When Mortal Kombat began the journey from sprites to silver screen, production faced a slew of challenges at every conceivable level. As documented by the book Generation Xbox: How Video Games Invaded Hollywood, the obstacles began with the mere idea of a Mortal Kombat movie [full story]. Once greenlit; the realization of iconic, fantastical creatures and abilities from the games would push the makers to devise practical solutions.

The vision of a towering, four-armed man-dragon is a memory from the arcades few will forget. For the 1992 video game, Goro was a sub-boss character created using digitized stop-motion animation, and a highly detailed, 12 inch clay maquette.

Bringing the towering menace of the Shokan Prince to theatres was a task for Amalgamated Dynamics Inc -- an Academy Award winning effects studio who has created animatronics and effects for movies like; Alien 3, Jumanji, Starship Troopers, Spider-man and many more.

As documented in a newly released demo featurette from the studio [above], the process of designing a real-time animatronic Goro was an extensive one. Featured in the video are major stages in the creation of the hero creature, from outer sculpting, to internal musculature and radio controlled animatronics.

Don't lose your head, bud. Geez!

The cumbersome nature of such a tall figure must have been limiting, but the featurette shows off the staggering amount of maneuverability and animation achieved with electronics and suits -- perhaps beyond what was even captured by the cinematic release. Designed to act, emote and interact in real-time, Goro existed in many forms, also created as a full puppet for the film's climactic falling sequence.

As reported in 2011; NetherRealm Studios acquired one of the films Goro heads [pictured above], now proudly displayed with a gallery of other props from the MK canon in the Chicago headquarters.

This year; the Mortal Kombat series celebrates twenty years of existence! Share your nostalgia with the MKOmmunity in our Year of the Dragon superthread. Discuss more from the movies in the dedicated Media & Merchandise forum.