Moviefan12: Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney and today, we are doing another Meet & Greet. For those that missed my last Meet & Greet, this is where I take a look at a theme park character. In these segments, we will look at Actor, Attraction, Personality, Song because some of these characters have had songs and this one is no exception because after all, he is played by Michael Jackson. Appearances Outside The Park, because as I mentioned in my previous Meet & Greet, some of these characters have appeared on material outside of the attraction that they came from. And finally, Is Captain EO A Good Character?
However, I will not be doing this alone as joining me will be one of my great friends here, who I think will agree with me, that Captain EO is trenched in cheese and is the most '80s attraction to ever '80s at a Disney Park. So please, welcome Pretty Boy back to A Look at Disney.
Pretty Boy: Thanks for having me. I first saw Captain EO with my flatmates when we first started at Disney, and suffice it to say we were blown away at the 80s cheese of it. We quickly ended up making jokes about it as we walked around Epcot due to how goofy it was.
Actor
Michael Jackson
Moviefan12: I imagine like most people I know MJ more for his music than his acting. The only other film that I know of seeing him in was the 1978 adaption of The Wiz. In which he played The Scarecrow and let's just say after seeing NBC's adaption, it just shows how badly that movie adapted The Wiz but that's neither here nor there.
And how was the King of Pop in this film? Uh... yeah. He's not bad but he's not really given much to do as this attraction was nothing more than an extended music video in....
Michael does a serviceable job in the role of Captain EO but if I'm to be honest, I do think that his delivery, when he isn't singing is a bit flat.
Pretty Boy: Let us be clear, Michael Jackson has never been a good actor. And, in many ways, he never needs to be. No one has ever said ”I loved Captain EO because of Michael Jackson’s acting”, they loved it because Michael Jackson was in it. So we get a very big divide between him being good, and him being awful. Michael Jackson trying to act is like watching an elementary school play: Terrible, but there’s a certain charm to it. The soft, lilting voice of Michael Jackson utterly fails to make the character of Captain EO a… well, captain, really. He’s far too quiet and meek to be a starship captain, at least how we have come to see it. He’s given lines that a different actor (say, William Shatner or Harrison Ford) could play with that ruff, gruff voice of theirs, but with him they just sound way out of place. Michael Jackson isn’t a good actor when it comes to playing the role of Captain EO, and it’s somewhat tedious to sit through it.
… But to complain about the acting in Captain EO is to complain about the delicious ice cream sundae in front of you because the cherry is too small. No one watches Captain EO to see Michael act, we watch Captain EO to see Michael Jackson be Michael Jackson. And when the plot finally throws up its hands and goes ’welp, might as well just give the audience what they want, we’ve got the run time filled at this point’, the movie goes from being laughably bad to stunningly good.
Years from now, children will not understand why Michael Jackson was a thing. In much the same way our generation only understands Elvis from a dispassionate, outside perspective framed by history; and how Bowie’s impact and the ripples it made had become so ingrained in our society we stopped noticing them, so to will Jackson’s nature be similarly viewed with slight befuddlement. Without knowing the history of Michael Jackson, who the man himself is, this movie seems like a wild mess. It stops halfway through to turn into an extended music video that makes little to no sense, featuring a man whose dancing and singing have become commonplace within the realms of 21st Century society. And yet, even now, a good five years after his death, Michael Jackson’s legacy still lives on in this film. Yes, it’s goofy, but there’s no denying the raw talent the man had. From the expert choreography to his unique singing voice, Captain EO is a snapshot of time where one man utterly dominated not only the music landscape, but the cultural landscape as well.
So really, you’re left with two conflicting views of the actor. As an actor, he’s terrible. Absolutely useless. He can’t put any emotions into his lines and often reacts with somewhat dull surprise as his soft voice fails to convey any sort of interest or meaning. But as a singer, dancer and all round performer, he’s nothing short of amazing. Now whether to judge Michael as an actor in this production, or judge this production as a showcase of Michael Jackson, is another matter altogether.
Attraction
Moviefan12 Captain EO was a smorgasbord of who was big in the '80s. Sure, we had Michael as the lead character, the film was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, produced by George Lucas. Do I even need to say what those two are known for? And the music was done by James Horner.
Everything about this attraction screams '80s in... Space. It originally opened at EPCOT in 1986 and then would open in other Disney Parks such as Disneyland in the same year and Tokyo Disney, one year later and in Disneyland Paris in '92. As for the attraction itself, there is no other way to describe it than what I said up top. It's a Michael Jackson Music video in space with the loosest of a plot in which, Michael as EO and his ragtag team that no one believes in travel to a planet to meet the Supreme Leader and give her a gift.
I said her... In 2010 after Michael's passing, there was demand from fans that Captain EO be brought back and on July 2, 2010, it reopened as Captain EO Tribute.
