Captain EO to become a permanent attraction at Tokyo Disneyland

[claudiadoina]

Originally reopened as a limited engagement run last year, the Captain EO attraction at Tokyo Disneyland will now remain as a permanent attraction.

On Friday, May 6th, the Oriental Land Company (OLC), who operates the Tokyo Disney Resort, indicated the scheduled end date for Captain EO has been eliminated. The attraction reopened July 1, 2010, after a 14 year hiatus, and was scheduled to run for only a year. The popularity of Captain EO and Michael Jackson have prompted OLC to keep this as a permanent attraction.

With this news, the old MicroAdventure! show will be closed permanently.

Captain EO is a 17 minute film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, produced by George Lucas, and starred Michael Jackson. Captain EO is played by Jackson who finds himself on a dark planet, devoid of any color. Jackson and his crew use music and dance to fight the Supreme Leader and her followers.

 

[Moonwalker.Fan]

Michael Jackson’s “Captain E.O.” Permanent in Tokyo Disneyland

(07/23/2011) Tokyo, Japan – Executives at the Tokyo Disneyland Resort have recently announced that the 1980′s 3-D musical space adventure, “Captain E.O.” is now a permanent attraction at its Tokyo Disneyland theme park. The film-based attraction stars the late Michael Jackson as Captain E.O., a fledging space pilot who is charged with bringing the gift of music to the dark and mysterious Supreme Leader, played by Anjelica Houston; it was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and executive produced by George Lucas in association with Walt Disney Imagineering and Industrial Light & Magic. “Captain E.O.”, which premiered in the States at Epcot and the original Disneyland in 1986, opened in Tokyo in 1987 to a strong fan base and critical acclaim. The popularity of the attraction was in large parts due to Jackson’s signature dance moves performed, including the Moonwalk, as well as two original songs created by Jackson for the film – “Another Part of Me” and “We Are Here to Change the World”; later versions of these songs appeared on Bad (1987) and Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection (1994), respectively.

After nearly a decade-long run – the later years of which were marked with declining popularity – “Captain E.O.” was closed in 1996 to make way for MicroAdventure!, a re-titled version of the state-side “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience” 3-D film from Epcot, which starred Rick Moranis in a reprisal of a role made famous in the “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” movie series. While this attraction was initially popular, MicroAdventure, performed poorly with theme park guests in Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo and Paris.

Shortly after Michael Jackson’s untimely June 2009 death, several DIsney fan sites began online petitions to bring “Captain E.O.” back to the parks for a limited engagement. Disney obliged, but only in their Anaheim theme park. Thanks to overwhelming popularity, the decision was made to bring the film back in Orlando, Tokyo and Paris for limited-engagement runs under the moniker, “Captain E.O. Tribute”. The film reopened in Tokyo on July 1, 2010. Originally set to be a run through the holidays, the attraction’s run was continually granted extensions until the decision was made in Summer 2011 to let the attraction remain a permanent feature of Tokyo Disneyland.

This move marks the official permanent closure of MicroAdventure! in the park. No similar announcements have been made regarding the attraction’s three other international showings, though no closure date has been set either.
-Report by William J. Nash-McAdam


http://www.thecaliforniasource.com/...ns-captain-e-o-permanent-in-tokyo-disneyland/