Inside Out

Inside Out ~ Disney/Pixar is back with their entry in the 2015 summer blockbuster season - Inside Out. The premise this time is one pleasantly similar to a much-missed EPCOT ride called Cranium Command, those who remember it know what I mean. We see the inside of a young girl's head, the five emotions who run her personality, and turmoil caused when her family is uprooted from Minnesota and moved to San Francisco.

The star power of the flick is provided by the cast inside young Riley's head - Joy (Amy Poehler), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Sadness (Phyllis Smith who steals the movie), and Bing Bong (Richard Kind) the imaginary friend kept secret from the previews. As Riley deals with the move, Joy and Sadness, along with Bing Bong journey through her personality to get things back in order. Much like the personified characters, the viewers are run through a gauntlet of emotions as well, but then again, that's what Pixar does so well.

Get to the theater in time for the wonderful short "Lava," which may start the emotional rollercoaster early for some folks. I also liked that the director Pete Docter personally introduces the film, a throwback to old Hollywood, and specifically thanks the audience. Nice touch. Two thumbs up for Inside Out.

If you'd like to hear more about Inside Out, it's the featured topic of this week's episode of The Make Mine Magic Podcast, and you might want to check out today's blog entry at French Fry Diary as well. Enjoy.

Edible Artistry

Recently we vacationed for a week in Walt Disney World. For those that know me and The Bride, you know this isn't unusual, but this was a special trip, one to celebrate a landmark birthday for The Bride. One of the things she had planned was dinner at Teppan Edo. This is the rather expensive and fancy Japanese restaurant located in the Japan section of the World Showcase in EPCOT. We had been before, and always had a great time and great food.

We love Benihana, but to be clear, Teppan Edo is Benihana amped up to a thousand. The food, the show, the service, all make Benihana, a place we love, look like amateurs. All that and a bag of chips, plus that wonderful Disney touch - that's why we love Teppan Edo.

Now a trick for visitors to Walt Disney World (and if you want more tips, why aren’t you listening to The Make Mine Magic Podcast?) is when it's your birthday, your anniversary, or any special occasion, ask customer service if you can have a button that says so. Everyone will know if you're wearing it, and wish you good tidings. And if you're at the restaurants, sometimes you get bonuses, like a treat, a dessert, or what The Bride got on this adventure.

Our chef, using the makings on the hot grill for our appetizer, created art. Over the course of several minutes, he painstakingly sculpted this Minnie Mouse for her out of onions, carrots, and noodles - and then we all ate it. The chef even let The Bride get up and cook a little as well, and she even got a chef's hat. It was a wonderful time for all.

You can hear more about the dinner on this episode of The Make Mine Magic Podcast, and more on the trip as a whole in later episodes.

The Return of Captain EO

As mentioned in the newest episode of The Make Mine Magic Podcast, I got the chance to see Captain EO again on our most recent trip to Orlando and Walt Disney World. Here are a few of my thoughts and observations.

From 1986 to 1996, this legendary seventeen minute music video/short scifi film was the main attraction at the theater next to Journey into Imagination at the EPCOT park in Walt Disney World. The adventure with the heroic Captain EO bringing a 'gift' to the evil fascist Supreme Leader. The gift is music, song and dance, that in the hands (and feet, voice, and body) of EO's Michael Jackson transforms first the soldiers of, and then the Supreme Leader herself (Angelica Huston), into better more positive people. The dark planet, looking very Giger at first is changed into a bight paradise.

Captain EO was the brainchild of Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Michael Jackson, trying to recreate the longform video story style of Jackson's Thriller in a new venue - 3D, or more accurately 4D. This is not just any 3D, but 3D with in the theater effects as well, including shaking chairs, internal light effects, and even misters in the seats. It's full effect. While in the nearly three decades since its debut, 3D effects in the cinema have gotten better, the full effects of this special theater still are pretty spectacular.

In memorial of Michael Jackson death and his achievements with Captain EO, EPCOT brought the attraction back in 2010. It was removed in 1996, though I don't think anyone said it out loud, because of all the legal problems Jackson was having at the time, and it was perhaps not thought he was a good role model for kids.

The stigma hasn't gone. There were jokes about 'kid touching' in line when I was there this past month, but still there were a lot of Michael Jackson fans in line who were very excited about the show. There was a genuine electricity in how psyched people were to see this. It was as if his crimes, supposed or otherwise, had evaporated, and all that mattered was this scifi musical spectacular from another age.

Disney shows the film as it originally played, with the same preshow as well, but calls it The Return of Captain EO, but it doesn't matter what it's called, this silly space opera with wannabe Muppets, and two terrific songs - "We Can Change the World" and "Another Part of Me" - along with coo special effects and great dancing, still dazzles and entertains. If you get a chance, definitely see it at EPCOT while it lasts.

You can hear The Bride and I talk about Captain EO on The Make Mine Magic Podcast in this episode here, and you can also see the film in 2D below. Enjoy.

StormStruck

Last year we made the mistake of visiting Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. Their Twister ride was a disappointing walk-through with some sorta educational, mostly exploitation footage of tornadoes, followed by them putting a fan on you and getting you wet while watching some amateur special effects fake a tornado on a soundstage. What a waste of time.

On my most recent trip to Walt Disney World’s Epcot we went to a small hidden corner of Innoventions for something called StormStruck. It was about a quarter the size, maybe even less, of Twister and literally blew it away.

Now it’s sponsored by several window and roofing companies as well as The Weather Channel, so at times it does seem like an infomercial but for the most part it’s all excitement. You’re wearing 3-D glasses on a deck overlooking a virtual reality neighborhood as a terrible storm approaches, and when it does, it feels real. Great stuff! Don’t miss this hidden gem.