The tribute part was added in to differentiate this version from the original as there some minor differences.
The 2010 version did not include the in-theater laser and starfield effects. It did utilize hydraulics previously used for Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! to make the seats shake along with Captain EO's spaceship, as well as LED flood-lighting which was new to the theater. They were also used for the bass-heavy musical numbers. The seats also bounced to the beat of Jackson's song. Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!'s seat-back misters were employed when Hooter sneezed. The leg ticklers from Honey, I Shrunk the Audience were also reused.
And alas Captain EO took his last flight at EPCOT last year as December 6, 2015 was the closing date for the second voyage of EO and his crew. They have been replaced by a Disney and Pixar Film Festival. I had the pleasure of checking out this ride, the last time, I went to Disney World and while I'd seen it on YouTube before, you don't get the full majesty of Captain EO by watching it on YouTube. This is one attraction that I had to be there to experience because I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I swear as I watching the events on the screen unfold in front of my eyes, I felt as though I had been transported back to the eighties.
Pretty Boy: It really is the 80s in a nutshell, isn’t it? From how it looks to the various design choices, this sums up the 80s in such a nice little nutshell that future historians will probably use it as a primary source.
The film itself is probably what a proposed Star Wars/Star Trek crossover would look like. Ignoring the Supreme Leader and her drones (who look so much like the Borg I’m convinced someone working on Star Trek just nicked the costumes and called it a day), it’s very much steeped in the ’humanity is wonderful’ message that Star Trek is famous for. Likewise, the general look of it feels very similar to what The Next Generation would copy in just a few years, with the Captain himself being modeled after Star Trek captains rather than Star Wars heroes. However, at the same time, you have the cute aliens, funny robots and unexplained magical powers that made Star Wars so great. So, in many ways, this feels like the love child of Star Wars and Star Trek, with Michael Jackson portraying the end result.
As for the attraction itself, it’s a bizarre case of the attraction being popular for one reason when it started, and being popular for another reason when it finished. That is to say, when it first started, the 3D gimmick no doubt excited people to no end. The 3D itself still works pretty well, even when it’s painfully clear that the director is contriving reasons for things to come out at the audience to show off the 3D to its full potential. But when it came back, people couldn’t give two about the 3D, instead far more interested in the return of the recently deceased Michael Jackson over anything else. The 3D glasses they give you at the start might as well be nostalgia goggles as far as the audience is concerned, since that’s the biggest reason why it returned.
As for the differences, I can’t say I ever really noticed them all that much. I was too swept up in the gloriously absurd nature of the film to notice any fancy lights or leg ticklers. Whether this makes the film better or worse, or whether turning a 3D ride into a 4D one of sorts is a good idea, is something I’ll let other Disney fans debate. As it stands, as a close-to-twenty-minutes movie, it holds up pretty well as a study in 80s pop culture. The 3D worked fine, even if the gimmick of the 3D movie has been fading away due to over-use. I’m not sad to see it go, and I’m interested in seeing what comes next. But, nevertheless, it’s also one of the greatest 80s products of… well, of all time, really, since there’ll never be anything as 80s as it ever again.
Personality
Moviefan12: When I did my first Meet & Greet, it was on Figment and Dreamfinder. I chose them as they are my favorite EPCOT characters of all time and that is in part because of their personalities and I don't thin EO's personality is as strong as those two but it's not bad. The Disney Wiki describes him as Kind, Brave, and Uncertain. While I don't think EO's personality comes through in Michael's acting, you see his bravery and kindness, when he goes up against the Supreme Leader. His willingness to not give up on the mission actually comes through in Michael's dance number.
And another thing that I noticed with EO in the beginning is that he wants to prove himself.
Now listen, the command considers us a bunch of losers, but we're gonna do it right because we're the best. If not, we'll be drummed out of the corps.
It's a very brief moment but it shows how determined EO supposedly is, in completing this mission. So, there glimpses of what EO's personality is and it actually comes through more in Michael Jackson's singing and dancing then through his dancing.
Pretty Boy: Let us be honest, we could throw up any sort of adjectives like ’caring’ and ’persistent’ and it’d describe his character pretty well, since the character himself is pretty thinly written. But lets take him as a character and not as a mouthpiece for Michael Jackson. On paper, the character isn’t that poorly written. He’s essentially a young man trying to prove himself in the eyes of his superior, one that’s willing to risk his own life to help others. He does go into hostile territory and puts his life on the line to free the people of the planet from… Okay, it’s never properly explained, but the fact that he’s willing to risk his life to save these people is admirable in of itself.
