John Criswelll is a machinist and current animatronic supervisor for Jim Henson's Creature Shop, having been with the company since 1991. Dinosaurs was one of his first major projects (and he was interviewed in the featurette "Pre-Hysterical Times: The Making of Dinosaurs" included in the seasons 1-2 DVD set). In 2014, he was a featured mentor on the reality series Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge.
Prior to joining Henson, Criswell had worked doing mechanical or make-up effects on a variety of films, including Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Spaced Invaders, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, and Critters.
Henson/Creature Shop credits[]
- Dinosaurs - Animatronics/puppets (machinist)
- Cats & Dogs - Lead mechanic (dogs)
- The Country Bears - Animatronics designer
- The Producers - Pigeon puppet technician
- Tinseltown - Puppet builder
- Where the Wild Things Are - Puppeteer, mechanical supervisor
- Casa de Mi Padre - Puppeteer
- Turkey Hollow - Lead animatronics engineer
- The Happytime Murders - Animatronics supervisor