Has Anyone Seen PhillharMagic

[rnrlesnar]

I saw an ad for this on my Disney Credit card site. It seems like a pretty cool show. It replaced the Lion King puppet show at Disney World. It's some kind of 3D movie with a bunch of the Disney characters animated in 3D.

[Maerj]

I haven't seen the show yet, but I hope to get back to WDW in the spring, either April or May, so I will definitely see it then.

[wdwleesa]

I am going on Dec. 9-I will report on this when I return. I have read good and bad things about it on different Disney sites. However, I am a huge fan of traditional Disney-Mickey, Donald Duck, etc. and they figure heavily in this. I think it will be great!!

Leesa

[Uncle Remus]

this attraction looks very good. i think it will be much better than
Shrek 4-D. if you want to know more about this attraction go to :
www.wdwmagic.com
they have alot of info about the show.

[Prince Adam]

I hope that this ends up sucking and being completely unsuccessful-that way, Eisner will (hopefully) rethink re-animating Disney films in computer.

[jimdotbeep]

It is by far the greatest atraction at any disney them park It takes you though Donald's magical travels though all of the greatest Disney musical numbers in history. what's even more Awsome is that this atraction is more thatn a fieast for the eyes and ears. When ever they is a water related sequeance they splash you with actuall water. Best of all when they do the "Be Our Guest" you can actually SMELL the pastries floating abouve you . As far as using compputer animation... there is no way to make a hand drawn movie in 3-D. Besides they used many of the artist from the original movies to supervise the animation of the charecters.

[blackcauldron85]

It is by far the greatest atraction at any disney them park

I, too, love this attraction!!! I love Disney characters, so, for me, I love seeing Donald interact with them, and it's fun seeing some great scenes, and I love how it feels like you're there, especially in the Agrabah sequence.

When ever they is a water related sequeance they splash you with actuall water.

Except for at the end of "I Just Can't Wait to Be King"...the first time I saw the show, I was waiting for the splash, but it didn't happen!

It's funny- sometimes when listening to the songs that are in the show when I'm not at the show (like on CDs and whatnot), I think of the attraction...I can't help it!

[Escapay]

Philhar is one of my favourite attractions at Magic Kingdom and Walt Disney World as a whole, and I've got two pairs of 3D glasses to prove it.

It would've been three, but I had to return a pair to a manager when he saw I was using them as sunglasses while stocking.

albert

[Nala]

I saw an ad for this on my Disney Credit card site. It seems like a pretty cool show. It replaced the Lion King puppet show at Disney World. It's some kind of 3D movie with a bunch of the Disney characters animated in 3D.

We saw it in September and enjoyed it. Mickey played the sorcerer but that's all I'm gonna say. It's an awesome show.

[DisneyFanatic]

I saw it last summer and I really liked it. I thought it was really cute. I recommend it.

[Daisy Duck]

I agree with everyone. It's really great! Each of the four parks at Disney World has a 3-D attraction and this one is definitely the best in my opinion. The variety of characters, the music, and the special effects are spectacular.

[David S.]

I completely agree!

Mickey's Philharmagic is my favorite of the 3-D films at WDW (with Tough To Be a Bug second). It's also one of my MK and WDW overall favorites!

When I was little there was an Animatronic musical show called Mickey Mouse Revue that played in the same building, with the same premise. Mickey would conduct an orchestra in a musical revue of classic songs from the Animated Classic features. That was one of my favorites, so I was disappointed when the show got sent to Tokyo in 1980, and I am happy that after all these years we have another attraction in the same exact building - the "Fantasyland Concert Hall" - that recalls the spirit and concept of the original revue.

Philharmagic is a great show with catchy, memorable, classic music, warm and lovable characters, and PLENTY of laughs. And I love the subplot of Donald chasing the hat through the various scenes.

Two big differences, of course, between MMR and MP is that Philharmagic is able to use characters and songs from the "new golden age" that didn't exist yet in the Mickey Mouse Revue. And that the once Animatronic-based revue is now primarily a 3-D film-based one.

One could say the 3-D film-based shows have replaced the animatronic shows as the Imagineers' medium of choice for the continuously-cycling show-based attractions in the parks. So it really helps that they have come so far in developing the 3-D shows into something much more than "movies".

