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Kelly Clarkson’s got the world singing puppets’ praises.
Thanks to the American Idol alum’s viral fascination with “Molly,” a now $15 million singing robo-bird at the Art of Play shop in Brooklyn, wannabe tastemakers from coast to coast are going cuckoo for animatronics and automatons, with some spending upwards of $5,000 for the mechanical must-haves.
Clarkson, 44, angrily lent her celebrity to the gadgets this week, blasting the owners of the specialty store on Atlantic Avenue for treating her like “Julia Roberts’ character in ‘Pretty Woman’,” by refusing to sell Molly, which was allegedly perched next to a $15,000 price tag. (Art of Play’s co-owner, Adam Rubin, has since reportedly increased its price by 1000%).
The A-list ruckus ignited the internet’s interest in animatronics — a modern evolution of automatons that combines mechanics with electronics, audio playback, and fluid-driven systems like pneumatics or hydraulics.
The cool contraptions have amassed more than a combined 630,000 posts across social media, making it the hottest science of the season.
From Hollywood-level home decor to haute runway shows and hip-hop music videos, the realistic masterworks are on the rise amid Gen Z’s analog obsession.
The movement, helmed by 20-somethings and younger, is a push away from anxiety-inducing artificial intelligence and hyper-digitized devices, toward less fussy commodities like retro cameras and Y2K-era flip phones.
Even millennials, like Clarkson, are getting into the old swing of things, resurrecting trends and trinkets from decades past for a respite from newfangled, attention-sucking tech.
Unlike the futuristic human facsimiles equipped with AI and robotics engineering, animatronics are pre-programmed mechanical contraptions, often presented as anthropomorphized animals or human caricatures — and built for entertainment rather than world domination. Think the rockin’ robotic animal puppets at fun zones like Chuck E. Cheese or the robo-buccaneers on the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride at Disneyland.
Maia Hirsch, a mechanical engineer and robotics PhD student in New York, believes celebrities and everyday folks alike are mesmerized by the uncanny blend of art and engineering.
“Animatronics is essentially the art of bringing objects to life through mechanical and electronic systems,” Hirsch, 25, told The Post.
Her latest invention, an animatronic eye brooch controlled by hand gestures, debuted on influencer Kevin Cahill’s lapel at Carolina Herrera’s spring/summer 2027 show during New York Fashion Week last month.
To bring the brooch to life, Hirsch incorporated a computerized camera that uses hand-tracking technology, which prompts the eye to follow movement.
Footage of the futuristic finery scored over 4 million video views online, along with high marks from digital audiences lionizing the piece as “iconic.”
Hirsch is far from the only Gen Z making mainstream mechanical moves.
Jack Turner, 23, who’s worked as an animatronics restoration expert since age 11 — and the mastermind behind the viral social media account Animatronics Warehouse — tells The Post his latest creation, an animatronic fox, is now the funky featured star in rapper Future’s new “Build A B- -ch” music video.
But even for the VIP likes of the Grammy winner, getting one’s hands on the humanlike hardware often doesn’t come cheap, says Turner.
“Price really depends on the character, its condition, and where it came from,” Turner said. “But you’re looking at anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.”
The Missouri native, whose flame for the machinery was first ignited by the homicidal animatronics in the video game “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” says his characters come alive with specialized motors and cylinders, enabling them to make realistic, mesmeric moves that appeal to celebs on par with Future and Clarkson.
“Animatronics are a powerful way to tell stories,” said Turner. “Especially in this AI age, people are craving older, physical technology.”
“Vinyl is back, film cameras are back, and people want things they can actually experience in person,” he noted.
Jo Cunningham, a Brooklyn-born sculptress who specializes in animatronics, agrees.
The 29-year-old, from Crown Heights, tells The Post that her robo-brainchild, a wrinkly geezer named Cecil, in his 60s, is the main attraction of her traveling roadside art show, “The Freak Family.”
Cecil, made with motors, an internal speaker and in papier-mâche, beckons passersby inside Cunningham’s small 1950s trailer — home to a hand-sculpted gorilla, alien and their love child — saying, “‘Come see this mysterious alien and this frightful gorilla and the monster that they created together.’”
To get the oldtimer’s motors going, Cunningham, who co-constructed the cigar-smoking, beer-can clutching bot with art partner Spenser Little, plugs him into the trailer, powering up his mouth and limb functions — all of which come in handy when spectators pose for pictures with Cecil or want to give him a lap dance.
“Everyone loves Cecil. People are turned off by these clunky AI robots we’re seeing nowadays,” said Cunningham. “They’re craving something tangible and welcoming — something that won’t end up taking our jobs and destroying the world.”
Still, she’ll happily part ways with her popular partner if the price is right.
“If Kelly Clarkson would be willing to pay about a couple 100-grand [for Cecil], she can reach out to me on Instagram,” she laughed.
“If her wanting that animatronic bird leads to an animatronics renaissance in 2027, that would be great.
