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What do you mean "possibly"? Jackson is INDUBITABLY the biggest entertainer of all time, like it or not. No one has garnered his amount of popularity in ANY field of entertainment, before or since.
@@camaradiop3731 other than maybe Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, and Roman Polansky. (sarcasm) edit: I guess it depends on your benchmarks for "biggest" and "popularity"; personally I don't find abuse very entertaining, but I guess we are all different...
@@jesipohl6717 Puerile sarcasm, ad hominem attacks and historical revisionism doesn't change what actually happened and still occurring in regards to the unparalleled popularity of Mr. Jackson. MANY people render your flaccid sentiments dead on arrival: Geraldine Hughes, Charles Thomson, Aphrodite Jones and others, not to mention the FBI. Take that male bovine fecal matter elsewhere.
I wandered into Captain EO by accident whilst trying to get out of the scorching summer heat. I remember being being mesmerized by the pre-show. I learned during the pre-show that Captain EO was written by George Lucas and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Star Wars, The Godfather, and the King of Pop collab? Say no more. I proceeded to watch Captain EO more times in a row than I can remember that day. It's the greatest Sci-Fi adventure most people don't know about. I'm happy you made a Captain EO video. More people need to know this exists. Thank you.
Maybe it's just the sheer amount of time I've spent on Disney Parks TH-cam but I'm chortling heartily at the idea that "most people don't know about" Captain EO.
@@andrewbrown4362It's absolutely that, your perspective is warped. Maybe you are middle aged and and don't realize how far out of the mainstream Captain EO has fallen?
I'm 33 and this is the first I've learned about Captain EO and watched it after I saw this video. I'm on the same page of it being a great sci-fi adventure for so short and simple an experience. I would love to live in the world where this was the moment MJ turned to acting from music and seeing where he wound up as a person.
I actually did see Captain EO in person at EPCOT in 1988. It blew my mind as an 11-year old enough to convince me EPCOT wasn't a boring waste of time 😅
1988 was peak Epcot, I’m sorry you found it boring. Some of the best dark rides ever constructed were in operation then. The original Journey into Imagination, Horizons and World of Motion were great, but I can understand that someone going through their weird teen years wouldn’t agree.
I saw it at Epcot Florida in '94 when I was 14. At the same time I saw The Muppets in the MGM holiday park and thought that it was a lot better. I also liked the Michael Jackson video (I only remember the spinning 3D meteorite in that one), but did you also see the 3D Muppets attraction? It was the most incredible 3D video I've ever seen! It blew me away and was very impressive. It literally came right out of the screen and had so much going on around you in that small theatre with live action attractions going off all at the same time! I know movies like Avatar look great but only have that "fishbowl" looking in viewpoint, but the Muppets really had that pop right out in your face 3D effect! It's a shame you don't ever get that experience anymore 🙁.
Saw it at Epcot somewhere around 86. Was young enough that it feels like a fever dream. I clearly remember seeing smoke in the theatre and taking my glasses off to be surprised that it wasn’t a 3D effect and was, in fact, real. So immersive. Toddler mind blown.
@@joshoshea3194 Generally not a fan of 3D movies, but even though it's corny the only ones I really did enjoy were the ones that leaned into it the same way that 3D Muppet's show did (which I have seen and was awesome!). 2 other movies from that era that I saw that fully embraced that style of 3D were the Harold and Kumar 3D movie and the 2016 Ghostbusters. Neither were terribly great movies, but made well use of 3D that more upfront way. Harold and Kumar went more heavy on the 4th wall breaking 3D sight gags, ala the Muppets show, only more adult in nature. Ghostbusters used it for all the paranormal and proton pack effects, in a way that really made the more cartoonish look of that movie standout. It made heavy use of bright oranges, greens, purples, blues, and yellows, that combined with 3D really popped in the theater. Say what you will about the movie, but at least it had a distinct artistic design that it did well with for what it was going for.
I remember seeing the Captain EO at EPCOT in 1989. The 3-D effects and creature make up was awesome. I remember reaching for the floating meteor at the beginning.
Literally have the exact same memory about reaching out for that meteor from my childhood. It was the most impressionable part of the whole thing for me, I remembered that long after I forgot about anything that actually happens during the movie outside of the most basic high level concept of it.
When I was a little kid and we went to see captain EO, the Disney World employee who presented the show to us told us that real lasers would be shooting out of the screen, so we should keep our heads low. I started crying, and my parents had to take me out and explain that he was joking.
I was lucky enough to see this in 2012 at Disneyworld. I'm a huge MJ fan and never knew it existed. I was so happy to have discovered it. It was like going back in time and I thoroughly enjoyed it... twice!
Insider tale here. While I was a child at the time one of my mothers friends played the part of Captain Domo. He was a talented actor who got some fun background parts due in part to the fact he only had one leg and his other was amputated mid thigh. He told me a story which if you look at the right time can be somewhat seen in the picture. The character Minor Domo actually fit in a cavity in the back of the Major Domo costume and in one scene Minor Domo gets flung through the air landing snugly in it’s home. When filming that particular sequence, I can’t remember the specific reason why, the Minor Domo puppet was unavailable so a mock puppet was quickly put together out of cheep items like plastic bowls and soda cups then painted and used for the final shot. It’s a blink and you’ll miss it moment but still it’s pretty amazing for as much as they spent on this production their are still aspects done for pennies.
That reminds me of The Empire Strikes Back, when they were filming the scene where Chewie is choking Lando, and C3P0 is only half assembled and waving his arm in protest. They had built an animatronic C3P0 for the scene, but its battery went dead before the shot was finished, and they didn't have time to replace the batteries. So they rigged up some fishing wire, and 3P0 was manipulated that way!
I saw this at Disney World in 1988, and I never forgot it. It was the coolest experience I ever had as a kid. I recorded the behind the scenes on vhs and would rewartch it just for the movie clips. Thanks for covering this!
