The Chiodo Brothers — Stephen, Charles, and Edward Chiodo — are three siblings from the Bronx, New York, who work together as practical special effects creators. Trained as hands-on artists, they are best known for imaginative creature and puppet work and for designing full costumes and miniatures for film.
Notable projects
The trio wrote and produced the cult movie Killer Klowns from Outer Space, which established their reputation for combining horror and comedy with elaborate physical effects. In addition to that film, they have built and operated puppets and other practical effects for a variety of genre pictures, including titles such as Critters, Ernest Scared Stupid, and Team America: World Police. Their work often involved hand-crafted puppets and creature suits as well as animatronics and prosthetic makeup.
- Feature film puppet and creature work, examples above
- Detailed miniature and model dioramas — notably the scenes seen in the 2010 film Dinner for Schmucks
- Various commercial and television effects projects produced through their production company
Studio work and animation
The brothers run a production studio, credited on-screen under the Chiodo family name, and that studio has contributed short stop-motion and clay animation sequences to television. Among these are several segments created for the long-running animated series The Simpsons, where their tactile approach to animation provided a distinctive visual contrast to the series' usual style.
Legacy
The Chiodos have influenced other artists and performers; the American post-hardcore band Chiodos — which originally performed under the name The Chiodos Bros — took its name as a tribute to the brothers' work and cult status among genre fans.