Disney recently updated Mickey’s PhilharMagic, and it will be EPIC!
Well, we understand that many of you might not be aware of what Mickey’s PhilharMagic is. Let us find out what it is and why it should interest you!
What is Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Mickey’s PhilharMagic is an attraction you can find in many Disney Parks located throughout the world.
When we talk about Disney World, you will find this attraction at Walt Disney World Resort present at the Magic Kingdom.
The show promises 12 minutes of pure entertainment. It features some of your favorite characters from selected Disney movies, water, scents, and many unique features. With a 150 feet wide 3D screen, the presentation will be larger than life. It is one of the biggest 3D screen you will ever come across!
Coming back to the point, it was only recently that this attraction got an upgrade. From what we got to see, this attraction also includes a scene from Coco of Pixar.
This takes us back to the times when they released the attraction initially. This was back in the year 2003. Well, do you want to know what happened back then? Let us then keep reading.
Mickey’s PhilharMagic 2003
Let us look back to how it all started in 2003. The debut of Mickey’s PhilharMagic came out through a rather grand press event.
For announcing the opening of the rib-tickling 3D show, they did not just lay down the red carpet as they did for most other show announcements. Instead, they decided to have several noted celebrities of the popular TV show The Brady Bunch on the grounds.
Although many of them were there, the most rooted for was Barry Williams and Florence Henderson. For obvious reasons, it drew a huge crowd. The guest list also had prominent construction developer and scriptwriter of Disney, Marty Sklar.
Unlike the opening of other popular shows, there was no pre-show on the release of this attraction. It rather had many, really many people, press members, and noted celebrities.
All of them had 3D glasses in their hands. Quickly they made an announcement, asked people to sit and enjoy the show, and soon many more had to squeeze in.
A riot of applause filled the theatre from corners to corners when the 12-minute show finished. Yes, it was that good.
Disney-Pixar collaboration back in 2003
Well, if you were there back in 2003 when Mickey’s PhilharMagic was launched, you too would have thought that Disney and Pixar had collaborated for this attraction.
And there were reasons for assuming the same as well. In the recent past, from 2003, Disney and Pixar have had a collaboration. They together made movies such as A Bug’s Life, Monsterc Inc, Toy Story 2, Toy Story, and many more.
Needless to put it across, all of these movies were highly appreciated and loved by all. This fact was proved by the excellent word of mouth it got and the numbers it collected at the box office.
Hence, assuming that these sharks have collaborated for the attraction was called for, right?
However, that was wrong. When the attraction was launched in 2003, the Pixar Disney relationship has hit the rocks.
There were even rumors that both of these sharks had decided to part ways. Thankfully, they did not, and thus we got some fantastic movies afterward.
Thus, the Disney and Pixar collaboration did not happen back then for this attraction because of the rift they were facing back then.
However, we all had our doubts if the two big sharks had come together for this attraction. However, through one statement of Marty Sklar, the air was cleared.
He was asked if Pixar had any role to play in the success of such a fantastic show. To this, he replied that Disney was solely responsible for the magic that was created on the newly launched attraction.
That cleared all our doubts that Pixar was in no way involved in the launch of the attraction Mickey’s PhilharMagic.
Mickey’s PhilharMagic 2021
It was only recently that the attraction Mickey’s PhilharMagic got updated. On the updated version, we saw a scene that shook us.
The show had a scene from Coco, a Disney and Pixar movie. This new segment has some of Donald Duck’s hijinks highlights from the movie.
Hence, now Disney World’s attraction Mickey’s PhilharMagic is officially a production of both Pixar and Disney. This is good news to all the fans who have been rooting for the collaboration all these years since 2003.
In a recent interview, the now-retired Kevin Rafferty, the then Imagineering Creative Director, revealed how a collab was planned even at the initial launch.
And for the very same reason, the design of the attraction Mickey’s PhilharMagic was planned and made so that some scenes could be added in the future.
There is a common question that we all must be wondering by now. Why did they choose the film Coco?
Well, many movies could have been there as well, are there not? The then creative director Kevin Rafferty reveals why they chose this one.
He says that there were a lot of factors that played a key role. A few and the most important of them are color, popularity, diversity, and music.
If you think that the update only has included a part of this movie, you are not right. Along with adding the segment from the movie Coco, the complete show has seen a boost. This is in terms of updating the scene and making it look more lively today.
The work of including the sequence was brain wracking, long, and tiring but worth it. Disney and Pixar came up with the sequence, beats, animation, and storyboard.
And the result, as we all can see, has turned out to be pure magic on screen. The freshly updated scene fills the now 4D screen from edge to edge, making people want more.
What are the other shows that took place at this very theatre?
Come to the Fantasyland theatre to enjoy the now 4D (it started as a 3D movie) Mickey’s PhilharMagic. If you thought this was the only attraction here, prepare for unlimited fun.
This theatre is 50 years old and witnessed several entertainment options over the decades. Let us have a look at what those attractions were.
The first attraction played at this theatre was The Mickey Mouse Revue. This began in 1971 when Disney World opened its gates for the first time. The last time people experienced this show was in 1980. It was then shifted to Disneyland in Tokyo where it acclaimed great honor and became a huge hit.
They had to keep the place shut till 1987. It was then that the movie Magic Journeys started featuring in this theatre. Till 1993, guests enjoyed watching the movie.
In 1994, the show Legend of the Lion King started to feature in this theatre. This attraction was highly innovative in its own way. This is because it had puppeteers in love action and snippets of the highly famous movie blended perfectly and seamlessly.
This attraction ran here until 2002, before the current attraction Mickey’s PhilharMagic, took over. This attraction has been running headstrong since then. With the current update and the Pixar and Disney collaboration, it will only rule henceforth.
