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''Captain EO'' is a 1986 American 3D
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
shown at
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
s from 1986 through 1998. The movie stars
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
, was written by
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the '' Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as c ...
, and directed by
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five ...
(who came up with the name "Captain EO" from the Greek, cf. Eos, the Greek goddess of dawn). The film was shown as part of an attraction with in-theater effects. The attraction returned to the Disney Parks in 2010 as a tribute after Jackson's death. The film was shown for the final time at
Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unre ...
on December 6, 2015. The film's executive producer was George Lucas. It was
choreographed Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
by
Jeffrey Hornaday Jeffrey Hornaday is an American choreographer and film director. He has choreographed films such as ''Flashdance'', ''Dick Tracy'', ''Captain Eo'' and ''A Chorus Line'' . Hornaday was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for his dire ...
and
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
, photographed by Peter Anderson, produced by
Rusty Lemorande Rusty Lemorande (born March 29, 1954, in Oconto Falls, Wisconsin) is an American screenwriter, director, actor and film producer who directed the 1989 film ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' based on the Jules Verne novel of the same name. ...
and written by Lemorande, Lucas and Coppola, from a story idea by the artists of
Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attra ...
. Lemorande also initially designed and created two of the creatures, and was an editor of the film. The score was written by
James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American composer. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements, and for his frequent use of motifs associated with Celtic music. Horner's first film score was in ...
and featured two songs ("We Are Here to Change the World" and " Another Part of Me"), both written and performed by Michael Jackson. Cinematographer
Vittorio Storaro Vittorio Storaro, A.S.C., A.I.C. (born 24 June 1940) is an Italian cinematographer widely recognized as one of the best and most influential in cinema history, for his work on numerous classic films including '' The Conformist,'' '' Apocalypse No ...
was the lighting director during much of the principal photography. ''Captain EO'' is regarded as one of the first "4D" films (4D being the name given to a 3D film that incorporates in-theater effects, such as lasers, smoke, etc., synchronized to the film).


Plot

The film tells the story of Captain EO and the ragtag crew of his spaceship on a mission to deliver a gift to "The Supreme Leader", who lives on a world of rotting, twisted metal and steaming vents. Captain EO's alien crew consists of his small flying sidekick Fuzzball, the double-headed navigator and pilot Geek (Idy and Ody), robotic security officer Major Domo, a small robot, Minor Domo (who fits like a module into Major Domo), and the clumsy elephant-like shipmate Hooter, who always manages to upset the crew's missions. Upon arriving on the planet, the crew is captured by the henchmen of the Supreme Leader, and brought before her. She sentences the crew to be turned into trash cans, and Captain EO to 100 years of torture in her deepest dungeon. Before being sent away, Captain EO tells the Supreme Leader that he sees the beauty hidden within her, and that he brings her the key to unlock it: his song, "We Are Here to Change the World". The two robot members of the crew transform into musical instruments, and the crew members begin to play the various instruments. As Hooter runs toward his instrument, he trips over EO's cape and breaks it, stopping the music. The spell broken, the Supreme Leader orders her guards to capture Captain EO and his crew. Hooter manages to repair his instrument and sends out a blast of music, providing EO with the power to throw off the guards. He uses his power to transform the dark hulking guards into agile dancers who fall into step behind him for a dance number, which leads into the song, "We Are Here to Change the World". The Supreme Leader unleashes her Whip Warriors, two cybernetic defenders each with a whip and shield that can deflect EO's power. The others all run away, leaving Captain EO to fight the Whip Warriors alone. EO is trapped by a closing gate and prepares for a last stand as both the whip warriors draw their whips back for a final blow. Fuzzball drops his instrument and speedily flies over to tie the two whips together, causing the Whip Warriors to be thrown off balance and giving EO an opportunity to transform them as well. With no further obstacles, EO uses his power to transform the remaining four henchmen (not yet unleashed) and they, the transformed whip warriors and the other dancers, press forward in dance. Captain EO then flies up to the Supreme Leader and transforms her into a beautiful woman, her lair into a peaceful Greek temple, and the planet into a paradise. A celebration breaks out to "Another Part of Me", as Captain EO and his crew triumphantly exit and fly off into space, ending the film.