So let us imagine Michael Jackson didn’t appear in this, and some other actor came in. Aside from the things you’ve already mentioned, is there much I can add? He’s a kind man who bravely goes into danger, even if he’s uncertain of his own abilities. He has a love of music and magical abilities that save the day, even if the explanation for the abilities is ’he’s Michael Jackson’. If I had to choose another adjective, it’d be ’irresponsible’. He does lead his crew into danger when he isn’t really meant to, but that could be put down to bad luck more than anything else. But perhaps his greatest trait is his honesty, freely admitting that he barged onto the alien planet without invitation in an attempt to save the day. He’s the hero, through and through.
At the end of the day, there’s not a lot to say about Captain EO as a character. He’s an author avatar, nothing more. That could be a good thing or a terrible thing, depending on your point of view. As for me, while I’d admit that he’s barely there as a character, when you get right down to it he doesn’t need to be.
Song
We Are Here To Change The World/Another Part of Me
Moviefan12: This is what Captain EO is best known for. And look as cheesy as the rest of this thing may be, I really do the "We Are Here To Change The World" portion of Captain EO as this is a really fun song and it really lets Michael show off his skills as a performer. Also weird aside, the way that EO frees the dances from their hideous state is eerily similar to what happens to the Winkies at the end of The Wiz.
There is one other song after EO turns the Supreme Leader into a beautiful woman called "Another Part of Me" and well, it's not bad and it again, it is a great showcase for Michael. But what's up with the glowing lighting bolt on EO's shirt? Overall, I like "We Are Here To Change The World" more. Interestingly, "We Are Here To Change The World" wouldn't be until 2004, that this song would get an official release as a part of Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection but it's a shorter edit. Let's take a listen.
Obviously, it's the same song as the one from the film but the sound does seem crisper and clearer. And this does allow you to focus more on the music and even without the visuals to aid it, I think that this song does hold up rather well. I'd honestly say that it's up there with "Man In The Mirror" as one of my favorite Michael Jackson songs. The biggest difference as I expected was the exclusion of "Another Part of Me" and honestly, that's fine because "We Are Here To Change The World" is the more remembered song from Captain EO. And there has actually been one cover of this song by R&B artist, Deniece Williams. Let's check it out.
Covering a Michael song is like covering an Elvis song or a Beatles song. Even if it isn't one of his best, there are high expectations because of who Michael Jackson was. And what do I think of this cover, it's okay and it's enjoyable but it doesn't really do much to differentiate itself from the Michael version. The biggest difference here is that it's a woman singing it and even then, that's not that big of a difference. So, it's a nice effort but I'll be sticking with Michael Jackson's version.
Pretty Boy: Michael Jackson, of course, has a voice and a sound that is uniquely his. You’d know you’re listening to a MJ song without any other frame of reference, simply due to how iconic he is. We Are Here To Change The World is no different in that regard. From that synth beat to those smooth vocals, everything about this screams Michael Jackson… it’s just a shame that the song really isn’t that great.
Oh that’s not to say that the song is terrible, not by any means. Had any artist done this it’d have probably be seen as their magnum opus. But this is Michael Jackson we’re talking about, famous for so many songs that to list them all out would inevitably just hurt my fingers. You all have your favourite Michael Jackson song. This one, however, is just ’okay’ when it comes to the Michael Jackson discography. It’s pretty clear that this song is somewhat run of a mill for him, since you can hear a lot of his other songs hiding in it. It does nothing new or groundbreaking, but instead gives you the generic Michael Jackson song: A decent beat, the usual cheesy but well-meaning vocals, and the clever use of instruments. Nothing about it particularly stands out or demands that it be listened to multiple times.
Of course, talking about this song solely about the musical content is like talking about how good the salads are at McDonalds. This song is clearly designed to be a music video, not a track off an album, and when paired with the visuals everything flows smoothly and cleverly. The song works wonders in that regard, since its synced perfectly and gets to show off the dance moves that made Michael Jackson a household name.
Ultimately, this song gets the stamp of ’okay’. I can’t say it stays with me even immediately after hearing it, and I don’t think it’s the sort of song I’d ever put on if I wanted to sing along to something. At the end of the day it’s decent but, when we’re talking about the King of Pop, ’decent’ for him is a hell of a lot better than most artists can manage.
Appearances Outside The Park
Moviefan12: There was quite a bit of Captain EO merchandise back in the day but none of it really expanded upon the character. It was more there to promote the attraction. Sure, you could say the same thing for the things that were done with Figment but at least those educational films gave him a new purpose. Whereas here, it was all about selling stuff with Captain EO on it. There were dolls of the characters, trading pins, keychains, and Captain EO tee shirts. Bot with the logo and a glow-in-the-dark based on what EO wore in the film.
Okay, so this from the re-opening but the point still stands that EO was huge back in the day and that was in large part because of Michael Jackson. Though I do find it curious that they never sold copies of the poster. As it's a really great poster.