Shows like Philharmagic and the Bug show at AK have, in my opinion, just as much charm and magic as the Animatronic musical classics I love so much, like the Country Bears, Tiki Birds, late, great, Kitchen Kabaret, and the original Mickey Mouse Revue. The characters and music really come alive with warmth and personality. When Donald flies over the audience and gets stuck in the back wall, I am so into the show I am not even consciously thinking "first he's a film character and now he's an AA". The transition is seemless because the show is so FUN and you are engrossed in the story. IMO, the same is true for Flik and Hopper in the AK "Tough To Be a Bug" show, and various Muppet characters in MuppetVision that are presented both on film and as AAs.

But yes, for the 3-D shows, Philharmagic is my favorite of them all - a true Mousterpiece

PS. For anyone interested in info about the original Mickey Mouse Revue, here is an article and a video:

http://web.archive.org/web/200711300342 ... xe/mmr.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj2e0k4Lvr0

(excerpt of the show from the Grand Opening of WDW TV special)

[blackcauldron85]

PS. For anyone interested in info about the original Mickey Mouse Revue, here is an article and a video:

http://web.archive.org/web/200711300342 ... xe/mmr.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj2e0k4Lvr0

(excerpt of the show from the Grand Opening of WDW TV special)

Thank you for posting that!!! I have read about the show, but never have been able to see it.

I'm in the process of watching it now. So far, so cute...until Snow White. I heard an operatic voice, and immediately thought of Aurora...but, wait, it's Snow White! Those who call her the Shrill (and you know who you are!) will be pleased at her updated voice, but ugh. They probably couldn't find anyone who sounded like Adrianna Casselotti, but still...doesn't sound anything like Snow White.

It sounded like a woman's voice (or two) was thrown in with the Three Little Pigs, but 2 of their original voices were women, so that makes sense. I'm hoping the forest animals are supposed to be singing with the Dwarfs...otherwise, why the heck are there women's voices?!?

And the Fairy Godmother sounds different, but maybe I should stop nitpicking and just enjoy the show. I think I would've preferred them using the soundtracks from the films. I wish they showed Cinderella's tranformation!!! How did they show her transforming? Did the Cinderella in her work clothes just go below and the Cinderella in her ball gown came up?

Very nice, detailed article. I don't have time now, but if I remember later, I should search for the whole show on YouTube. Thanks again!

[PrincePhillipFan]

I'm in the process of watching it now. So far, so cute...until Snow White. I heard an operatic voice, and immediately thought of Aurora...but, wait, it's Snow White! Those who call her the Shrill (and you know who you are!) will be pleased at her updated voice, but ugh. They probably couldn't find anyone who sounded like Adrianna Casselotti, but still...doesn't sound anything like Snow White.

Same here. I was floored by how completely different was and thought "That doesn't sound like her!" I know a lot of people rag on Adriana's voice, but I personally found it to be very pretty and made her a lot more distinct than the other princesses, along with her childlike naivety and optimism, which is part of why she's my favorite princess.

I find it weird that Disney often flipflopped on who did her voice in the 60s-80s. In the Mickey Mouse Revue they obviously used a different woman, but when they rerecorded Snow White's voice for Snow White's Grotto at Disneyland in 83, they got Adriana who was about 67 at the time. One of my favorite stories is this she told:

In 1983, the same year when the Japanese got their very own Grotto, the Fantasyland section of California's Disneyland park was extensively refurbished and remodeled. The original voice of Snow White, Adriana Caselotti, was invited to re-record "I'm Wishing" for the new Fantasyland's Snow White Grotto.

The touching story tells that Ms. Caselotti could not reach the high notes during the re-recording sessions. The orchestra had already been recorded, so she had to sing in the same key as she had sung nearly 50 years earlier. The legend continues that she simply couldn't do it - and before the last take she glanced skyward and quietly asked for the late Mr. Disney's help in finding Snow White's voice. The last take succeeded beyond expectations and made tears in everyone's eyes.

Wow, that was really off topic, but just wanted to post that anyway.

As for Philharmagic, I love it and think it's certainly one of the best 3D shows that Disney has ever done. My only complaint is that they seem to stick so heavily to the newer Renaissance films, than any of the older classics except for very snippets of Fantasia and Peter Pan. I would love to see a section somewhere involving Snow White, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Alice, or Sleeping Beauty.

[dizfan]

PS. For anyone interested in info about the original Mickey Mouse Revue, here is an article and a video:

Never saw it at WDW, but I did see it many times at Tokyo Disneyland, most recently last December. It is such a nice show. It is actually closing for good this week to make way for PhilharMagic.