I love the Captain EO 3-D! It's great Michael jackson history. It was my first 3-D experience and i remember how much i loved it. Every time i visited Epcot, I made sure to watch Captain EO. I took my nephews to experience their first 3-D with Captain EO. I was sad when they removed it from the park. That short movie holds a special place in my heart ❤️ always
I remember Captain EO vividly. Loved it, watched it in-person at Disneyland many times, even owned a Captain EO T-shirt with a logo on it that glowed in the dark. It’s hard now to appreciate just how state of the art it was in its day. Also, the sound system in there was unbelievable - like nothing I had ever heard before OR SINCE. It really was a sensation. Thanks for the great video. That’s a nice walk down Memory Lane I didn’t know I needed. Cheers!
I forgot until I saw this that I did in fact see it in Disneyland in 1989. I most of all remember a) fog/water vapor rolling over the audience in a pretty cool synced-up way with key moments, and b) everyone in the audience trying to swat at/grab the 3D vision of Fuzzball as it "flew" close to the audience.
This was deceptively thorough and deep video, y'all. I'm really impressed especially at the very careful discussion of Jackson's post-EO fate. Not apologetic, not accusatory, not gaslighting, not minimizing, just very well presented. A lot of this video is admirable, but that segment stands above as...genuinely expertly done.
I stood in line for 3 hours to see this at WALT DISNEY FLORIDA. I still have the comic book and have fond memories of it and the park. I love Micheal Jackson's music and still believe that public opinion caused his depression and eventual death. He was a talented and gifted artist, the likes of which we will probably never see again. His pain can be heard and felt in the music he released towards the end of his career. And it saddens me that we were robbed of his talent too early.
My Dad was a huge MJ fan and still is. He and I loved seeing this at EPCOT during the EO tribute years. It is a great music video of a 3d film. That's the best way to look at it, A Music Video with a loose story and 80s effects :)
Hi Dan I'm from England, roughly around the same age and I've been a long time fan, way back since you were still known as "Toy Galaxy". Just 2 like minded blokes and I just have one burning question; are you a fan of mine? 😂 In all seriousness (tomfoolery aside) your channel, amongst some others has gotten me through some really tough times. I lost my father to cancer this time last September and watching your channel whilst casually building some Lego sets really helped ease some of my pain inst between hospital visits and much needed sleep. So I thought that with this very episode only just being posted I really just wanted to reach out to you and say a big "thank you" for contributing in making me feel happy when happiness couldn't be felt (you get what I mean). So thanks again mate. Take it easy 👍✌
I saw Captain Eo back in the day and it was one of my favorite attractions. I know it's not childhood nostalgia when I say, to this day, I have yet to see a more convincing 3D effect even with today's fancy digital projection. The 3D effect was so well done it appeared like characters were really coming out of the screen and flying over people's heads, combined with the laser/smoke show it made for an fantastic experience.
My last visit to Disneyland before we moved to the East Coast was in 1989 and I vaguely remember bits of seeing Captain EO, as an 8 year old. I remember loving it.
I saw Captain EO at Disneyland. Thought it was pretty awesome, but I was a kid and felt that way about anything science fiction at the time. It was also the first time I saw a movie in 3D, which in the late 80s was pretty novel. It's interesting how Disney tried to get their own Star Wars for so long with both Captain EO and Halyx, before licensing it with Star Tours, then finally buying it outright.
In a way it feels a little sad, that despite all their efforts they just couldn't get it done by presenting an equally compelling vision that was still fundamentally their own... if only because now it feels like the only chance you'd see these things again, is if they could somehow fold their other sci-fi properties into "their biggest" sci-fi property. And like, while I'm not really OPPOSSED to the thought of Captain EO being a jedi who's connection to the force is so unique that he's using it in ways that other jedi can't really replicate, I don't think it's likely they'll be so bold with him... even if a Jedi using his mind-synching / reading powers to spontaneously cause synchronized dance numbers sounds absolutely fantastic to me, I'm not sure the Disney share-holders would agree.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Captain EO covered on this channel. Sadly, I never saw it at any of the theme parks but I've seen it multiple times on TH-cam. It was cool for its time and a reminder of how huge of a star Michael Jackson was in the 80's. I knew the allegations were going to come up and I want to take this opportunity to recommend a documentary called "Square One" by Danny Wu. It covers the very allegations that got Captain EO pulled in 1994. If you've never done any research on this topic and, only believed what was reported in the media or rumors and speculation, please do yourself a favor and watch this documentary.
@@mechajay3358 Absolutely! I forgot about that. I appreciate anyone who has taken the time to do actual research on this topic and gone on to spread the word about what they learned.
I fondly remember the making of… special, but never got to see the film during its original run, as I never visited Disney World until I was 26! Finally caught the tribute a few times between 2010 and 2015 and it everything I’d hoped it would be! Just a great blast of nostalgia for the 80s and a time when George Lucas could do no wrong. And the effects and makeup on Angelica Huston ruled!
Forgot all about this! Saw it when I was around 12 in the late '80s. Effects were great-especially 3D that actually worked-but everything else left me underwhelmed and I wondered why there wasn't a better story or a star who was believable as a hero for them to be attached to. Interesting to see that's largely what critics seemed to think at the time when all I had known going in was my big MJ fan father talking about how great it was going to be. Maybe it was a case of there being too much build up to live up to or maybe I was always a cynical asshole.
I saw Captain Eo at Disneyland in the 80s when I was a kid; and I got to see it again during its 2010s revival, as I was a thirty-something working for Disneyland. A Star-Wars-esque Michael Jackson music video from the height of his career--in 3-D?!! Yes, please!!
