On this day in 1986, Michael Jackson’s 3D movie “Captain EO” premiered at Disney theme parks.
The 17-minute film was directed by Frances Ford Coppola, executive produced by George Lucas, and starred Michael Jackson as Captain EO.
Captain EO and his ragtag crew are on a mission to deliver a gift to the wicked alien leader Witch Queen, played by Anjelica Huston, on her planet of rotting, twisted metal and steaming vents.
Captain EO’s alien crew consists of his small flying sidekick Fuzzball, the double-headed navigator and pilot Idee and Odee, robotic security officer Major Domo, a small robot Minor Domo (who fits like a module into Major Domo), and the clumsy elephant-like shipmate Hooter who always manages to blunder the crew’s missions.
Captain EO made full use of its 3-D effects. The action on the screen extended into the audience, including lasers, laser impacts, smoke effects, and starfields that filled the theater. These effects resulted in the seventeen-minute film costing an estimated $30 million to produce. At the time it was the most expensive film ever produced on a per-minute basis, averaging out at $1.76 million per minute.
I saw the movie at Disneyland in Anaheim when it came out and had the glow-in-the-dark T-shirt. I loved that shirt. LOVED it.
Captain EO Part One:
Captain EO Part Two: