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Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3D |
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Logo of Muppet*Vision 3D |
Attraction type |
3D-Film Theater |
Ride duration |
17:30 minutes |
Audio-animatronics |
10 |
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Wheelchair accessible |
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Assistive listening available |
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Closed captioning available |
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Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3D is an attraction found at Disney's Hollywood Studios, part of the Walt Disney World Resort, and at Disney's California Adventure Park, part of the Disneyland Resort.
[edit] Premise
The show is a 3-D film featuring Jim Henson's Muppets. Due to the use of Audio-Animatronics, a live full-bodied Muppet and other similar effects, the show is sometimes referred to as Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 4-D. It was directed by Henson and written by Bill Prady.
Before being seated in the theater where the film is shown, the queue winds through "Muppet Labs", home of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker. The audience passes several office doors featuring outlandish job descriptions then they see half a motorbike sticking out of the wall with a hole in the shape of Gonzo, then enters a large room filled with Muppet "props" and boxes with silly labels. Muppets greet the visitors from television screens suspended from the ceiling, interacting with one another at times. The audience is repeatedly reminded to take a pair of 3D glasses from several containers around the room before entering the theater, which is modeled after the theater depicted on The Muppet Show. Muppet*Vision is the only Disney 3D theme park film currently playing which actually calls their glasses "3D Glasses" (It's Tough to Be a Bug calls them "Bug Eyes", Honey, I Shrunk the Audience refers to them as "Safety Goggles" and Mickey's Philharmagic calls them "Opera Glasses").
At the Disney's Hollywood Studios, there is a sign to the right that says "key under mat." If you lift up the mat, there is an actual key screwed into the ground. Also, in the pre-show area there is a picture of a Muppet version of Jim Henson in the rafters.
Also at the Disney's Hollywood Studios, if you happen to look up to your left hand side in the large pre-show room filled with Muppet "props", you will encounter what appears to be "a net full of jello." This was actually meant as a play-of-word reference to former Disney Mousketeer Annette Funicello
At California Adventure, the queue is different only in that it features a cast member at the turnstile handing out the glasses individually and the "hallway" scene from the Disney's Hollywood Studios queue is replaced with a "courtyard" filled with various props.
[edit] The show
MuppetVision 3D introduces Waldo C. Graphic, the world's first computer-generated Muppet, who also appears in The Jim Henson Hour. Waldo is "created" by Dr. Honeydew and Beaker during a demonstration of three-dimensional imagery, but proves uncontrollable and wreaks havoc throughout the remainder of the film, especially when the ending patriotic number by Sam the Eagle is reduced to shambles.
Aside from the Muppets on-screen, there are also a number of in-theater Muppets, mostly animatronic, that interact with the show. Statler & Waldorf heckle from a balcony near the screen, an orchestra of penguins rises into sight to perform, and the Swedish Chef "operates" the film projector from the booth above and behind the audience. Bean Bunny leaves the film at one point after being blamed for ruining several scenes (mainly Miss Piggy's), and Sweetums, who is a live full-bodied Muppet, comes out into the audience to search for him having already done so on screen. At one point in the show, there appears to be computerized bubbles blown, although, if the glasses are removed, there are real soap bubbles. At the end of the show Swedish Chef tries to destroy the now out of control Waldo, who has destroyed the film and is all alone on a blank screen, by firing a gun at him. After missing several times (shooting holes in the screen and even the theater wall), the Swedish Chef resorts to using a large cannon. This "blows-up" the theater, leaving a (projected) hole in the main screen, as well as "revealing" some bricks and sheet rock throughout the main theater.
[edit] External links
Disney's Hollywood Studios attractions |
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Hollywood Boulevard: |
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Backlot: |
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Mickey Avenue: |
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Pixar Place |
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Animation Courtyard: |
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Sunset Boulevard: |
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Parades: |
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Annual Events: |
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Items in italics indicate entertainment venues with set showtimes, rather than continuously running attractions.
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The Muppets |
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Television shows |
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Feature films |
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Television specials |
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Direct-to-video |
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Other |
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Characters |
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