Is the Zoltar Machine From ‘Big’ a Real Game?
Though Tom Hanks is the star of 1988’s Big, Zoltar — the eerie amusement park game that transforms his character into an adult — is a close second. The animatronic figure has just a few minutes of screen time, but its dramatic look, flashing eyes and overall sinister vibe are unforgettable and help to draw viewers into the film’s magical world.
So when I recently spotted a Zoltar machine by the gates of a state fair, tucked away in an appropriately desolate corner, my inner 12-year-old was thrilled. I fed the machine a dollar, watched the robotic character wave its hands and then took my paper fortune, just like young Josh Baskin in the film (though he only had to pay a quarter — hey, that’s inflation for you). For a brief moment, I was transported back to seeing Big for the first time, decades ago.
But as excited as I was to finally live out a childhood dream, I also had a lot of questions. Like: Didn’t Zoltar look different in the movie? That character cut an eerie figure with his darkly colored clothing, raised collar and trimmed goatee. But this carnival version wore a bright yellow shirt, a vest and a waxed mustache that made him look a bit like Snidely Whiplash from Rocky & Bullwinkle. And didn’t Josh have to aim a quarter into Zoltar’s mouth, instead of just inserting a buck? Why did this Zoltar promise fortunes rather than wishes? Had these Zoltar machines always been around? Had they existed since the era when Big was filmed, and I somehow just didn’t notice them until recently?
If you, too, have spotted a Zoltar machine in the wild and felt confused, know that you were right to be (and comment below on where you saw one). Because the story of Zoltar in the real world is a complicated one.
Zoltar Vs. Zoltan
20th Century Fox Film Corp./courtesy Everett Collection
When Big was released, Zoltar was 100% not a real game. The creepy boardwalk machine that Josh encounters at Sea Point Park was just set decoration, its name possibly inspired by the classic arcade fortune-telling arcade game Zoltan.
A company called Characters Unlimited began commercially producing Zoltar machines in 2006 and trademarked the name “Zoltar Speaks.” While the Colorado-based animatronics studio had nothing to do with the machine used in the film, they do have a long history of building animatronic characters; you may have encountered their “Man in Outhouse” machines at your favorite tourist trap.
Characters Unlimited’s Zoltar is purposely different from the cinematic Zoltar in a number of ways — in addition to his costume and game mechanics, he speaks and moves his hands, has a crystal ball in his booth, and perhaps most importantly, doesn’t turn your poorly worded wishes against you. Characters Unlimited’s Zoltar machines are handmade and start at $7,300, though a deluxe model will set you back close to $10,000. The company has also created a number of customized Zoltars, including one that resembled OutKast’s Andre 3000, which was used in a Super Bowl commercial.
Despite Characters Unlimited’s unquestioned dominance in the field, other Zoltars are out there, too. Florida’s Cocktail Hour Entertainment offers a rental Zoltar that bears a bit more resemblance to the machine from the film, and DIY Zoltar machines pop up on eBay and other auction sites.
And the original Zoltar that started it all? While you can’t play it — it was never an operational game — you can see it. As of 2017, the original screen-used Zoltar machine could be found in the Garry Marshall Theatre, a nonprofit theater in Burbank, California. Garry was, of course, the brother of Big director Penny Marshall. The machine is located in the lobby, though it is not plugged in — but, as any Big fan knows, that hasn’t deterred Zoltar before.
1980s Top Summer Blockbusters
July 2019
Celebrate the biggest summer movies of the ’80s, when moviegoing morphed from mere entertainment to blockbuster events.
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