Disney's AI Olaf Animatronic Malfunctions at Disneyland Paris Debut

Brian VanHooker is a Pop Culture Writer specializing in Celebrity Interviews and In-Depth Oral Histories in the areas of Comedy, TV, Film, Cartoons, Comic Books, 80s/90s Nostalgia, Fatherhood, Retro Games and Food (especially Pizza). He was the Senior Features Writer at Cracked and a Staff Writer at MEL. He has written for Inverse, Inside Hook, Maxim, Men's Health, Fatherly, SFGate and more. He's the co-creator of the comic book/cartoon Barnum & Elwood and The Tramp, an award-winning comedy pilot starring John O’Hurley. He also hosts a TMNT interview podcast called Turtle Tracks and was once called a “Good Guy” by Mr. T. For more than a year, Disney Parks has been promoting its new Olaf animatronic as the next generation of character encounters. Standing about three feet tall, the robot is the exact size the character was in the Frozen films and is covered in fluffy fabric to give the perfect snow effect. And unlike the stationary animatronic found within the Disney rides, Olaf is able to freely roam around the park, sharing interactions with park guests thanks to advancements in robotics, including AI, utilized by Disney’s Imagineering team. They even got back Josh Gad to voice th