Okay, let's get one thing straight - Captian EO is one of the GREATEST PEICES OF FILMMAKING ever created! I don't want to hear any dogging on it. It is amazing. Yes, it's all flash, it was in a THEME PARK. It's a roller-coaster! Anyway, it's also awesome, and the songs and visuals are stunning. It truly is a masterpeice - IF you can see it in it's original glory. There is a decent restoration of it on TH-cam though, which sadly is the only way you can watch it now. I remember that my fist trip to WDW was the year of it's premiere. It was VERY new and the line was out the door. We were right up at the doors waiting to go in next when the brutal Florida heat and that giant strawberry milkshake I had mainlined decided to not get along. I puked a huge pink splat right at the door! As I remember it, the entire line behind me took a big step to teh left in unison. Some very nice Disney cast members ushered me inside, got me water and let me cool off on a bench. Anyway though, I did get to see the show and it was awesome.
The Production Designer of Captain EO was my dear friend and mentor Geoffrey Kirkland, snd marks one of his very few SCI FI films. War Games and Children of Men being his others… unless you also count Space Jam… he has very few stories about this film, but I understand that the reason he was attached to the project was because Kirkland had been the production designer of most of Jackson’s Pepsi commercials, and they were looking for someone who could design a dance space , and Kirkland had done a great job with Fame.
HOLEY CRAP I had that Eo/Disneyland light up hat from my 1st ever trip as a kid. Still have clear memories of Captain Eo scaring the HELL out of me, lol.
I remember my nephews at the time having seen it and that their favorite part was the little creature waving to them and saying "bye". They both thought the thing was speaking directly to them.
I specifically remember that moment so vividly. Its almost the only thing I remember. At the very end the little furry guy flys right in front of your face and waves directly to you. It was cool.
I miss Captain EO. I made so many Cries, everytime! In 4D at Disneyland the original time the attraction was opened and the Return to The Magic Eye Theater I will always love MJ forever! I even cried the day he moonwalked to Heaven from Never-Neverland.
I was literally in a coma when MJ died (Chronic Pneumonia). It was more of a shock to me because I heard my family mention his death in an off-hand way, and I was like; "What, since when? How long was I out for?"
My earliest memory at Disneyland was sitting down for Captain EO trying to get the glasses to work, not realizing the problem was that even then at not even ten years old yet, my eyes were garbage. So I had to sit through it without the glasses, which only made me slightly less dizzy than trying to do it with the glasses, and giving me a migraine for the rest of the day at the Happiest Place To Throw Up. I remember nothing about the plot to this day. My only Michael Jackson experience other than that before the age of music being neat was my cousin showing me Thriller when he absolutely knew he wasn't supposed to. But I didn't care about Michael Jackson on any real level until I discovered Weird Al.
There isn't much of a plot to remember. A lot of odd-looking, vaguely-defined characters get introduced. There are bad guys, who are vaguely Bad and scary-looking. Then Michael Jackson makes them turn good through the power of music and dancing. And that's it. It's best thought of as a couple of old-Hollywood-style musical numbers with a ride film built around them. Which is fine.
My parents took me to Epcot when I was young and we stayed in line for 2 hours to see Capt. EO. We sat down, the show started, then 2 minutes later the smoke came out from underneath the chairs when it wasn't supposed to. The movie stops and the ushers tell us they're having technical difficulties and to come back in 3 hours. Long story short... **** this show.
I saw this in Disneyland Paris, as a small child. I knew nothing of the thing, understood nothing of the plot. I think I remember a robot drummer also being the drums themselves.
15:01 Yeah, the court of public opinion didn't find MJ guilty, it only people who live in a cultural bubble who think the public found him guilty. Allegations made by two perjurers isn't exactly a smoking gun that proves guilt.
I never saw Captain EO at EPCOT Center during its original run, but I did catch it when it came back in 2009. And I decided never to watch it again unless I was locked in a theater with Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot.
I finally saw this at Epcot during its temporary revival after Michael Jackson's death. That wasn't quite the original show--it had the "Honey, I Shrunk The Audience" motion effects, newly scripted to Captain EO, instead of the original in-theater effects. But it was a fascinating, profoundly weird historical artifact. The thing that most struck me was that the bad guys so strongly prefigured Star Trek's Borg, to the point that I wondered if the Borg were just a straight knockoff of the Captain EO villains (of course, it could just be parallel evolution from a base of Giger's "Alien" aesthetic, but they got to much the same place, especially the later version in the movie "First Contact" with its Borg Queen). Also, that the 3D seemed really ham-fisted and queasy-making compared to the periodic 3D revival that had then come back around again in mainstream theaters. The story is paper-thin to the point of nearly evaporating, but you don't expect profundity from a theme-park show.
Yep, I was there as a kid in 1989 and *nobody* in the theater cared that it didn't have a plot. The spectacle was more than enough. Also, for years I thought the elephant guy was Max Rebo, for some reason. (The designs are pretty similar!)
Always wanted to go on this ride as a kid and it killed me that it was no longer as Disneyland. Then when the Michael Jackson passed away, Disney brought the ride back and i went with my mom and till this day is my favorite ride i ever been on! It should be brought back every now and again for future generations to experience. My little brothers love MJ and they even ask about Captain Eo (like its still playing at Disneyland). RIP M.J.!!!!
On our summer vacation trips to Disneyland in the early 1990s we always went to see Captain EO, Star Wars and Space Mountain. Great memories and times.
Bruno Mars should be the new Captain Eo in a play to reestablish Disney as a company with a soul again. It needs to be 90 minutes long max with a 20 billion dollar budget. If you have a better idea, please let me know.
Teen to young adult while this was playing at Disneyland in the 80's/90's. I watched it each time I went although I don't recall if I saw it on Grad Night. I mean it wasn't like the most amazing thing I ever saw. But it was a cool thing to experience while at Disneyland. The 3D was something I had never experienced before so was cool AF (I only knew the red and blue glasses 3D). I saw it the last time it played at Disneyland as well on a vacation to see the parents. Definitely something I'm glad I got to experience as part of Gen. X.
