MEMORIES:
Mrs_Pookie remembers...I miss this show terribly! I wish Disney would bring it back! More »
Posted on 06/06/08
PHOTOS:
What do you get when you mix innovative 3-D technology with two giants of the movie making industry (Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas,) the self-proclaimed King of Pop (Michael Jackson,) a galactic theme and a healthy dose of Disney Magic? Captain EO, of course!
Captain EO premiered at Epcot’s Imagination Pavilion on September 12, 1986. Six days later, the film made its debut at Disneyland, taking up residence in Tomorrowland’s Magic Eye Theater. For this special occasion, Disneyland remained open for a whopping 36 hours straight, bringing out a wild and crazy mix of Disney and Michael Jackson fans, ready to celebrate around the clock. And for good reason - Captain EO was an innovative and unforgettable attraction.
So, what was the Captain EO experience like? Let’s start from the beginning. Guests, having entered through the turnstiles, proceeded to a pre-show area, waiting eagerly for the doors of the theater to open. The clock ticked slowly, and just as you began to lose patience, the doors magically swung open unassisted. Upon entry to the main show building, each guest was handed a pair of polarized 3-D glasses by a friendly Disney cast member and directed towards the movie theater-styled seats. As the theater darkened and the show began, glasses were donned, anticipation levels rose, and magic ensued.
As the story begins, Captain EO (played by the one-and-only Michael Jackson) embarks on a mission to bring a special gift to the evil (and cranky) Supreme Leader. But before he can land on his own, he and his crew are captured and brought before the ominous Borg-like queen. She descends creepily, in all her dark, cybernetic and spider-like glory. And she isn’t there to make nice; she sentences the captain and crew to 100 years of torture. Now, EO, a responsible captain no doubt, is willing to do the time… but not without first giving the Supreme Leader her gift.
At the presentation of said gift, funky, bass-slapping music erupts from all directions of the theater, providing an aural backdrop for an assortment of laser and smoke effects that accentuate an old-fashioned battle between good and evil. Captain EO launches into song and dance, and mysterious transformations begin to take place for all involved. The attacking troops go from shades of gray to bright warm splashes of gold, orange and red. Emboldened by the success of these transformations, Captain EO rips open his white jacket to reveal the brightest rainbow the galaxy (and the audience, for that matter) has ever seen. This act of unabashed rainbow-blasting completely transforms the Supreme Leader, morphing her into the beautiful queen (played by the equally beautiful Angelica Houston) that she was meant to be.
The moral of the story? Never underestimate the power of music. Or the power of dance. Or the power of “the gloved one,” for that matter. As Michael sings to us all: “We are here to change the world!” And if Michael says it (or sings it), it must be true.
The 17-minute Captain EO show cost an unheard-of million dollars per minute to produce. Taking inflation into consideration, the cost of Captain EO would be almost 31 million today, making it the most expensive, per minute, ever to be produced. But to a kid in the 80s, the awesome effects were worth every penny—and quite enough to satisfy the grown-ups in the audience, too.
Captain EO quietly faded away from Epcot in 1994, and from Disneyland in 1998, replaced by another 3-D spectacular, Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Though it’s been over a decade since visitors experienced the magic of Captain EO, memories of reaching out into the vast nothingness persist. Trying desperately to touch a non-existent furry object as it floats just above your head and slightly out of reach is something you just don’t easily forget.
