Animatronic Grizzly Bear Character
Meet Karluk, the Realistic Grizzly Bear
A commanding realistic grizzly bear with expressive animatronic features for film, television, commercials, and live events.
Based in Toluca Lake, California, with a UK hub in Watford, London. Available for productions worldwide.
A Realistic Grizzly Bear Built for the Camera
Karluk is a commanding grizzly bear costume designed to deliver striking realism and versatility on screen and in person. Standing at 6’5″ (approximately 196 cm), Karluk fits naturally into a wide range of productions, from dramatic storytelling and cinematic realism to lighter, more playful moments.
With worldwide availability, Karluk can travel to almost any production, making him a flexible choice for projects across film, television, commercials, and live events.
His combination of realistic construction, actor-controlled movement, and additional radio-controlled facial features gives productions a practical character capable of subtle resting moments or more expressive action.
Responsive Practical Creature Effects
Advanced Animatronic Expression
Karluk features an advanced animatronic head designed to create lifelike expression. The actor controls the mouth for natural opening and closing, while placeable eyelids allow the character to appear asleep or at rest.
An external puppeteer can operate additional radio-controlled facial movements, including the ears, nose, and upper lip. These responsive features give directors more control over Karluk’s expression while the actor provides natural full-body movement.
Key Features
Detailed construction and responsive controls provide productions with a convincing, camera-ready grizzly bear character.
Physical Detail and Actor Control
- Standing approximately 6’5″ (196 cm) tall
- Realistically detailed claws and paw pads
- Advanced animatronic head for lifelike expression
- Actor-controlled mouth with natural opening and closing
Additional Facial Movement
- Placeable eyelids for sleeping or resting scenes
- Radio-controlled ear movement operated by an external puppeteer
- Radio-controlled nose and upper lip movement
- Available for productions worldwide
Professional Support Is Included
A standard Karluk booking includes the bear, one of our experienced actors and a dedicated on-set coordinator. This team supports actor welfare and smooth production logistics.
- An experienced actor who understands Karluk’s movement and on-camera presentation
- A dedicated on-set coordinator supporting production communication, actor welfare, safety, and logistics
- Preproduction planning support for creature action, blocking, and technical requirements when needed
By prior agreement, an experienced choreographer may act as Karluk. A TV Bears International coordinator remains on set as asset guardian throughout the booking, and the choreographer must follow our safety and character rules. This is a supervised production arrangement, not a costume rental.
One booking. One experienced team. One production-ready character.
Built for Modern Productions
Karluk’s lifelike design and responsive features make him a standout choice for film, television, marketing campaigns, and special appearances.
The animatronic head complements the actor’s physical movement, allowing expression to continue through close shots and wider action. Karluk can shift from a commanding cinematic presence to lighter character moments while maintaining a believable silhouette.
From dramatic storytelling to playful commercial work, Karluk is designed to integrate smoothly into professional production environments.
Karluk’s Photo Gallery
Explore production photographs, live-event appearances, and full-body references showing Karluk’s realistic finish and expressive character.
Video Highlights
Don’t Go Full Mama Bear! Mama Bear Legal Forms
When Mama Bear Legal Forms needed a memorable campaign, Karluk was ready to step in.
This two-day shoot in Salt Lake City packed in plenty of bear action, resulting in a full series of commercials later cut into 15- and 30-second spots for television and digital.
Fun fact: Karluk was completely unfazed by the 9°F exterior scenes, proving once again he is built for all kinds of productions.
When Our Grizzly Bear Met Emily Atack
This project took us deep into the forest for a hilarious shoot with Emily Atack on her hit comedy series The Emily Atack Show, filmed and broadcast in the UK in 2021. Our lifelike grizzly bear made his appearance in Season 2, Episode 1, “Holidays,” bringing plenty of laughs to the screen.
As fun as the scene was, we could not help but imagine what local walkers and joggers must have thought when they stumbled across a full-sized grizzly bear casually filming in the woods.
Hey Karluk! Hands off the Honey!
Our very first trip to Turkey brought us to the legendary city of Istanbul for a shoot that was as sweet as it sounds. Karluk starred in a commercial for Balparmak honey and was more than happy to lend a paw in making those little sachets look irresistible.
The glamorous Turkish spokeswoman may have towered over the crew, but Karluk stood tall and confident, unfazed by the spotlight. Even with a language barrier on set, our grizzly delivered playful acting that won everyone over.
Working with TERfilm on this project was a true pleasure, and the finished ad was later enhanced with a swarm of animated bees to complete the scene.
6 Commercials in 3 Days? No Problem for Karluk!
Our next adventure took us all the way to Ecuador, where we teamed up with Golden Bear Lubricants for an ambitious challenge: film six commercials in just three days.
It was a whirlwind shoot but also an absolute blast. From set to set, Karluk gave it his all, even stepping into some unusual roles, including piloting a speedboat. Not exactly a typical day in the life of a grizzly, but he pulled it off in style.
The Spanish tagline for the campaign translates to “Put the power of the bear in it”, and Karluk delivered every ounce of that bear power on screen.
Golden Bear Lubricants was a fantastic agency to work with, and we were lucky enough to be invited back for more collaborations in later years.
Selected Clients and Collaborators
Production Ready and Available Worldwide
Supported by the experienced team at TV Bears International, Karluk is available for productions around the world.
If you’re looking for a realistic grizzly bear costume, a professional bear creature suit, or practical creature effects for your next film, television production, commercial, or event, we’d love to hear about your project.
Because sometimes, you just need a bear.
Cast Karluk Today
Reach out to learn more about availability and how Karluk can be part of your production.