[Mickey Crazy]

Disney Motion Pictures Have Been Popping Off Screens In Spellbinding 3-D for 50 Years

"Mickey's PhilharMagic" is 7th 3-D Film Featured at Walt Disney World Resort

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Disney motion picture spectacles have been keeping bespectacled audiences spellbound for a half century as the company founded on cinematic innovation has turned the flat screen of the movie theater into an eye-popping three-dimensional canvas.
In fact, the releases in 2003 of "Mickey's PhilharMagic" in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort and "Ghosts of the Abyss" in specially equipped movie theaters countrywide represent a Golden Anniversary milestone of Disney's involvement with the 3-D motion picture process.

"Adventures in Music: Melody," released in 1953, was the first cartoon ever filmed in 3-D.
In 1956, "Adventures in Music: Melody" became part of 3-D Jamboree at Disneyland -- a milestone in that the show introduced theme park audiences to 3-D.
Twenty-six years later, 3-D motion picture entertainment was introduced at Walt Disney World Resort with the premiere of "Magic Journeys" as part of Journey Into Imagination at Epcot. It became the first of six 3-D films -- all viewed with polarized lenses -- to be presented at Walt Disney World theme parks prior to "Mickey's PhilharMagic."

Here's a look at the history of 3-D films at Walt Disney World Resort:
"Magic Journeys" -- An impressionistic view of a child's imagination, it was first shown at Journey into Imagination presented by Kodak at Epcot in October 1982. Using all the techniques of movie-making, the dream-like journey featured dimensional images that reached out to the audience. The film was moved to Fantasyland Theater in Magic Kingdom from December 1987 until December 1993.

"Captain Eo" -- A musical science-fiction adventure film shown in Journey into Imagination at Epcot from September 1986 until July 1994, it starred Michael Jackson, Anjelica Huston and Dick Shawn. In the story, Captain Eo and his crew of mythical space creatures -- Hooter, Fuzzball, the Geex, Major Domo and Minor Domo -- discover a colorless planet where they are confronted by the Supreme Leader and her forces of darkness. Using the power of music, dance, and light, Eo and his crew are able to turn the black and white land into a magical world of color and happiness. George Lucas was executive producer and Francis Coppola was director. "Captain Eo" added the elements of light and strobes that extended the energy of the show directly to the audience.

"Working for Peanuts" -- A short featuring Donald Duck, it was produced in 1953 but rarely seen in 3-D prior to its engagement from December 1987 to December 1993 in Fantasyland Theater in Magic Kingdom as "Act 1" of the experience featuring "Magic Journeys."

"Muppet Vision 3-D" -- Sensational in-theater effects add to the impact of the 3-D film starring the Muppets, presented by Kodak at Disney's Hollywood Studios. For the first time, the actions of these 3-D film characters affect the world of the audience. Cannonballs fired in the film create holes in the back wall of the theater! The film opened in May 1991 and continues to delight audiences both young and old.

"Honey, I Shrunk the Audience" -- The third 3-D film shown in Journey into Imagination at Epcot premiered November 1994 and continues its run. Guests enter the laboratory of Professor Wayne Szalinski's Imagination Institute, but the audience becomes accidental victims of the professor's famed, but flawed, shrinking machine. They must face such terrors as a giant python, a huge sneezing dog, and a humongous five-year-old child. The 3-D standard was again raised by Disney with "Honey," creating the experience of seeing a live performance on a theatrical stage.

"It's Tough to be a Bug!" -- A multi-media production for a 450-seat theater underneath The Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom, it features 3-D film, Audio-Animatronics, and special effects which provide an amusing look at a bug's world. The 3-D evolution continues with "It's Tough to be a Bug!" By the time guests enter the theater, they have been reduced to the size of the star insects and become part of the story. It opened April 1998.

With "Mickey's PhilharMagic," Disney advances 3-D technology one bold step, as the stage and theater disappear, embracing guests as part of the entire adventure. What started in 1953 with the first Disney 3-D movie has continually evolved to today's experiential adventures that guests can't climb into anywhere else.

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Rick

"Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our childen"

Walt Disney

Talk Disney Administrator