Short
3D film featuring the
Muppets. This was
Jim Henson's last major project before his death. It serves as a lovely
epitaph, though, since it's one of the best shows at
Walt Disney World.
Muppet*Vision 3D was the third three-dimensional movie created for the Disney theme parks (after Magic Journeys and Captain EO and before Honey, I Shrunk the Audience and It's Tough to Be a Bug). It is housed in a large brick building near the New York City Street at Disney-MGM Studios (the attraction has also been copied to Disney's California Adventure). The fun starts even before you get inside, as you see a large stone fountain outside that features several of the Muppet characters.
In the line, you learn that you're participating in a unique experiment performed by Muppet Labs, examining the relationship between 'here' and 'there' and the process of getting from one to the other. Inside, there are more sight gags than you can shake a stick at. The biggest problem is that because it's a movie, the line moves in spurts as a new group is taken into the pre-show area. So if you don't happen to be stopped in the right spot, you'll only have a few seconds to gawk at the props and jokes as you walk by.
The pre-show area is a tour-de-force. Three groups of three monitors show a traditional two-dimensional Muppet show that makes creative use of the three-monitor set up (characters move between monitors and/or appear simultaneously on all three). But if you don't feel like watching that, you can look at the electronic sign (you know, the one with green and red dots that can form a single line of text?) that displays countdowns and some funny stuff too ("K-E-R... Are we having fun yet? M-I-T... A college in Massachusetts. F-R-O-O-G!"). And of course there are even more sight gags to look at throughout the pre-show room (but crowds make it impossible to walk around and look at them all).
Then, after the pre-show, you go into the main theater. Done up exactly like the Muppet Theater from The Muppet Show, the room instills an eerie sense of deja vu as you feel like you've been there before (although you've really just seen it on TV). As the show starts, two animatronic old geezers (yes, Statler and Waldorf) appear in their normal box seats (complete with 3D glasses!), ready to comment on the upcoming movie.
The movie itself is typical Muppet fare, with some cheap 3D tricks thrown in (Fozzie: "Did someone say cheap 3D tricks?!?" {blows party favor at audience}). Bubbles descend from the ceiling, water gets splashed, and cannons get fired... and of course, there's Sam the Eagle's famous "Tribute to All Countries (But Mostly America)", a three-hour patriotic spectacular!
An excellent attraction, done in the inimitable Muppet style, and with Disney's trademark magic thrown in for flavoring. A must-see for all but the most jaded!