BIG FUR: Building Big Foot

Do you believe in Bigfoot? Whether or not the answer is yes, “the truth (and yes- I am quoting X-Files) is out there” even if we don’t know for sure. There are many who believe in the furred creature, and I’m always curious to hear other’s opinions and potential evidence. With the film, Big Fur, it isn’t so much about convincing you of the validity of the upright Ape-looking being, but more about the man behind crafting a visual representation; the journey of building Sasquatch.

There’s a lot packed into this documentary, much more than initially meets the Sasquatch eye. Dan Wayne’s film follows experienced taxidermist Ken Walker as he walks us through the process (based on first-hand accounts and the classic Patterson–Gimlin film) of making Bigfoot. That creation, along with the fascinating life of the artist, the man behind the building of “Patty”, Ken Walker, is the backbone of the movie.

How does one do this? What does that look like? The answer is something you have to truly see. It is born from research, personal accounts, and lots of times studying the classic video we’ve undoubtedly all seen a still from. Who better to do it than a taxidermist? Someone who has studied wildlife in its various forms, and who understands the nuances of each species.

With a lot of history and the practice and art of taxidermy, married with Ken Walker’s visual creation of Big Foot, Big Fur is entertaining stuff. There is a lot of love and patience put into what he does, and his talent is visibly obvious. At times his process lulls you, transfixed by the details put in. This collaboration between Walker and Wayne provides a rare and poetic look at the life of a taxidermist, the commitment of his ambition, as well as touching on the enigma of this mythical being. This isn’t a lifestyle or profession that many of us are familiar with, let alone riveted by, but I assure you- as you watch this film unfold, you’ll find a new appreciation, and be absolutely absorbed by the tale.

Crafting A Mystery

His curiosity and investigation regarding Sasquatch make it even easier to entertain what’s being shown. Interesting music by Brad Cox and stylistic choices by director Dan Wayne (including a claymation scene) periodically inject vitality into the film, creating a very original tone. Walker is quite enthralling on his own though, and for some, he will strip your preconceptions (and misconceptions) about taxidermy down, to show the beauty in the intricacies. Along with being a very talented and meticulous visual artist, Ken Walker is also a talented singer. There are a lot of organic moments of discovery with Walker, as we get to know him more, and we understand his reasoning behind this endeavor. His own interest in the process is contagious, wide-eyed, and careful, he takes his craft very seriously, even when he’s finding plenty of time for levity. Wayne catches it all expertly, and we see how this experience affects Walker’s personal life too. This task is a big -no pun intended- undertaking.

With moments of deep insight and interesting theories, by the end, Big Fur has crafted something rather unique (and I don’t just mean Ken’s eight-foot-tall, “Patty” which I was lucky enough to see in person). This is a quirky little piece that feels authentic in its journey, even for the skeptics out there. Big Fur is a story of man as much as it is myth, and it’s a fascinating one, surely not to be missed.

When I first screened the film at the Slamdance 2020 Festival, I  was able to sit in on an interview with director Dan Wayne and star Ken Walker conducted by the ISA’s Scott Markus, here’s a bit of what was discussed:

When talking about the topic and presentation of the idea, Director Dan Wayne said he was interested in taxidermy to start. ”I was looking for something to get me away from the computer that was a little more old school, traditional, where I could use my hands. I was attracted to that combination of art and craft and science that is required.” He felt that there was something here, a story to tell. “I was fascinated by it. I thought, there’s a great documentary here somewhere and I knew it would be character-driven because these guys were real characters.”

Ken’s work specifically caught his eye. “Ken is kind of known as a mammal taxidermist, but he’s really known for his recreations. Which are very specific and they require a lot of research and creativity. It involves and building another animal, like an extinct or injured animal out of other animal hides.” When mentioning how the specificity of the documentary came up, he further discussed his conversations with Ken. “I knew he had a thing about Bigfoot, but I didn’t know how obsessed he was with it. I sent him a message and he called me back, immediately started talking about Bigfoot and then said he was going to build one. And I thought: that’s the movie.”

Ken mentions the start of the collaboration. “In the very beginning, Dan was kind of vague, as he wanted to do a documentary about someone in the taxidermy industry. Then we got into the whole conversation about it. Then I talked about the investigations I had been doing in the hunting community with people who had seen Sasquatches. Everyone that comes into my shop gets the third degree, then they send their friends in. I ended up getting so many amazing accounts from people and I started going out into the field and investigating sightings and things like that.”

Ken also mentions how he crafted his recreation of Bigfoot, and how real the classic video is: “I looked at the Patterson film. And, to a trained eye, you only have to look at it for a few seconds to realize it’s not fake. All of the limb ratios are outside of human parameters, all of them. If you have a trained eye like I do, you see this right away. And I’m like… I have a reference to build something. I don’t like building anything without some kind of reference or really good investigation. So, I decided to build the Patterson creature solely what was on that film. I didn’t really embellish anything I just built what had been recorded.”

The two also talked about making the film in a way that made everyone comfortable and telling Ken’s story seriously. Ken mentioned, “I have zero fear of ridicule. None whatsoever. I can make fun of me better than anyone. That made things easy.”

Dan went on further: “It is tricky, it’s something I thought about very hard through the whole course of editing because, I knew pretty quickly that it was going to be a comedy, a lot of it borders on the absurd. And Ken is funny! It is one of the reasons I wanted to make a movie about him. In the film, you kind of walk that fine line.” Dan also mentioned, when asked about some of the creative choices, wanting to bring other, collaborative elements in: “It which it infinitely more interesting to me than just watching the same thing over and over. The claymation was a natural thing because that’s what Ken used to do. We put that intentionally, wanted in the beginning, to let people know “It’s okay to laugh, this is a funny story.”

He detailed the musical collaborations and ways he shot certain sequences. “Watching him do his work, always felt like a dance to me. Like he’s dancing with this Sasquatch. It seemed natural to me, it’s a rhythm.”

Ken felt comfortable with Dan, “It’s not my movie, it’s about me. I had high hopes and total faith that Dan was going to make an honest movie. There was a lot in there that could have been used out of context that could have even been damaging to people. It’s a very, very honest movie. If I just stepped out of myself and watched it that way I found it extremely entertaining.” When asked about how it’s been seeing it Slamdance, Ken felt it was an entirely different experience. “With the audience, I can feel the empathy in the room and it hits me a lot harder. I get caught up and connect with the audience.”

You can check out the ISA video made by Scott Markus, here.

Big Fur is currently available on VOD, for more information click here. 

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