7 days: 6,833,426
Channel views, pace per day: 910,906 (on a normal day: 854,597)
Video published: October 21, 2026
Video views so far: 1,339,310 (7 days online)
Video views, pace per day: 231,747 (on a normal day: 203,033)

The numbers

The LAIKA tour has drawn about 1.3 million views in its first week. Its appeal here is the machinery and craftsmanship behind Wildwood, rather than an unusual jump in views.

subscribers

7,300,000

▲ 10,000 in the last 7 days

total views

1,919,044,906

views per day

910,906

typical day: 854,597

the video

views

1,339,310

likes