Special Effects Stage (known as ''Special Effects Stages'' from 2002 to 2010, ''Special Effects Stage'' from 2010 to 2015, and ''Special Effects Show'' from 2016 to 2023) was an attraction at

Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and Amusement park, theme park located in Universal City, California, near Hollywood, Los Angeles. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. Its official marketin ...

. Originally located in the park's Lower Lot area, it was relocated to the Upper Lot’s Castle Theater to make way for Transformers: The Ride 3D. The attraction opened in this second and final location on June 26, 2010. The show permanently closed on January 8, 2023 alongside Universal's Animal Actors, and both will be replaced by ''Fast & Furious'': Hollywood Drift. The attraction took guests through demonstrations of how movie special effects are created, including

Motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...

Chroma key Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a Visual effects, visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two or more images or video streams together based on colour hues (colorfulness, chroma range). The techniq ...

, and

Stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

techniques. It included sections with park guest participation, and lifted elements from Universal's Horror Make-Up Show at

Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, that opened on June 7, 1990. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal, it features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows that are primarily themed to movies, television, and ...

. The live attraction had two hosts: an older, practical effects guru and a younger, digital effects artist.

Films featured

The attraction's structure and the films showcased within it changed over time. The show's first and final performances consisted of:

First performance (January 2002)

* Stage 1 (The Virtual Studio):

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...

The Mummy Returns ''The Mummy Returns'' is a 2001 American fantasy action-adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers. It is the sequel to the 1999 film ''The Mummy'', and the second in ''The Mummy'' film series. Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Jo ...

Gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

* Stage 2 (The Creature Factory): Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,

The Nutty Professor The Nutty Professor may refer to: * ''The Nutty Professor'' (1963 film), directed by and starring Jerry Lewis * ''The Nutty Professor'' (1996 film), directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Eddie Murphy ** ''The Nutty Professor'' (soundtrack), sound ...

The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places * Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States * Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in P ...

, Child's Play,

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...

* Stage 3 (Sound Stage): U-571,

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...

, Scorpion King

Final performance (January 8, 2023)

Jurassic World ''Jurassic World'' is a 2015 American science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Derek Connolly from a story by Jaffa and Silver. It is the first installment in the ...

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film, science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott Taylor, Elliott, a boy w ...

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

, Minions,

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985 ...

, Ted,

The Secret Life of Pets ''The Secret Life of Pets'' is a 2016 American animated comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment, and distributed by Universal. It was directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Yarrow Cheney, and produced by Chr ...

, Jaws,

Sing Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo program, Apollo space program and would have been the third Moon landing. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the landing was abort ...

The Fast and the Furious ''Fast & Furious'', also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'', is an American action media franchise centered on a series of films revolving around street racing, heists, and spies. The franchise also includes short films, a television se ...

, The Bourne Identity,

Identity Thief ''Identity Thief'' is a 2013 American road comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, written by Craig Mazin from a story by Mazin and Jerry Eeten. It stars Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, Tip 'T.I.' Harris, Genesis Rodrigu ...

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

, Child's Play

History

Before this show's opening in 2002, various other special effect-centric shows took place in the park's lower-lot area from the 1970s to 1990s, including: * The Six Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman Testing Center * Special Effects Stage/2010 Special Effects Stage * The World of Cinemagic (The Magic of Hitchcock, Back to the Future Special Effects Stage, and Harry and the Hendersons Sound Effects Show)
Some of these shows were included within the park's Backlot Tour, and some were stand-alone attractions.

References

{{Former attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood Amusement park attractions introduced in 2010 Amusement park attractions that closed in 2023 Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Destinations & Experiences attractions by name 2010 establishments in California 2023 disestablishments in California

Films featured

First performance (January 2002)

Final performance (January 8, 2023)

History

See also

References