It's easily one of my favorite Disney Parks posters as it does a great job of letting you in on, what you are about to experience as it captures the craziness that is Captain EO. And to be fair, most of this merchandise was sold in the parks, so this category is mislabeled but it really is the only place to put this. But this is also, where I have to bring up one of the worst things that I ever reviewed. If you recall back in November, I took a look at the 3-D comic book adaption of Captain EO.
As I said in my review of this comic, the biggest issue with this comic is that it's a direct adaption of Captain EO, down to adapting the "We Are Here To Change The World" portion and without Michael's singing and dancing, this doesn't work.
I'll quote what I said there to reinforce my point.
The biggest problem that I saw with this being a direct adaption of Captain EO is that the comic even tried to adapt the music video esque sequence, We Are Here To Change The World. Observe…. And now imagine someone trying to capture the flair of this and Michael’s dance moves in comics. It doesn’t exactly transfer well. And it reminds me of two comics that Linkara has reviewed, the previously mentioned, Batman: Fortunate Son as it makes a mistake that Linkara complained about in that review of lyrics not working in a comic format. And they did include the lyrics to We Are Here To Change The World. And without the music to it, it doesn’t work.
And the other comic that this reminds me of that Mr. Luvhaug reviewed is the comic adaption of Xanadu. In that, while Captain EO isn’t a musical per se, I think doing such a direct adaption of Captain EO and including We Are Here To Change The World in the comic just makes it seem like a lesser version of the attraction. And going beyond that for a moment without the vocals of Michael Jackson, these lyrics are just words and not actually lyrics from a song.
I'm not saying that a Captain EO comic couldn't work but as I said in this same review, I think something from the Disney Kingdom line, which gave us the Figment mini series and the upcoming Haunted Mansion miniseries might be the better way to go. They could do something like Guardians of The Galaxy with this concept. And there wouldn't be the issue of having to stick so closely to the film and having to adapt the musical numbers. There was also a made-for-TV documentary hosted by Whoopi Goldberg that took the audience behind the scenes of Captain EO and showed them what went into making it. You can see it on YouTube. Here's the first part.
Now I might be mistaken but I think this may have been playing in the queue area at Captain EO Tribute, when I saw it. So yeah, compared to other Disney Parks characters, Captain EO hasn't had much exposure beyond the parks. In some regards, he's more of an obscure character, even if he is played by Michael Jackson and that shows in how unlike other characters from the very same park, he doesn't get the same love. It almost feels as though with the minimal exposure that Disney have given Captain EO, they treat him more as the Red Headed Stepchild of the Parks. Sure, Captain EO was brought back in 2010. But that was only because of Michael Jackson's death and honestly, if Michael hadn't passed away, Captain EO most likely would have never returned to the parks and it would have remained as just another flash in the pan obscure thing that happened. Sure, it Michael as Captain EO but I almost feel as though that Disney is somewhat ashamed of this attraction because of how stuck in the past it is.
Pretty Boy: Captain EO could never appear outside of the park for the simple reason that he’s so tied up with Michael Jackson. When the 90s hit and accusations started to fly, it’s no wonder Disney pulled the ride for fear of the backlash that might come from having such a controversial figure starring in it. Of course, when Michael tragically passed away (just as he was poised to make a comeback), it’s no surprise that Disney decided to capitalize on it. If anything, it’s shocking that it managed to go on a good six years after his death, long after the public had moved on from the pop idol’s passing.
As it stands, Captain EO will always be a quirk in Disney history. It’s incredibly 80s, featuring a pop star that fell out of and then became beloved in the public eye (all within the span of about 20 years), one that’s so tied up with its lead actor that it never really had a chance to move beyond that. It’s not that telling stories about Captain EO is impossible, but without the musical element that made Captain EO so popular, what’s really left for there to tell? At the end of the day Captain EO will forever be a part of Disney history, but it won’t be shocking if this film ends up being washed away by the sands of time.
Is Captain EO A Good Character?
Moviefan12: No! The answer simply put is that Captain EO is not a good character as he less a character and more a performance for Michael Jackson and in that regard, when the film finally gets to the music video sequence, it is a really good performance from Michael Jackson. So in terms of character, EO doesn't have much to offer but in terms of a performance from a pop legend, it's really good.
Pretty Boy: Short answer: No. Long answer: … Well, still no, but with a large asterisk symbol next to it. As you said, Captain EO is not a character. He’s barely even a concept. He’s a void in which was filled a very talented musician and performer who couldn’t act to save his life. No one is ever going to walk out of the movie theatre and go ’wow, the intricacies and nuances of the Captain EO character really sold me on it’. No, they’re gonna walk out and go ’wow, Michael Jackson was really good in it’. But, at the end of the day, that’s pretty much the point. It was a star vehicle for Michael Jackson. To try and criticize it for being anything else is really missing the point.
Moviefan12: Thanks for joining me, Pretty Boy.
Pretty Boy: Thanks for having me Moviefan. Hopefully we can do this again at some point with another Disney Parks original character
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