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The first soft opening of new attraction "Stitch Live!" - using the same
technology as in "Turtle Talk with Crush" - began last Saturday for the
Disneyland Paris/Walt Disney Studios annual passholders. Warning: this article is
full of spoilers!
First, you should know this new version is better than the Hong Kong
original, where it is titled "Stitch Encounter" and which I saw in January 2007.
One of the main reasons is because of the pre-show area and the bigger show
room. There is no pre-show in 'Encounter,' as the attraction is located under
Space Mountain and space was limited.
At the Walt Disney Studios, the attraction is located in the art deco Disney
Channel building where visitors were previously supposed to enjoy a visit of a
TV studio. (It was incredibly boring and certainly not an "attraction.") At
least Stitch Live! is an attraction - if a kind of "B+" ticket.
Because we're in Europe, the show will be presented in different languages, and the
entrance is located at the left corner of the building. When you enter, it looks
the same as before, until you arrive in the pre-show room.
Four TV screens are on the left - a dark blue color, quite elegant, I must say.
Points also, for the lighting, and the art-deco details. You wait a few minutes before the pre-show movie begins on the TV screens
(where the Disney Channel logo appears).
The pre-show starts, and the surprise is that what appears on the screen
has no relation to the attraction itself. Instead, it's trailers for
Disney Channel shows like "Hanna Montana," etc... Of course, the "alibi" is that
we are in the "Disney Channel" building.
In Hong Kong there's no pre-show, and therefore no pre-show room! Which means that if
the Paris park wanted a "Stitch" pre-show, they had to ask Imagineering for a
brand new one. So we may have these Disney Channel plugs instead to help keep
costs in check.
Once the pre-show is over, doors open to the main room as the
previous show lets out. Not only the room is bigger, but the decor around the screen is different,
too. The lights on the left and right hand side will change colors
during the show, depending on the action.
As with 'Turtle Talk' a cast member asks the younger kids to come sit in front of
the screen, as they will get to "interact" with Stitch later.
The show starts with Stitch inside his spaceship, and the image quality is
pristine. This show was in French, and I think we can say that the guy doing the
voice acting was okay. Of course, the interactive technique is perfectly done,
and one moment really impressed me. It's when Stitch took a picture of a young
girl in the front row. There's a "flash" effect, and less than two seconds later
he shows her picture on screen. We all know, of course, how this kind of inlay
effect can be done, but what is amazing is that it's done in mere seconds.
We also see Lilo "calling" Stitch from his Hawaiian home. But the villains trying
to catch Stitch are on their way, and they appear two or three times on a
monitor "inside" the screen.
As the villains announce they are inside the spaceship, it's time for Stitch to
escape, and a maze-like map appears on screen. I must say that this sequence
has been really improved. (In the Hong Kong version, it was a bit poor.) The
audience helps Stitch to find his way out, which of course he does. The last
image with Stitch escaping in his small shuttle is really good, too.
Stitch Live! is a small attraction indeed, but they've done a good job;
better than expected. The show has its limits, but it's a nice addition to the
park, and, of course, the kids will enjoy it! Catch it next time you come to the
Walt Disney Studios.
Before I leave you today, let's again briefly venture into the "Twilight Zone."
In a
previous article of mine, editor Al Lutz noticed that the mannequin in the department store
window of the new Tower of Terror's Hollywood Blvd. area resembled actress Anne Francis from the classic
Twilight Zone "After Hours" episode. (She portrayed Marcia White, a character that turns out to
actually be a mannequin.)
Al compared a picture of the park's mannequin to a still from
the episode, and I thought "good catch," as they do look very similar.
Stills © CBS
So, I called Imagineering to find out if this was indeed a tribute to
the original episode. The answer back was "it's purely coincidental." Al then asked
if there was a beauty spot on the mannequin's cheek which the actress wore in the
episode, if so then maybe it wasn't so coincidental after all. So last Saturday, when I
went back to the Studios, I double-checked, and you know what...
...the mannequin does have a beauty spot.
I didn't notice it before because of the angle I shot the picture at, and
it's on the left instead of the right cheek as it was on actress Anne Francis in
the show. (This may be due to budgets. Simply by putting the beauty spot on the
left cheek rather than on the right, the tribute is still there, but no
rights may need to be paid to the actress.)
Anyway, next time you pass by the department store, please stop a minute to
say hello to Marcia White, a lovely mannequin that after all these years is still lost in... the
Twilight
Zone!
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