Monday, January 6, 2014

Magic Retrospective: Captain EO


One of the things I don't often talk about too much on my blog is my love for one singer: Michael Jackson. Yeah the man was the coolest back when I was a kid, and to this day is in my top 3 favorite vocalist of all time. He was enchanting, cute, and full of energy. Anything he did in the 80s/90s (bandaids on his fingers, the glove, the socks and black shoes) was godly and had to be copied.


Because I was around during the 90's era of MJ, I sadly missed a good chunk of his 80's glory, including his work for the Disney company: The 3D epic Captain EO. But luckily with the advent of VHS tapes (including one that my mom used to tape the one time they aired the 2D version on MTV) I got to see the retro classic even though it had disappeared from the Disney parks respectively.


After MJ's sudden death in 2009, Disney decided to pay tribute to the legend by bringing back Captain EO into the parks across the world. This finally gave me the chance to see the flick in it's full in theater effects glory for the first of several times during both my vacations to Disneyland and later in Epcot at Disney World.

But what exactly is Captain EO? It was a 3D film (involving such talents as George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola) that told the story of, well, Captain EO. He's a rainbow decked badass of a ship captain who leads his gang of bizarre creature/robot friends through the galaxy. His sidekicks included the infamous Hooter (a turquoise mini elephant), the two headed orange creature named Idey and Ody, the robot Major Domo, and the always precious Fuzzball.

On this particular mission, Captain EO and crew have to find the Supreme Leader (played by the stunning Anjelica Huston) and give her some sort of present, but what could it be? Turns out this lady is one mean witch, who needs the "gift" of song and dance to bring her back to her former day-glow glory.


Captain EO is full of all the nostalgic qualities that many kids of the 80's and 90's hold tightly to their hearts. It in many cases is what I consider to be the epitome of my childhood, representing all my favorite things: Outer Space, Bright Colors, Cuddly Creatures, Adventure and of course, Michael Jackson. It just has everything, and in 17 minutes takes the audience on an enchanting (and slightly cheesy) joy ride of awesome. 

There are a few things that people remember most about Captain EO. One would be Hooter, the character mentioned previously. Hooter would ALWAYS get into trouble, and EO would be there to give him a good smack talking or yelling in this case. 



The other element many people fondly remember was, of course, the MJ songs. The two featured ("We Are Here To Change The World" and "Another Part of Me") are considered to be two of his best by many Jackson fans (the hardcore ones like me, at least.) In my opinion, "Another Part of Me" is the better of the two, which shows since it later ended up on Jackson's album, "Bad". 


But the thing I would consider my favorite aspect of Captain EO? It's such a small moment, but many know of it. When EO transforms the Supreme Leader into her more beautiful self, Michael does what could be considered, by any account of filmmaking before or since, the cutest smile ever captured on celluloid. 


If there was one image that could sum up my childhood. Look at those perfect teeth! The adorable eyes! It's all just precious! 

So in short, I will always love Captain EO. Whether it's in the parks or not, it's a classic and always will be. If ever I am down and need a good on my face, EO and his crew are always there with some sparkly rainbows and such. 




1 comments:

Julie Doll said...

Dalin.. you're just another part of me♥
YEE HEE!

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