Cast


Production

''Captain EO'' made full use of its 3D effects. The action on the screen extended into the audience, including asteroids, lasers, laser impacts, smoke effects, and starfields that filled the theater. These effects resulted in the seventeen-minute film costing an estimated $30 million to produce. At the time, it was the most expensive film ever produced on a per-minute basis, averaging out at $1.76 million per minute. The 2010 version did not include the in-theater laser and starfield effects. It did utilize hydraulics previously used for ''
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! ''Honey, I Shrunk the Audience'' (known as ''MicroAdventure!'' in Tokyo Disneyland) was a 4D film spin-off of the ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' film series that was shown at several Disney theme parks. The audience wore 3D glasses, and the gimba ...
'' to make the seats shake along with Captain EO's spaceship, as well as LED flood-lighting, which was new to the theater. The hydraulics were also used for the bass-heavy musical numbers, and the seats bounced to the beat of Jackson's song. ''Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!s hidden water sprayers were employed when Hooter sneezed, and that attraction's leg ticklers were also reused for the Supreme Leader's Whip Warriors. ''Captain EO'' began filming on July 15, 1985.


Music

The show's orchestral score was composed by
James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American composer. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements, and for his frequent use of motifs associated with Celtic music. Horner's first film score was in ...
, with additional score composed and performed by Tim Truman, while the area and pre-show music was written by Richard Bellis. Two new songs appeared in the film: the first, "
We Are Here to Change the World In Modern English, ''we'' is a plural, first-person pronoun. Morphology In Standard Modern English, ''we'' has six distinct shapes for five word forms: * ''we'': the nominative (subjective) form * ''us'' and ': the accusative (objective; ...
", was not officially released until 2004 as part of '' Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection'', but this version was a shorter edit of the full-length song; the second was an early mix of " Another Part of Me", which later appeared on Jackson's 1987 album '' Bad'' in remixed form and was subsequently released as a single.
Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...
/ R&B singer Deniece Williams covered "We Are Here to Change the World" on her ''As Good As It Gets'' album in 1988.


Merchandising

Concurrent with the opening of the attraction, a behind-the-scenes documentary special titled ''Captain EO: Backstage'' was produced for television by MKD Productions. The piece was directed by Muffett Kaufman and was hosted by
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
. It featured interviews with the cast, writers and director. The story was adapted with art by
Tom Yeates Thomas Yeates (born January 19, 1955) is an American comic strip and comic book artist best known for illustrating the comic strips ''Prince Valiant'' and ''Zorro'' and for working on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Career Thomas Ye ...
for the
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
''
Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three c ...
3D Special'' No. 18 and was issued in two formats: regular sized, for distribution to the national network of comic book stores; and
tabloid Tabloid may refer to: * Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism * Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size ** Chinese tabloid * Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size * Sopwith Tabloid The Sopwith Tabloid an ...
sized, sold at Disneyland as a souvenir. Toys available included plush versions of Idey and Ody, Hooter, and the "Fuzzball" character. Other merchandise included trading cards, pins, keychains, a T-shirt of the film's logo, and a glow-in-the-dark T-shirt with the same three-color pattern painted across it that Captain EO wore in the film.