I saw this at 5, traumatized me 😅 I could not understand the the F was going on. Visuals were that crappy 80’s effects that made things look creepier that than were supposed to be.
I grew up 20 minutes from Disneyland. I watched Captain EO every time I went as a kid. I absolutely loved it as kid. Too this day I have a Vintage Captain EO pin I wear on my vest when I ride my harley. It's hella dated by today days standards, but I still wish Disneyland had kept it playing. Now that theater sits vacant and sad looking.
Had the privilege of seeing this at Disney World sometime around the Dangerous Album when Mike was still flawless enough for this to be a big deal. I remember liking it more favorably than this segment made it out to be, but I was young, ready to be dazzled, and only saw it just once.
I remember the hype around Captain EO as a kid in the 80's. But as a poor kid from the ghettos of New York City, I could only dream of watching it. Eventually I discovered the X-men and forgot about all the cool kid's media from the 80's, including Captain EO.
i saw captain eo at disneyland in the mid 80s and the 3d blasted my brain, id never seen it in the cinema before. rode star tours the same trip, and the combo really cemented disneyland as my favorite amusement park
I saw Captain EO in 1986. I think I was 13 at the time. The music and special effects were great, but the thing I remember most about the show was at the beginning. When the crew calls for the captain and MJ pops up and starts talking in his soft feminine voice, the entire audience burst out laughing, including me. I don’t think I’d ever heard him speak conversationally until that moment and his voice kind of ruined it. Every time he opened his mouth it killed any immersion into the story. I remember feeling embarrassed for Jackson when I was walking out of the theater. He made my dad uncomfortable.
My high School dance teacher recorded the 96 showing and played it to us for reference so we could perform it at the end of the semester. I asked her to copy it, and I still have that copy to this day.
I remember I had a special taped off TV in the 80s that was a retrospective of special effects, and it made brief mention of Captain Eo. As a kid who was a giant sci-fi fan, this opened up a huge mystery - what was this movie and why had I never heard of it? It was years before I realised why it was never going to come to my country and why it never appeared in Leonard Maltin's movie guide. But the mystique only grew for me! So, of course, 30+ years later, I finally caught it on TH-cam, the mystery was solved, and I discovered it was...not amazing XD
I saw Captain EO at Disneyland twice, I first saw the original run as a kid and the tribute version back in 2012, I wish Disney made another 4D movie for their theme parks! They haven’t even made a 4D Star Wars movie with those effects from Captain EO!
14:47 What are your talking about Public Court of Opinion finding him guilty? His music is still be played around the world and is still celebrated. People really should do some actual research.
meanwhile there's literally zero evidence anything ever happened to anyone. the accusers families were scammers before any allegations against jackson.
Captain EO was one of my favorite things at Disneyland growing up. It was always the first thing I went to when I went! Somewhere I have a digital copy of the movie from before it was taken out.
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What do you mean "possibly"? Jackson is INDUBITABLY the biggest entertainer of all time, like it or not. No one has garnered his amount of popularity in ANY field of entertainment, before or since.
@@camaradiop3731 other than maybe Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, and Roman Polansky.
(sarcasm)
edit: I guess it depends on your benchmarks for "biggest" and "popularity"; personally I don't find abuse very entertaining, but I guess we are all different...
@@jesipohl6717
Puerile sarcasm, ad hominem attacks and historical revisionism doesn't change what actually happened and still occurring in regards to the unparalleled popularity of Mr. Jackson. MANY people render your flaccid sentiments dead on arrival: Geraldine Hughes, Charles Thomson, Aphrodite Jones and others, not to mention the FBI. Take that male bovine fecal matter elsewhere.
I wandered into Captain EO by accident whilst trying to get out of the scorching summer heat. I remember being being mesmerized by the pre-show. I learned during the pre-show that Captain EO was written by George Lucas and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Star Wars, The Godfather, and the King of Pop collab? Say no more. I proceeded to watch Captain EO more times in a row than I can remember that day. It's the greatest Sci-Fi adventure most people don't know about. I'm happy you made a Captain EO video. More people need to know this exists. Thank you.
Maybe it's just the sheer amount of time I've spent on Disney Parks TH-cam but I'm chortling heartily at the idea that "most people don't know about" Captain EO.
@@andrewbrown4362It's absolutely that, your perspective is warped. Maybe you are middle aged and and don't realize how far out of the mainstream Captain EO has fallen?
I'm 33 and this is the first I've learned about Captain EO and watched it after I saw this video. I'm on the same page of it being a great sci-fi adventure for so short and simple an experience. I would love to live in the world where this was the moment MJ turned to acting from music and seeing where he wound up as a person.
I believe I watched Captain EO in 1988 in some Disney park in Orlando
@@andrewbrown4362I'm 47, never heard of this... That might be because I'm in the UK and it was never advertised over here.
I actually did see Captain EO in person at EPCOT in 1988. It blew my mind as an 11-year old enough to convince me EPCOT wasn't a boring waste of time 😅
1988 was peak Epcot, I’m sorry you found it boring. Some of the best dark rides ever constructed were in operation then. The original Journey into Imagination, Horizons and World of Motion were great, but I can understand that someone going through their weird teen years wouldn’t agree.
I’ll take 80s Epcot over Modern Epcot any day.
Ditto
@@Ryotsu2112 how is 11 the weird teen years? 🤔🙄
Same! When my family would go to the parks back then, I’d always groan about boring Epcot, until Captain Eo opened. Then I was all in for Epcot.
Captain EO in 3D at Disney World was the first time I ever saw a 3D movie in the theatre as kid. It was pretty cool at the time.
