The Captain Eo Page
So
now Captain Eo has flown his last mission, used the map, found
the Supreme Leader, and given her the gift. Or at least, he would
have had Hooter not eaten the map! Here's a little tribute to the
great music, good visuals, and generally horrible acting that
made Captain Eo campy, fun, and a part of the history of
Disneyland.
First of all, the principal players in this little moral play
about the power of music, are few, although many were involved in
the filming and do appear in the film. Michael Jackson, of
course, is Captain Eo, and Angelica Huston is the Supreme Leader,
both in and out of her spidery makeup. The late Dick Shawn, once
toured as the 2nd Funniest Man in America, has the role of
Captain Eo's boss, who appears only in shakey, holographic form
at the beginning of the film.
The named characters aboard Eo's ship in the film are Captain Eo,
Hooter (the sorta elephant), Major Domo, Minor Domo (both
robots), Geex (the two-headed whatever it was) and Fuzzball, the
flying monkey. On the alien planet, only the Supreme Leader
acknowledges a name.
Captain Eo was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and the
executive producer was George Lucas. The film runs an entire 17
minutes. Although closely associated with Tomorrowland at
Disneyland, the film actually debuted in Journey into Imagination
at Epcot Center at WDW on September 12, 1986. It opened at
Disneyland in the Magic Eye theatre 6 days later on September 18.
To celebrate the premiere at Disneyland, a non-stop party was
held, and the park was open for 36 hours continually. Those who
attended the premiere got a souvenier t-shirt.
Angelica Huston never looked worse on film than as when we first see her as the Supreme Leader, descending from her nest, very spider like indeed.
I always thought this character looked like
what would happen if the Alien went to a Borg Beauty Shop.
But by the end of the film, she never looked better than in the
final scenes, waving to the conquering Captain Eo, having turned
their tortured souls free with his music (including his
neon-glowing rainbow T-shirt and spark-producing fingertips!).
This is a publicity shot during production. 
Here's a couple other shots from the film.
Comments? Send to drhoades@dougsdisneyland.com