Reception and legacy

In 1996, several years after the attraction originally opened, ''Captain EO'' made its only television appearance on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, albeit in a down-converted 2-D version. It has not aired again since, nor has it officially been issued on home video, although bootleg videos exist. After the
death of Michael Jackson On June 25, 2009, American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication at his home on North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. His physician, Conrad Murray, said th ...
on June 25, 2009, ''Captain EO'' regained popularity on the Internet. For several years, a small group of fans had petitioned Disney to bring back the attraction and Jackson's death had brought this campaign to a peak. Soon afterward, Disney officials were seen in Disneyland at the Magic Eye Theater and reportedly held a private screening of ''Captain EO'' to determine if it could be shown again. On September 10, Disney CEO
Bob Iger Robert Allen Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously served as the President of ABC Television between 1994 and 1995 and the President and C ...
said, "There aren't plans to bring back ''Captain EO'' at this time ... We are looking at it. It's the kind of thing that, if we did it, would get a fair amount of attention and we'd want to make sure we do it right." On December 18, 2009, Disney announced that ''Captain EO'' would return to Tomorrowland at Disneyland, beginning in February 2010. Social and Print Media Manager Heather Hust Rivera from Disneyland Resort confirmed this on the DisneyParks Blog and stated that ''
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! ''Honey, I Shrunk the Audience'' (known as ''MicroAdventure!'' in Tokyo Disneyland) was a 4D film spin-off of the ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' film series that was shown at several Disney theme parks. The audience wore 3D glasses, and the gimba ...
'' would be closing. That attraction hosted its final public showing in the Magic Eye Theater at midnight on January 4, 2010, to make way for ''Captain EOs return. The attraction reopened at Disneyland on February 23, 2010 and subsequently returned to
Discoveryland Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions ...
at
Disneyland Park (Paris) Disneyland Park, originally Euro Disneyland Park, is a theme park found at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France. The park opened on 12 April 1992 as the first of the two parks built at the resort. Designed and built by Walt Disney I ...
on June 12, 2010, to
Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unre ...
at Walt Disney World on July 2, and to
Tokyo Disneyland (local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to ...
on July 1. At Epcot, the film had a "soft opening" (actual opening to the public prior to the official opening) on June 30, two days prior to its official reopening. The attraction's return was billed as "''Captain EO'' Tribute" to distinguish the presentation of the film from its original 1986–1997 run. The new presentation made use of existing in-theater special effects held over from ''Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!'', but many of the original "4-D" effects—such as the enormous fiber-optic "starfield" wall, along with smoke and lasers—had been removed from the building at the show's first closing and were not returned for the revived presentation. The removed special effects from the original presentation are also missing in the Epcot, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris revivals that followed. On December 19, 2013, Tokyo Disneyland announced it would be closing ''Captain EO'' on June 30, 2014, to make way for ''
Stitch Encounter Stitch Encounter is an interactive show located in Walt Disney Studios Park (under the name Stitch Live!), and in Tomorrowland at Tokyo Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland Park. The first edition of the show at Hong Kong Disneyland was closed on M ...
'' in spring 2015. Beginning July 4, 2014, the Magic Eye Theater at Disneyland was used to present a sneak peek of Marvel Studios' ''
Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...
'' originally with the expectation that ''Captain EO'' would return to the venue at a later date. Since then, the theater space was used for sneak previews of forthcoming films including '' Big Hero 6'' and ''
Tomorrowland Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions t ...
'' with the venue itself later renamed the Tomorrowland Theater. The Tomorrowland Theater at Disneyland would also be used to present scenes from the ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...
'' films as part of the park's "Season of the Force" event. On November 13, 2015, Disney announced that ''Captain EO'' would close at Epcot on December 6, 2015, to make way for a "Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival".


Logo

The Captain EO logo is similar to that of British software house Electric Dreams Software.''
CRASH Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch ...
'' issue 60 (January 1989, page 59) highlights the comparison; a link to the archived page can be found on World of Spectrum'
Electric Dreams
listing.


See also

*
List of Epcot attractions Epcot is a theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort. The term "attractions" is used by Disney as a catch-all term for rides, shows, and exhibits. World Celebration World Celebration attractions * Spaceship Earth is an eighteen-story- ...
*
List of 3D films These are lists of 3D films: * List of 3D films (2005–present) * List of 3D films (1914–2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:3D films Lists of films by technology ...
*
List of former Disneyland attractions Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California conceived by Walt Disney. This is a list of attractions – rides, shows, shops and parades – that have appeared at the park but have permanently closed. Character meets and atmosphere entertainm ...
* List of Tokyo Disneyland attractions *
List of most expensive films Due to the secretive nature of Hollywood accounting, it is not clear which film is the most expensive film ever made. '' Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' officially holds the record with a net budget of $378.5 million (although it i ...
* 2014 in amusement parks


Notes


References


External links

* *
''Captain EO'' at WDWHistory.com

The Untold Story of Captain EO

More Untold Tales of Captain EO

Disneyland: Captain EO

Walt Disney World's Epcot: Captain EO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Captain Eo Amusement rides introduced in 1986 Amusement rides introduced in 1987 Amusement rides introduced in 1992 Amusement rides introduced in 2010 Amusement rides that closed in 1994 Amusement rides that closed in 1996 Amusement rides that closed in 1997 Amusement rides that closed in 1998 Amusement rides that closed in 2014 Amusement rides that closed in 2015 Michael Jackson 1986 films 1986 3D films 1980s musical films 1980s science fiction films Films directed by Francis Ford Coppola Films with screenplays by George Lucas Films scored by James Horner Puppet films Former Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Walt Disney Parks and Resorts films Disneyland Disneyland Park (Paris) Epcot Future World (Epcot) 1986 short films Tokyo Disneyland Tomorrowland Films about witchcraft Films set on fictional planets 3D short films American science fiction short films American space adventure films American films with live action and animation Imagination! (Epcot pavilion) 4D films Lucasfilm films Space in amusement parks 1980s English-language films 1980s American films