I saw it at Epcot Florida in '94 when I was 14. At the same time I saw The Muppets in the MGM holiday park and thought that it was a lot better. I also liked the Michael Jackson video (I only remember the spinning 3D meteorite in that one), but did you also see the 3D Muppets attraction? It was the most incredible 3D video I've ever seen! It blew me away and was very impressive. It literally came right out of the screen and had so much going on around you in that small theatre with live action attractions going off all at the same time! I know movies like Avatar look great but only have that "fishbowl" looking in viewpoint, but the Muppets really had that pop right out in your face 3D effect! It's a shame you don't ever get that experience anymore 🙁.
Saw it at Epcot somewhere around 86. Was young enough that it feels like a fever dream. I clearly remember seeing smoke in the theatre and taking my glasses off to be surprised that it wasn’t a 3D effect and was, in fact, real. So immersive. Toddler mind blown.
Think i was about 5 and took the glasses off at the spider ladies claws coming at me
@@joshoshea3194 Generally not a fan of 3D movies, but even though it's corny the only ones I really did enjoy were the ones that leaned into it the same way that 3D Muppet's show did (which I have seen and was awesome!). 2 other movies from that era that I saw that fully embraced that style of 3D were the Harold and Kumar 3D movie and the 2016 Ghostbusters. Neither were terribly great movies, but made well use of 3D that more upfront way. Harold and Kumar went more heavy on the 4th wall breaking 3D sight gags, ala the Muppets show, only more adult in nature. Ghostbusters used it for all the paranormal and proton pack effects, in a way that really made the more cartoonish look of that movie standout. It made heavy use of bright oranges, greens, purples, blues, and yellows, that combined with 3D really popped in the theater. Say what you will about the movie, but at least it had a distinct artistic design that it did well with for what it was going for.
@@joshoshea3194 "Captain EO", was 4D.
I remember seeing the Captain EO at EPCOT in 1989. The 3-D effects and creature make up was awesome. I remember reaching for the floating meteor at the beginning.
I saw it Epcot in 87 and did the same thing. was the first time I'd seen anything 3d, and it was amazing
I reached for the fuzzy dude! Good times, with a bit of a “Was this a movie?” letdown.
I did the same thing at Disneyland in 1992.
HAHA, same, unsure what year but sometime in the late 80s at Disneyland. It started a life-long love for 3D stuff for me.
Literally have the exact same memory about reaching out for that meteor from my childhood. It was the most impressionable part of the whole thing for me, I remembered that long after I forgot about anything that actually happens during the movie outside of the most basic high level concept of it.
When I was a little kid and we went to see captain EO, the Disney World employee who presented the show to us told us that real lasers would be shooting out of the screen, so we should keep our heads low. I started crying, and my parents had to take me out and explain that he was joking.
😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
I mean, _technically_ they were lasers - but they were harmless and aimed well over the audiences' heads.
@@AtariEric yeah, and all my 6 year old brain knew of lasers is that they kill storm troopers
Stop crying sissy
I was lucky enough to see this in 2012 at Disneyworld. I'm a huge MJ fan and never knew it existed. I was so happy to have discovered it. It was like going back in time and I thoroughly enjoyed it... twice!
Insider tale here. While I was a child at the time one of my mothers friends played the part of Captain Domo. He was a talented actor who got some fun background parts due in part to the fact he only had one leg and his other was amputated mid thigh. He told me a story which if you look at the right time can be somewhat seen in the picture. The character Minor Domo actually fit in a cavity in the back of the Major Domo costume and in one scene Minor Domo gets flung through the air landing snugly in it’s home. When filming that particular sequence, I can’t remember the specific reason why, the Minor Domo puppet was unavailable so a mock puppet was quickly put together out of cheep items like plastic bowls and soda cups then painted and used for the final shot. It’s a blink and you’ll miss it moment but still it’s pretty amazing for as much as they spent on this production their are still aspects done for pennies.
That reminds me of The Empire Strikes Back, when they were filming the scene where Chewie is choking Lando, and C3P0 is only half assembled and waving his arm in protest. They had built an animatronic C3P0 for the scene, but its battery went dead before the shot was finished, and they didn't have time to replace the batteries. So they rigged up some fishing wire, and 3P0 was manipulated that way!
Technology can be great but sometimes old school just does the trick.
I saw this at Disney World in 1988, and I never forgot it. It was the coolest experience I ever had as a kid. I recorded the behind the scenes on vhs and would rewartch it just for the movie clips. Thanks for covering this!
I saw it in the late 80s as well, however I forgot it existed until I saw this episode.
Same
I love the Captain EO 3-D! It's great Michael jackson history. It was my first 3-D experience and i remember how much i loved it. Every time i visited Epcot, I made sure to watch Captain EO. I took my nephews to experience their first 3-D with Captain EO. I was sad when they removed it from the park. That short movie holds a special place in my heart ❤️ always
I remember Captain EO vividly. Loved it, watched it in-person at Disneyland many times, even owned a Captain EO T-shirt with a logo on it that glowed in the dark. It’s hard now to appreciate just how state of the art it was in its day. Also, the sound system in there was unbelievable - like nothing I had ever heard before OR SINCE. It really was a sensation. Thanks for the great video. That’s a nice walk down Memory Lane I didn’t know I needed. Cheers!
I have fond memories of MJ as Captain Eo. What a cool show.
I forgot until I saw this that I did in fact see it in Disneyland in 1989. I most of all remember a) fog/water vapor rolling over the audience in a pretty cool synced-up way with key moments, and b) everyone in the audience trying to swat at/grab the 3D vision of Fuzzball as it "flew" close to the audience.
This was deceptively thorough and deep video, y'all. I'm really impressed especially at the very careful discussion of Jackson's post-EO fate. Not apologetic, not accusatory, not gaslighting, not minimizing, just very well presented. A lot of this video is admirable, but that segment stands above as...genuinely expertly done.
Razorfist's discussion of MJ's "post EO fate" is historic
@@toddhanley6982Who?
There was nothing "wrong" with "Captain EO."
This channel is so off-base.
14:03 I recommend people who bring up the accusations and other controversies Michael faced to do some research on them.
