‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ VFX Veteran Hal Hickel on Rotta’s Redesign, Phil Tippett and Jon Favreau’s ‘Less James Bond, More Jackass’ Approach

ILM animation supervisor Hal Hickel described how *The Mandalorian and Grogu* draws on Phil Tippett’s stop-motion work while blending digital animation with practical sets, mechanical rigs and physical effects. The approach connects the new film to the original *Star Wars* trilogy, while Jon Favreau’s direction aims to make its action feel perilous and unpredictable.

The team made the AT-ATs move more slowly to convey their scale and used a six-axis rig to give the AT-RT a bouncy, ostrich-inspired gait. Rotta the Hutt was redesigned to look more recognisably related to Jabba while retaining a muscular fighter’s build; he has the film’s second-largest amount of dialogue after Mando. The production also re-created Tippett-style stop-motion at his former Berkeley studio and included a visual nod to *My Neighbor Totoro*.