Captain EO

It is truly some sort of horrendous cultural crime that this ultracool Michael Jackson film was yanked out of the Magic Eye theatres from Disney Parks around the world and replaced with the completely stupid "Honey, I Shrunk The Audience"!

The music is HOT! Michael Jackson is GREAT in it! The characters are fun, it has a great message AND its effects are gorgeous! Heck, MY COUSIN DEBBIE LEE CARRINGTON IS IN IT!!!

But Disney yanked it out of the parks due to the infamous and ridiculous accusations against Michael which I will not go into here (and of which I still strongly believe him to be completely innocent of) due to cowardice.

It deserves a re-release, and its fantastic theme song--one of the best things Michael ever wrote and performed--remains unreleased as well. COME ON, DISNEY!!! Have a little GUTS, RELEASE IT! (But what am I saying?! They're still too cowardly to re-release Song Of The South...!!!)

This felt like mandatory viewing before Megalopolis, given it's also a science fiction film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, though it's a short. And it's much more of a Michael Jackson thing.

I'd also say it feels more like it was made by George Lucas, who co-wrote it. Before it becomes a musical, it feels very reminiscent of Star Wars, even with the music (which wasn't done by John Williams, surprisingly).

It's another oddity within the extensive filmography of Coppola. If there's anything in Megalopolis that feels even remotely like Captain EO, I think that could be pretty funny. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Let's look at the talent involved with this movie: Michael Jackson, Angelica Houston, Francis Ford Coppola, James Horner, Industrial Light & Magic, Dreamquest Images...the list goes on.

So one can only wonder *why* we don't have an official DVD Release of this title? It wowed audiences for years at Disney Amusement Parks around the world, yet it no longer does so. Normally when a movie is "finished" in theatres, it moves on to a Home DVD Release. Logic would suggest that this is what the future holds for "Captain Eo."

OK Disney, get off of your butt and put this puppy on DVD!!!! Forget about entertaining new generations of children, it's an opportunity for you to make more money!! ...just thought I'd speak in words that Disney could understand.

Some of the reviews here come off strangely, because to review this film in the same context you would review a movie or a short film is to review it outside of the context for which it was created. Because it wasn't made to be a Feature length or even a short film, it was made to be a ride at an amusement park.

Someone riding a roller-coaster is better served enjoying the twists and turns of the ride than wondering why the ride turned left THEN right, a ride is really just a combination of things that thrill.

And it does thrill, it's a 17 minute tour of the trade-mark styles of some of the most popular artists of the time, and because it was pulled so many creative forces it goes in a direction unexpected and for me is a refreshing and fantastic experience.

It scratches allot of itches I didn't know I had- It's a long form music video, it's MJ creating a character in the same way David Bowie would, it's an answer to the question 'what would it be like to take the most sought after performer and director and have them work together', and much more.

It ages extremely well, I enjoyed it as much on my most recent trip to Disneyland as I did as a kid before it's initial closing. I love the strange 'analog future' setting that is Lucas's trademark, the outlandish music video story and dancing of Michael Jackson, it has the family friendly cutesy hand of Disney in it and the directing of Coppola.

It is so, so much fun when viewed in the proper context. I'm not saying that we shouldn't analyze the parts of this story, but if you frame it in the right context, it is a masterpiece.

Captain Eo is definitely one of those 3-d movies that are hard to forget. While only about 17 minutes long, it was long enough to show just how powerful music can be. It had everything from catchy tunes to devilish villains. While some say the story was not that strong, the movie's SFX certainly made up for anything it was lacking in plot. Personally, I thought that Michael Jackson and Anjelica Houston both gave good performances. Unfortunately, it seems as if this will be another former Disney attraction that will inevitably fall through the cracks and be forgotten once and for all.