I stood in line for 3 hours to see this at WALT DISNEY FLORIDA. I still have the comic book and have fond memories of it and the park. I love Micheal Jackson's music and still believe that public opinion caused his depression and eventual death. He was a talented and gifted artist, the likes of which we will probably never see again. His pain can be heard and felt in the music he released towards the end of his career. And it saddens me that we were robbed of his talent too early.
I loved this show at disney. Glad they brought it back a few times so I could reexperience it
My Dad was a huge MJ fan and still is. He and I loved seeing this at EPCOT during the EO tribute years. It is a great music video of a 3d film. That's the best way to look at it, A Music Video with a loose story and 80s effects :)
Hi Dan I'm from England, roughly around the same age and I've been a long time fan, way back since you were still known as "Toy Galaxy". Just 2 like minded blokes and I just have one burning question; are you a fan of mine? 😂
In all seriousness (tomfoolery aside) your channel, amongst some others has gotten me through some really tough times. I lost my father to cancer this time last September and watching your channel whilst casually building some Lego sets really helped ease some of my pain inst between hospital visits and much needed sleep. So I thought that with this very episode only just being posted I really just wanted to reach out to you and say a big "thank you" for contributing in making me feel happy when happiness couldn't be felt (you get what I mean). So thanks again mate. Take it easy 👍✌
Now the big question, is Captain EO part of the Moonwalker Universe?
I saw Captain Eo back in the day and it was one of my favorite attractions. I know it's not childhood nostalgia when I say, to this day, I have yet to see a more convincing 3D effect even with today's fancy digital projection. The 3D effect was so well done it appeared like characters were really coming out of the screen and flying over people's heads, combined with the laser/smoke show it made for an fantastic experience.
$39 for 3 sticks of deodorants? You're joking, right?
My last visit to Disneyland before we moved to the East Coast was in 1989 and I vaguely remember bits of seeing Captain EO, as an 8 year old. I remember loving it.
Never saw Captain EO at Disney, but I used to watch the movie a lot on TH-cam. As an MJ and Star Wars Fan, it was pretty dope film.
Captain Ee-heee
I saw Captain EO at Disneyland. Thought it was pretty awesome, but I was a kid and felt that way about anything science fiction at the time. It was also the first time I saw a movie in 3D, which in the late 80s was pretty novel.
It's interesting how Disney tried to get their own Star Wars for so long with both Captain EO and Halyx, before licensing it with Star Tours, then finally buying it outright.
In a way it feels a little sad, that despite all their efforts they just couldn't get it done by presenting an equally compelling vision that was still fundamentally their own... if only because now it feels like the only chance you'd see these things again, is if they could somehow fold their other sci-fi properties into "their biggest" sci-fi property.
And like, while I'm not really OPPOSSED to the thought of Captain EO being a jedi who's connection to the force is so unique that he's using it in ways that other jedi can't really replicate, I don't think it's likely they'll be so bold with him... even if a Jedi using his mind-synching / reading powers to spontaneously cause synchronized dance numbers sounds absolutely fantastic to me, I'm not sure the Disney share-holders would agree.
I was introduced to Captain EO by a friend
And I liked how it went
I was pleasantly surprised to see Captain EO covered on this channel. Sadly, I never saw it at any of the theme parks but I've seen it multiple times on TH-cam. It was cool for its time and a reminder of how huge of a star Michael Jackson was in the 80's.
I knew the allegations were going to come up and I want to take this opportunity to recommend a documentary called "Square One" by Danny Wu. It covers the very allegations that got Captain EO pulled in 1994. If you've never done any research on this topic and, only believed what was reported in the media or rumors and speculation, please do yourself a favor and watch this documentary.
Don't forget the podcast "Michael Jackson: Case for Innocences"
@@mechajay3358 Absolutely! I forgot about that. I appreciate anyone who has taken the time to do actual research on this topic and gone on to spread the word about what they learned.
They just stole Disney's money.
I fondly remember the making of… special, but never got to see the film during its original run, as I never visited Disney World until I was 26!
Finally caught the tribute a few times between 2010 and 2015 and it everything I’d hoped it would be! Just a great blast of nostalgia for the 80s and a time when George Lucas could do no wrong. And the effects and makeup on Angelica Huston ruled!
I remember watching Captain EO at Disneyland when I was a kid and it was great. 😀👍
Forgot all about this! Saw it when I was around 12 in the late '80s. Effects were great-especially 3D that actually worked-but everything else left me underwhelmed and I wondered why there wasn't a better story or a star who was believable as a hero for them to be attached to. Interesting to see that's largely what critics seemed to think at the time when all I had known going in was my big MJ fan father talking about how great it was going to be. Maybe it was a case of there being too much build up to live up to or maybe I was always a cynical asshole.
You were a cynical...
😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
No it was a boring mess, only his biggest fans think it's a masterpiece
I saw Captain Eo at Disneyland in the 80s when I was a kid; and I got to see it again during its 2010s revival, as I was a thirty-something working for Disneyland. A Star-Wars-esque Michael Jackson music video from the height of his career--in 3-D?!! Yes, please!!
Okay, let's get one thing straight - Captian EO is one of the GREATEST PEICES OF FILMMAKING ever created! I don't want to hear any dogging on it. It is amazing. Yes, it's all flash, it was in a THEME PARK. It's a roller-coaster! Anyway, it's also awesome, and the songs and visuals are stunning. It truly is a masterpeice - IF you can see it in it's original glory. There is a decent restoration of it on TH-cam though, which sadly is the only way you can watch it now.
I remember that my fist trip to WDW was the year of it's premiere. It was VERY new and the line was out the door. We were right up at the doors waiting to go in next when the brutal Florida heat and that giant strawberry milkshake I had mainlined decided to not get along. I puked a huge pink splat right at the door! As I remember it, the entire line behind me took a big step to teh left in unison. Some very nice Disney cast members ushered me inside, got me water and let me cool off on a bench. Anyway though, I did get to see the show and it was awesome.
