Mars Attacks!

A pair of original puppet hands from the production of Mars Attacks!, the 1996 science fiction picture directed by Tim Burton.

Originally the Martian creatures were to be bought to life using traditional stop motion animation techniques with Burton taking inspiration from the films of animation legend Ray Harryhausen, however due to time and budget constraints they were ultimately realised via computer generated imagery provided by leading effects house Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). 

This pair of original puppet hands were custom made for the production by master puppet makers Mackinnon & Saunders who produced a number of stop motion puppets for the production which were filmed but not used in the final cut and later used as reference by animators at ILM. Ian Mackinnon & Peter Saunders retained design credit and a number of their staff remain credited on the picture, the company would later go on to collaborate with Tim Burton on Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie. The Martian puppet hands are constructed from silicone over a wire armature allowing the digits to be posed as required, they were ultimately unpainted and unused during filming.

The hands each measure approximately 4" long and have been mounted on a base for display which measures 4" wide, they remain in near perfect original condition, extremely fine.

A very rare and highly displayable artefact from this cult picture.