Michael Jackson Lives On as Disneyland Revives "Captain EO"

To those who worried that the title "This Is It" was to be taken literally, never fear: this morning the official announcement came through the Disney airwaves that Captain EO, the legendary 1986 3D musical epic from the combined forces of Disney and Michael Jackson, will return to the Disneyland Resort for an "exclusive, limited engagement" beginning February 2010.

Since the premature passing of the King of Pop last June ignited a global frenzy of anything and everything Michael Jackson, many of those old enough to remember how tomorrow looked through Disney's eyes back in the '80s and '90s have been hoping the WDC might dust off the fabulous relic of Jackson's career that's been stored away in the archives since closing in 1997. The Francis Ford Coppola-directed, George Lucas-produced, $30 million 17-minute 3D epic music video/space opera starred Jackson (at his peak) in the title role and followed the titular captain and his ragtag crew on a mission to find the good inside Anjelica Huston (as the Witch Queen, a dramatic shift from her usual film roles...oh wait, no), using starfields, lasers, and a song called "We Are Here To Change The World."



I'm going to come out and admit that I actually have never seen Captain EO, despite having had many chances to do so during its original run. Forgive my preteen self for preferring endless multiple trips around Big Thunder Mountain and the Matterhorn to sitting in a theater for 20 minutes to watch a 3D Michael Jackson video at Disneyland. As I am now older and wiser (and have an annual pass, meaning I have the luxury of wasting time), I'll certainly make sure to catch a screening during the return engagement, purely for the camp value of the whole experience.