The Production Designer of Captain EO was my dear friend and mentor Geoffrey Kirkland, snd marks one of his very few SCI FI films. War Games and Children of Men being his others… unless you also count Space Jam… he has very few stories about this film, but I understand that the reason he was attached to the project was because Kirkland had been the production designer of most of Jackson’s Pepsi commercials, and they were looking for someone who could design a dance space , and Kirkland had done a great job with Fame.
HOLEY CRAP I had that Eo/Disneyland light up hat from my 1st ever trip as a kid. Still have clear memories of Captain Eo scaring the HELL out of me, lol.
Name dropping Electeic Dreams, I love that soundtrack!
I remember captain EO. I wasn't all that impressed. I was pretty young. I preferred Figment, lol
2020’s Disney film making plus no Michael Jackson equals guaranteed box office failure
I distinctly remember thinking the blue elephant thing was the keyboardist in Jabba the Hutt's palace.
11:20 I thought Michael attended the premiere in disguise, in costume as a Disney character.
Saw it a few times at Disneyland. Absolutely LOVED it. Had a Captian EO t-shirt.
I was at the 60 Hour premiere weekend event at Disneyland ... Fun time ...!
I remember my nephews at the time having seen it and that their favorite part was the little creature waving to them and saying "bye". They both thought the thing was speaking directly to them.
I specifically remember that moment so vividly. Its almost the only thing I remember. At the very end the little furry guy flys right in front of your face and waves directly to you. It was cool.
Me too!! that’s my only memory of it.. I tried to grab it.
I miss Captain EO.
I made so many Cries, everytime! In 4D at Disneyland the original time the attraction was opened and the Return to The Magic Eye Theater
I will always love MJ forever!
I even cried the day he moonwalked to Heaven from Never-Neverland.
I was literally in a coma when MJ died (Chronic Pneumonia). It was more of a shock to me because I heard my family mention his death in an off-hand way, and I was like; "What, since when? How long was I out for?"
I loved his music, but when he died without any consequences for abusing children I wept for the kids who survived him.
@@jesipohl6717 he was never convicted, so that's just...like your opinion man.
@@jesipohl6717he never abused any1
How long were you out?
@@yowatchie Three weeks.
This is the first time this channel has covered something I'm completely unfamiliar with, that I completely never heard of... Where was I??? 😂
How about a Captain EO spinoff starring Fuzzball and Grogu on adventures together!!!
My earliest memory at Disneyland was sitting down for Captain EO trying to get the glasses to work, not realizing the problem was that even then at not even ten years old yet, my eyes were garbage. So I had to sit through it without the glasses, which only made me slightly less dizzy than trying to do it with the glasses, and giving me a migraine for the rest of the day at the Happiest Place To Throw Up. I remember nothing about the plot to this day.
My only Michael Jackson experience other than that before the age of music being neat was my cousin showing me Thriller when he absolutely knew he wasn't supposed to. But I didn't care about Michael Jackson on any real level until I discovered Weird Al.
There isn't much of a plot to remember. A lot of odd-looking, vaguely-defined characters get introduced. There are bad guys, who are vaguely Bad and scary-looking. Then Michael Jackson makes them turn good through the power of music and dancing. And that's it.
It's best thought of as a couple of old-Hollywood-style musical numbers with a ride film built around them. Which is fine.
Oh yeahhhh Thursday.
Saw it at EPCOT in 1988. I recall reaching out and trying to grab the 3D flying creature. I was dumb.
FAILED CASH GRAB... did i miss anything?
THE product of its time.
They never had to buy or ruin Star Wars ... coulda just done Captain EO.
I was 12 yrs old when I saw Captain EO in January 1987 at Epcot Center. LOVED it and the experience! Thanks mom and dad!
I’m big MJ fan and loved captain EO, when it came out and own the VHS and the comic book!
I remember seeing Captain Eo when my family visited Disney World in 1989. I visited the park again in 2012 and was surprised to see it again.
When attempting to explain Captain EO to a younger friend of mine her response was "Wait.... are you describing a dream you had?"
I saw Captain Eo at Epcot in 2014 (surprisingly enough they were showing it ) and it was an amazingly wonderful piece of 80s ridiculousness.
Saw this when I was 8. Thought the 3D was really cool but the crotch stuff was weird.
My parents took me to Epcot when I was young and we stayed in line for 2 hours to see Capt. EO. We sat down, the show started, then 2 minutes later the smoke came out from underneath the chairs when it wasn't supposed to. The movie stops and the ushers tell us they're having technical difficulties and to come back in 3 hours. Long story short... **** this show.
I saw this in Disneyland Paris, as a small child. I knew nothing of the thing, understood nothing of the plot. I think I remember a robot drummer also being the drums themselves.
15:01 Yeah, the court of public opinion didn't find MJ guilty, it only people who live in a cultural bubble who think the public found him guilty. Allegations made by two perjurers isn't exactly a smoking gun that proves guilt.
I never saw Captain EO at EPCOT Center during its original run, but I did catch it when it came back in 2009. And I decided never to watch it again unless I was locked in a theater with Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot.
I finally saw this at Epcot during its temporary revival after Michael Jackson's death. That wasn't quite the original show--it had the "Honey, I Shrunk The Audience" motion effects, newly scripted to Captain EO, instead of the original in-theater effects. But it was a fascinating, profoundly weird historical artifact. The thing that most struck me was that the bad guys so strongly prefigured Star Trek's Borg, to the point that I wondered if the Borg were just a straight knockoff of the Captain EO villains (of course, it could just be parallel evolution from a base of Giger's "Alien" aesthetic, but they got to much the same place, especially the later version in the movie "First Contact" with its Borg Queen). Also, that the 3D seemed really ham-fisted and queasy-making compared to the periodic 3D revival that had then come back around again in mainstream theaters.
