A few weeks ago I got stuck in a nostalgia hole. I think it started by discovering master puppeteer Terri Hardin interviews on various podcasts about her work on Captain EO and that spiraled into discovering a behind the scenes TV special hosted by Whoopi Goldberg I found on YouTube.
After seeing many of the shows Disneyland has had in the Tomorrowland theater over the years Captain EO is my favorite. There is something about Michael Jackson leading a rag-tag group of characters still passes the test of time for me. I might have over hyped it a bit to my husband before he saw it when Disneyland brought in back a few years ago. He left the theater and said to me “that’s it?” But I fully believe that this is a must see and I hope Disney will bring it back in the coming years. Keep reading to find out four reasons why this movie stands the test of time.
The Trifecta
No, this doesn’t have to do with horse racing it has to do with three people at the top of their games that had a major role in the movie. I think I only need to list them by their iconic last names: Coppola, Jackson, Lucas. Francis Ford Coppola was the director of this film and of course you know him from legendary movies like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. George Lucas was the executive producer and is best known for Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Last but not least was the star himself Michael Jackson who was in the absolute prime of his career having just released the Thriller album a few years before. Some fun trivia as it relates to the creation of the movie is that it had estimated budget of over seventeen million, Captain EO cost over a million dollars a minute, making it one of the most expensive short films ever made!
The Music
Obviously with the king of pop as the star the music will be perfect. The film featured two favorite songs of mine “Another Part Of Me,” “We Are Here To Change The World.” The spacey score that you heard when entering the theater and in the intro of the film was composed by James Horner who was also composer of the Titanic score which was the best selling score of all time.
The Story
While not the most deep or intellectual story, Captain EO is a story of a team on spaceship (Captain EO, Fuzzball, Idey and Ody, Major Domo/Minor Domo, Hooter, and the Captain’s boss Commander Bog) sent to a planet to deliver a gift to the evil Supreme Leader (played by the legendary Anjelica Husten). Our rag-tag group are somewhat fumbling idiots and get caught by the Supreme Leader’s and she threatens to turn them into trash cans. During the capture Captain EO says that he believes that the supreme leader is really beautiful underneath all that black makeup and pipes. He breaks out in song and his team turns into the band and various instruments. Of course the clumsy Hooter trips on Captain EO’s cape stopping the music. The supreme leader is not impressed so she sends her guards after the group. Hooter somehow quickly regains his composure and the music begins again that has some magical powers which Captain EO uses to turn the guards into fantastic 80’s dancers. Eventually all the guards including the whip warriors turn into dancers, in this case break dancers. Captain EO then turns his powers on the Supreme leader and she magically floats down in a beautiful rainbow gown and now you can tell she’s played by Anjelica Husten. I think the trans-formative part of the story that music can change the world! Plus the dancing in this movie is incredibly 80’s with dancers who were fresh off Cats on Broadway or expert break dancers who I think were straight out of the 1984 movie “Breakin.”
4D Fun for the Whole Family
While the film was captured in 3D, Captain EO was regarded as one of the first 4D films in that there were additional special effects like lasers, smoke, and the seats moved like you were on the spaceship in the movie. When Captain EO came back in 2010, Disney added gusts of air on your legs when the whip warriors cracked their whips. There were also hidden water sprayers that burst when the character Hooter sneezed. I think all the interactively added fun and something that everyone from all ages could enjoy. I clearly remember my grandparents getting a kick from this show back in the 80’s as they had no interest for Space Mountain or Star Tours. My very own parents have fond memories of the show and people my age love it for the nostalgia. I hope the next big anniversary, perhaps 2021 (which would be the 35 anniversary) Disneyland will bring it back so we could introduce the film to the next generation of fans.