Cast member Gary even glittered up his Mickey glove for the premiere!

I had the opportunity to view “Captain EO,” on June 30th with other media outlets and an audience filled with very excited Disney cast members. I found it interesting that most of the media people present had seen “Captain EO” before but the vast majority of (young) cast members had never seen the show. I’ll be honest, I’m not a big Michael Jackson fan and I was skeptical as to how this 24 yr old show would be accepted today. The show was better than I remembered it. The storyline and characters were interesting, the film, which is the original 70mm print-cleaned up very well, the sound was great and the special effects were pretty cool.

If you have never seen “Captain EO” I recommend you check it out while it is playing at Epcot. If you saw it before…bring your kids and see it again. I can’t wait to bring my boys to see it because it is a once extinct Epcot attraction…if only they could bring back Horizons…hmmm. Anyway, I can’t wait to see it again and I hope you get to see it too!

If you have no idea what “Captain EO” is here is some information for you:

Twenty-four years ago, Jackson joined forces with Disney, producer George Lucas and director Francis Ford Coppola to create a groundbreaking 17-minute 3-D film experience starring Jackson as Captain EO performing two original songs, and featuring Academy Award®-winning actress Anjelica Huston, and a cast of merry, mythical space characters with dual personalities who undergo magical transformations to become Jackson’s electronic band in conquering the forces of darkness.

The colorful Disney-created characters include: Hooter, the little green elephant-like creature who sneezes wild musical notes through his flute-like trunk; Fuzzball, the orange-haired space monkey with butterfly wings; the Geex, a golden-haired, two-faced personality with two left feet, one right foot and two shaggy heads named Idy and Ody; Major Domo, whose mirrored silver costume becomes a complete set of drums; and Minor Domo with his sparkling purple torso that turns into an electronic synthesizer played by Hooter.

For all its technology, “Captain EO” is first and foremost a musical spectacular and a thrilling space-fantasy adventure.  The realism of the 3-D process once again makes it seem that Jackson dances right out of the screen into the theater.  While it’s not possible to replicate some of the special effects elements originally in the theater, it will boast a new 70mm print of the film and sound better than ever thanks to acoustical enhancements made to the theater since the film last played there.  The total effect is one of motion, color and high energy filled with Jackson’s musical brilliance and various illusions to create an exciting and realistic journey in space for the audience.

During the journey, Captain EO and his merry crew discover a colorless planet where they are confronted by the Supreme Leader (Huston) and her forces of darkness.  Using the power of music, dance and light to fill the planet and the theater with all the shades of the rainbow, the EO crew turns the black and white land into a magical world of color and happiness.

The production of “Captain EO” called on Hollywood’s finest choreographers, set designers, costume creators and special effects artists – all of them excited by the challenge of shooting this kind of imaginative film in three dimensions.

“Captain EO” is presented multiple times daily at the Imagination pavilion at Epcot.  It replaces “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience” which is planned to return at an undetermined date.

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Shortly after Michael’s death last June Disney fans started wondering if “Captain EO” would return as a tribute to Jackson and his long time relationship with Disney. Much to the dismay of east coast Disney fans the show opened Feb. 23, 2010, at Disneyland park in Anaheim, California leaving Walt Disney World guests wondering if they would ever get to see “Captain EO” again.

In case you don’t know about “Captain EO” it is a 17-minute space-fantasy 3-D film experience starring Michael Jackson that ran at Epcot from 1986-1994. It has somewhat of a cult following and can be seen, without the amazing 3-D effects, throughout YouTube. The video was directed by Francis Ford Coppola with George Lucas as Executive Producer. The musical score includes “We Are Here to Change the World” and “Another Part of Me.” “Captain EO is considered to be the first ever 4-D film experience, a genre which Disney has continued to perfect over the years.

There is no word as to how long this run of Captain EO will last but it will definitely bring some life back to the Imagination Pavilion area when it replaces “Honey I Shrunk the Audience” this summer.

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