The story is paper-thin to the point of nearly evaporating, but you don't expect profundity from a theme-park show.
Yep, I was there as a kid in 1989 and *nobody* in the theater cared that it didn't have a plot. The spectacle was more than enough.
Also, for years I thought the elephant guy was Max Rebo, for some reason. (The designs are pretty similar!)
Always wanted to go on this ride as a kid and it killed me that it was no longer as Disneyland. Then when the Michael Jackson passed away, Disney brought the ride back and i went with my mom and till this day is my favorite ride i ever been on! It should be brought back every now and again for future generations to experience. My little brothers love MJ and they even ask about Captain Eo (like its still playing at Disneyland). RIP M.J.!!!!
On our summer vacation trips to Disneyland in the early 1990s we always went to see Captain EO, Star Wars and Space Mountain. Great memories and times.
Bruno Mars should be the new Captain Eo in a play to reestablish Disney as a company with a soul again. It needs to be 90 minutes long max with a 20 billion dollar budget. If you have a better idea, please let me know.
I saw it in 93 when my family went to Disney World. I was 14 but remember it.
I loved Captain EO as a kid, great 3D experience and was a lot of fun back in the day. I really miss old EPCOT
Teen to young adult while this was playing at Disneyland in the 80's/90's. I watched it each time I went although I don't recall if I saw it on Grad Night. I mean it wasn't like the most amazing thing I ever saw. But it was a cool thing to experience while at Disneyland. The 3D was something I had never experienced before so was cool AF (I only knew the red and blue glasses 3D). I saw it the last time it played at Disneyland as well on a vacation to see the parents. Definitely something I'm glad I got to experience as part of Gen. X.
I saw this at 5, traumatized me 😅 I could not understand the the F was going on. Visuals were that crappy 80’s effects that made things look creepier that than were supposed to be.
I grew up 20 minutes from Disneyland. I watched Captain EO every time I went as a kid. I absolutely loved it as kid. Too this day I have a Vintage Captain EO pin I wear on my vest when I ride my harley. It's hella dated by today days standards, but I still wish Disneyland had kept it playing. Now that theater sits vacant and sad looking.
They should him back at Disney in Anaheim because that theatre is empty and it’s just a waste of space. Would love a captain EO shirt too
Had the privilege of seeing this at Disney World sometime around the Dangerous Album when Mike was still flawless enough for this to be a big deal. I remember liking it more favorably than this segment made it out to be, but I was young, ready to be dazzled, and only saw it just once.
I remember the hype around Captain EO as a kid in the 80's. But as a poor kid from the ghettos of New York City, I could only dream of watching it. Eventually I discovered the X-men and forgot about all the cool kid's media from the 80's, including Captain EO.
i saw captain eo at disneyland in the mid 80s and the 3d blasted my brain, id never seen it in the cinema before. rode star tours the same trip, and the combo really cemented disneyland as my favorite amusement park
How many times do you have to grab your crotch when filming for Disney for it to be pointless trying to edit it out 😬
Saw it in ‘87, and we went back several times that week. Bought a poster, T-shirt, a couple of pvc figures, and the Eclipse comic later on.
So…Disney’s Black Hole…when?
I saw the show as a youngster...it was the best thing i ever saw.
Just watched it on youtube.
It was not as good as i remember.
The thing about EO is that it is an almost blank slate. It could be almost any sort of movie or show and work.
Flip yes on the movie remake! I'd have someone like Lil Nash X as Eo.
I saw Captain EO in 1986. I think I was 13 at the time. The music and special effects were great, but the thing I remember most about the show was at the beginning. When the crew calls for the captain and MJ pops up and starts talking in his soft feminine voice, the entire audience burst out laughing, including me. I don’t think I’d ever heard him speak conversationally until that moment and his voice kind of ruined it. Every time he opened his mouth it killed any immersion into the story. I remember feeling embarrassed for Jackson when I was walking out of the theater. He made my dad uncomfortable.
This attraction is how I learned that I can’t see 3D, or rather how it doesn’t work for me.
My high School dance teacher recorded the 96 showing and played it to us for reference so we could perform it at the end of the semester. I asked her to copy it, and I still have that copy to this day.
Save money just rub a rock under your pits😂
Yes I saw it in person in the early 90's. So glad a version of it is here on the tube servers. Would love to see a feature length version
This was the first real 3D movie ever and one of my favorite Disney shows
The music 🎶 is awesome 👏
I remember I had a special taped off TV in the 80s that was a retrospective of special effects, and it made brief mention of Captain Eo. As a kid who was a giant sci-fi fan, this opened up a huge mystery - what was this movie and why had I never heard of it? It was years before I realised why it was never going to come to my country and why it never appeared in Leonard Maltin's movie guide. But the mystique only grew for me! So, of course, 30+ years later, I finally caught it on TH-cam, the mystery was solved, and I discovered it was...not amazing XD
😂😂😂
I saw Captain EO at Disneyland twice, I first saw the original run as a kid and the tribute version back in 2012, I wish Disney made another 4D movie for their theme parks! They haven’t even made a 4D Star Wars movie with those effects from Captain EO!
14:47 What are your talking about Public Court of Opinion finding him guilty? His music is still be played around the world and is still celebrated. People really should do some actual research.
meanwhile there's literally zero evidence anything ever happened to anyone.
the accusers families were scammers before any allegations against jackson.
Thank uuuuu....
I remember it being great as a kid. It was the only thing we cared if we saw or not at Epcot that year.
10:36 So even back then, he was beginning to use the crotch grab in his dancing.
Lucas has OCD that it effected his works.
Captain EO was one of my favorite things at Disneyland growing up. It was always the first thing I went to when I went! Somewhere I have a digital copy of the movie from before it was taken out.
Wait, so Captain EO is essentially Dayman?!
I saw it on TH-cam and I absolutely love it