Captain EO
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Captain EO | |
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering |
| Attraction type | 3-D film with special effects |
| Theme | Space opera |
| Music | Written by James Horner |
| Starring | Michael Jackson, Anjelica Huston, Dick Shawn |
| Director | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Executive producer | George Lucas |
| Photographer | Vittorio Storaro |
| Writer and producer | Rusty Lemorande |
| Replaced | Magic Journeys |
| Replaced by | Honey, I Shrunk the Audience |
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| Epcot | |
| Opening date | September 12, 1986 |
| Closing date | July 6, 1994 |
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| Disneyland | |
| Opening date | September 18, 1986 |
| Closing date | April 7, 1997 |
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| Tokyo Disneyland | |
| Opening date | March 20, 1987 |
| Closing date | September, 1996 |
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| Disneyland Park (Paris) | |
| Opening date | April 12, 1992 |
| Closing date | August 17, 1998 |
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Captain EO (alternately, Captain Eo) is a 3-D film formerly shown at Disney theme parks.
The film stars Michael Jackson. It was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, executive-produced by George Lucas, choreographed by Jeffrey Hornaday, photographed by Vittorio Storaro, produced by Rusty Lemorande, and written by Lemorande, Lucas and Coppola. The score was written by James Horner, and featured two songs ("We Are Here to Change the World" and "Another Part of Me") by Michael Jackson. The Supreme Leader was played by Anjelica Huston.
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[edit] The story
The movie tells the story of Captain EO and the ragtag crew of his spaceship on a mission to deliver a gift to a wicked alien queen, the Supreme Leader, on her home 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 Idee and Odee, 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 (Tony Cox) who always manages to blunder the crew's missions.
Upon arriving on the planet, the crew is captured and sentenced to be tortured. Before being sent away, EO tells the Queen that he sees the beauty hidden within her, and that he brings her the key to unlock it: his song.
The two robot members of the crew transform into music 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 his instrument, stopping the music. The spell broken, the Queen 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. As EO presses forward toward the Supreme Leader she 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 is preparing 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 giving EO an opportunity to transform them as well. With no further obstacles, EO uses his power to transform the Queen into a beautiful woman, her lair into a peaceful Greek temple and the planet into a verdant paradise.
A celebration breaks out as EO and his crew triumphantly exit and fly off into space.
[edit] Special effects
Captain EO made full use of its 3-D effects. The action on the screen extended into the audience, including lasers, laser impacts, smoke effects, and starfields that filled the theater. These effects resulted in the seventeen-minute film costing an estimated $17 to $30 million dollars to produce. At the time it was the most expensive film ever produced on a per-minute basis.[citation needed]
[edit] Merchandising
The story was adapted in the comic book Eclipse 3-D Special #18.
[edit] Music
Two new songs appeared in the film. The first, "Another Part of Me", later appeared on Jackson's hugely successful Bad album.
"We Are Here To Change The World", which was not officially released until 2004 as part of Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection. Soul/R&B singer Deniece Williams covered the song on her As Good As It Gets album (1988).[1]
[edit] References in Pop Culture
- In the Family Guy episode, The Courtship of Stewie's Father Peter and Stewie watch the film. A boy comments, "Wow! It looks like Michael Jackson's really coming at me!", and Michael Jackson runs out of the screen and grabs him, a reference to his infamous trial. There is an error with location, as it appears that Peter and Stewie are at the Magic Kingdom, while Captain EO was shown at EPCOT, another park in the Walt Disney World Resort. However it was shown at the Magic Kingdom-style parks in California, Paris, and Tokyo.
[edit] See also
- Epcot attraction and entertainment history
- Tokyo Disneyland attraction and entertainment history
- List of past Disneyland attractions
[edit] External links
- Captain EO at the Internet Movie Database
- Captain EO movie information - includes screenshots of the main characters.
- Captain EO at WDWHistory.com
[edit] References
- ^ AllMusic: "A Good As It Gets". allmusic.com (2006). Retrieved on 2007-05-29.
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