[David S.]

Yes, I had heard it was leaving Tokyo, that's a shame. I'm glad you had the chance to see it while it was still playing there!

Thank you for posting that!!! I have read about the show, but never have been able to see it.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Amy!

I wish they showed Cinderella's tranformation!!! How did they show her transforming? Did the Cinderella in her work clothes just go below and the Cinderella in her ball gown came up?

Unfortunately, I can't remember as I was only in first or second grade the last time I saw the show! Hopefully a video from Tokyo will shed light on this, or maybe someone else here who has seen the show in person may remember.

I know a lot of people rag on Adriana's voice, but I personally found it to be very pretty and made her a lot more distinct than the other princesses, along with her childlike naivety and optimism, which is part of why she's my favorite princess.

I agree! I really enjoy that operatic style of singing and think her voice is beautiful. That's a beautiful story about Adriana recording for the Wishing Well. Thanks for sharing!

My only complaint is that they seem to stick so heavily to the newer Renaissance films, than any of the older classics except for very snippets of Fantasia and Peter Pan. I would love to see a section somewhere involving Snow White, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Alice, or Sleeping Beauty.

That was one of my first reactions too - that they were primarily focusing on the newer films at the expense of Walt-era classics. Then I thought about how most of the films that were depicted in MMR are already represented in Fantasyland, and the newer Renaissance films were basically not at all, except for the Lion King show that had to close in order for Philharmagic to open.

So I think it's a nice way to keep Simba in the show while adding Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin to Fantasyland.

Of course, if they ever made multiple versions of the show that could rotate periodically (like they once did for the Country Bears) to keep things "fresh", that would include the classic characters and films you mentioned, I would certainly love that as well!

And I'd LOVE it if "our" Fantasyland in Florida could expand to represent more characters and films in the dark rides like Disneyland's does - like the Pinocchio and Alice dark rides that were never in Florida - and they still have Toad, too. Plus Casey Jr., and Storybookland.

There is sooo much unused space at MK Fantasyland, even more so with the 20K Lagoon being gone.

If the long-rumored Little Mermaid darkride for the old 20K site ever gets green-lit, I will be one happy camper!

PS. Prince Philip Fan, a while ago you posted an AMAZING article detailing the history of each and every version of the Snow White darkride that ever existed in the Disney parks. I stayed up one night reading through the entire thing, and I think I forgot to thank you. So here's a belated thanks for posting that great article.

I can be a "purist" at times about the parks, but this is a case for me where the new WDW version is my favorite of the 4 versions I've exerienced (2 at DL, 2 at WDW) even though it differs the most from the original intent of the ride. I like how it mixes light, happy moments with the darkness that once dominated the entire ride, and is therefore more faithful to the film. And I LOVE the "happy ending" sequence currently at WDW!

[dizfan]

I wish they showed Cinderella's tranformation!!! How did they show her transforming? Did the Cinderella in her work clothes just go below and the Cinderella in her ball gown came up?

In Japan, I was able to see that there was one Cinderella that was dressed like a maid, while the magic sparkles came out you could vaguely see that the wall spun around to reveal another Cinderella figure dressed in her gown.

[Loomis]

Saw this originally in Hong Kong, and then I think I did again in WDW. The reactions of the Hong Kong audience, grabbing Ariel’s jewels and jumping as a cork flew towards them, made it clear that the vast majority of the locals hadn’t seen anything like this either. It was quite special seeing it there - in a brand new theatre too.

[blackcauldron85]

In Japan, I was able to see that there was one Cinderella that was dressed like a maid, while the magic sparkles came out you could vaguely see that the wall spun around to reveal another Cinderella figure dressed in her gown.

Awesome- thank you so much for answering my question!

The reactions of the Hong Kong audience, grabbing Ariel’s jewels and jumping as a cork flew towards them, made it clear that the vast majority of the locals hadn’t seen anything like this either.

Lol, people do that here, too. Heck, I do that here, too (well, for me, it's more when Donald wants us to help him).

[dizfan]

Lol, people do that here, too. Heck, I do that here, too (well, for me, it's more when Donald wants us to help him).

Yes that true, but it's not the same as in Hong Kong. It's hard to explain, but their reactions in Hong Kong are just much more enthusiastic, they just go crazy. I was watching people react more than I was watching the screen at HKDL.