After all of the secrecy, speculation, and mysterious viral marketing campaigns, Brad Bird’s new live-action sci-fi feature Tomorrowland is finally here. Was it worth the wait?
© Disney
1) More Plus Ultra. Brad Bird and his co-screenwriter Damon Lindelof created a really cool concept for the film about a secret society of the world’s best minds called “Plus Ultra.” Most references about the group were cut, which is unfortunate because the group plays an incredibly important, foundational role in the narrative. Thankfully, much of this mythology is online (see links below), but it still would have been so great in the film.
Here’s a scene that was cut that explains more about the society (enjoy the vintage-style Disney animation in the clip, too):
2) More 1964 World’s Fair. I was hoping that the film would show more of a digital recreation of the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Alas, we only get a quick glimpse of the entrance, the non-existent Hall of Invention building (it was created for the film), and a quick view of the PepsiCo/UNICEF “It’s a Small World” pavilion (the queue, boats, and flume of the attraction were filmed at Disneyland where the attraction was relocated after the World’s Fair). The crew also filmed footage at the Carousel of Progress attraction, which was the former GE pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair (the attraction now resides at the Magic Kingdom Park in Walt Disney World), but none of the footage made the final cut. Total bummer.
3) More Tomorrowland. The production team along with futuristic designer Syd Mead created an incredible world of Tomorrow for the film. Unfortunately, we don’t get to spend a lot of time there during the movie. I left wanting more, more, more (and a big yes to jet packs in the future!).
4) More Walt Disney (maybe). Given the content of the alternate reality game that took place during the D23 Expo 2013 to promote the film, it seemed like Walt Disney the man would be playing a role in the movie. Instead, the only mention of Walt Disney that made it to the final cut is in the opening credits and on the digital recreation of the PepsiCo/UNICEF pavilion at the World’s Fair (Disney’s name is on the building). /Film has a great write-up about this. It’s probably just as well, as much of this fictional representation could have been misinterpreted, but it still would have been great to explore more the contents of the fictional “1952” box and how Walt Disney was a modern-day member of the Plus Ultra Society in the film’s mythology.
Oh well. Despite my complaints, the film is still a lot of fun and it’s great to see an original family film slug it out with all of the summer sequels at the box office. Go see Tomorrowland and let me know what you think.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Tomorrowland is currently playing in theaters.
Links
- Official Tomorrowland website
- Plus Ultra Society (viral marketing site; click the Plus Ultra logo and enter password WED4221964)
- Stop Plus Ultra (viral marketing site)
- Tomorrowland iOS app (exploration of the contents of the fictional “1952” box)
Stanford Clark 