[geeman]

Do you know how there are things that you loved as a kid that you came back to and looked at later on in life and wondered what you were thinking for liking that? This is my personal take on Captain EO.
As a major Lucas fan, I was more than excited about visiting Captain EO during my first trip to WDW. I was intrigued by the glimpses of special effects and music and of course the music (which was hot at the time), and had gotten great reviews about it from my family and friends, mostly with regard to the groundbreaking 3D effects. I was surprised when Disney replaecd the attraction (one of it's most popular ones) with "Honey I Shrunk the Audience", but among other things, the leaps in technology necessitated the replacement.

Well a few years ago, shortly after the ride was retired, MTV (of all things) broadcast the entire CAPTAIN EO ride MOVIE!!!! I was lucky enough to have videotaped it. Oddly enough, I archived the tape without watching it more than once. When I met my DGF and found she was a major WDW fan who had never seen Captain EO, I dug up the tape and we watched it -- somewhat disappointed about the whole thing.
Minus the huge screen, the 3D effects, the ambience of being at the Park, the laughing crowd, and smoke/steam/light & water effects, the movie is somewhat of a dud, I'm afraid to say. The parts that I thought were endearing were not as much fun, and the whole thing seems quite excessive. But this was perfect for the excessive age of the 1980's. It seems rather bloated and blah in this age of digital technology. Some of the music was good, particularly the rousing, "We Can Change the World", and the production values are high. Costumes and sets by John Napier who designed Les Miserables and Starlight Express for the stage. Great choreography. Mean and nasty villian playing by Angelica Huston. But just ultimately somewhat pointless. Unless Disney does an archive DVD of it's rides, it's unlikely this will ever come out on video (although I think it may have been available for a very short time from Buena Vista itself. I remember seeing the box).
Wow-- it's worth TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS??? I'd better dig up that tape!!!!!!!
:)