What if Don Bluth stayed at Disney?/Fantasmic!

***Fantasmic!*** is a nighttime show at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. The show formerly operated at Tokyo DisneySea. It features fireworks, characters, live actors, water effects, pyrotechnics, lasers, music, audio-animatronics, searchlights, decorated boat floats, and mist screen projections. The narrative of *Fantasmic!* is a voyage through Mickey Mouse's imagination that culminates in a battle against the Disney Villains.

*Fantasmic!* originated at Disneyland in 1992 after Walt Disney Creative Entertainment was asked to create a nighttime spectacular involving water and fireworks to reinvigorate the space in front of the Rivers of America. The area was reworked, including terracing the walkways to accommodate viewing and modifying part of Tom Sawyer Island to allow the show's staged live action segments. The producers employed the resources of Walt Disney Feature Animation and Walt Disney Imagineering.

A second version featuring new scenes opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios in 1998, and a third version premiered at Tokyo DisneySea in 2011, replacing *BraviSEAmo!*. An updated version of Disneyland's *Fantasmic!* debuted in 2017, featuring a re-recorded soundtrack in addition to new scenes, lighting, choreography and costumes. A third version premiered at Disneyland in 2022 with new clouded lasers and searchlights in the viewing area. A revamped version premiered at Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2022, with new scenes and special effects.

## Disneyland version

### Synopsis

*Fantasmic!* takes place on the waters of the Rivers of America at Disneyland and on a stage across the waterway on Tom Sawyer Island.

The show begins with Mickey Mouse being transported into his dream. He dances and orchestrates various water fountain, pyrotechnic, projection, laser and lighting effects to the show's theme. Mist screens rise from the water, acting as projection surfaces for various scenes from Disney movies. The show then transitions into a jungle scene from *The Jungle Book*, featuring a 100-foot-long (30 m) puppet of Kaa and three floating barges carrying King Louie and black-lit monkeys (that debuted in the Tokyo version) across the river stage. The song transitions into "Hakuna Matata". The music then segues into a dubstep rendition of "Pink Elephants on Parade" from *Dumbo*, as animated pink elephants appear onscreen and in the form of performers on the island. The scene then transitions to "Friend Like Me" from *Aladdin*. Sorcerer Mickey watches the Genie perform tricks. Then they go under the sea as they head into the world of *The Little Mermaid* and *Finding Nemo*. A bubble floats by and Jiminy Cricket appears onscreen, searching underwater for Pinocchio. An animated Monstro appears suddenly, accompanied by a heavy musical score as he crashes through water. The sea morphs into the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" flood scene. As Mickey looks around in the dark and asks "What's going on?", a ship caught in a storm appears. Captain Barbossa then appears on the mist screens.

A cannon is fired from Sailing Ship *Columbia*, portraying the *Black Pearl* from the *Pirates of the Caribbean* films. Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann, and other pirates participate in a stunt sequence. The scene ends with fountains that look like explosions and a cannon fired from the Sailing Ship *Columbia* (In earlier incarnations, the Columbia served as Captain Hook's pirate ship). As the scene concludes, Mickey paints the moon, with silhouettes of Peter Pan and the Darlings flying over it. Mickey's sorcerer hat is painted on the mist screen and the hat turns to clouds as Aladdin and Jasmine are on a physical magic carpet flying through the clouds while a rendition of "A Whole New World" plays. Then the carpet fades away and three small barges arrive carrying Belle and the Beast, Ariel and Prince Eric, Anastasia and Dimitri, and Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, with the accompanying signature melody from each film — "Beauty and the Beast," "Part of Your World," "Once Upon a December," and "I See the Light".

Mickey's dream takes a turn for the worse. The Magic Mirror appears onscreen and tempts Mickey to enter the darker realms of his imagination. When asked if he has the courage, Mickey accepts the challenge, and the mirror traps Mickey inside. The Evil Queen, in her Old Hag self, calls all the villains to partake in Mickey's nightmare, invoking a riled Ursula who joins the Queen's plot to destroy Mickey. Ursula calls upon Chernabog, who summons deceased spirits. He then summons Maleficent (the true mastermind who wishes to take over Mickey's dream), who threatens Sorcerer Mickey as she transforms herself into an enormous dragon. Onstage, the 45-foot dragon sets the waters ablaze, breathing fire onto the river. Mickey defeats the dragon, destroying the villains in the process.

Tinker Bell then appears with the *Mark Twain* Riverboat approaching with fireworks, and a black and white Mickey from *Steamboat Willie* appears. Mickey then appears again to conduct a final set of fireworks and water fountains before leaving in a bright blast of fireworks.

### Development

The original Disneyland soft opening and press premiere were scheduled to begin Wednesday, April 29, 1992 and continue through the weekend. By late afternoon, rioting began in Los Angeles following the acquittal of the Los Angeles police officers involved in the Rodney King beating. Promotional materials with the catchphrase "Be There When the Night Ignites" were quickly pulled from public circulation.

#### Refurbishments

Disneyland's *Fantasmic!* has undergone several technical refreshes. A new sound system debuted in the summer of 2007, along with new show barges featuring LED lighting arrays. A complete overhaul of the lighting system debuted in the spring of 2008. The three mainland lighting towers, which rise hydraulically from pits in the ground prior to the show, were rebuilt with pull-out slides for the new Clay Paky Alpha Spots and Washes and redesigned for the new Strong Gladiator IV followspots. The footlights on the mainland side at water level were replaced with LED fixtures. Refurbished pyrotechnic barges were given new technologies derived from Disneyland's Air-Launch Firework (ALF) system.

In 2008, the three original 70mm projectors were replaced with high definition (HD) digital projectors. A new audio-animatronic dragon (nicknamed Murphy by fans, after Murphy's law, when the dragon experienced multiple delays in 2009) was built to replace the previous dragon which had been a mechanical dragon's head mounted to the top of a Genie boom lift where the man basket used to go and two wing assemblies that were raised up and were flapped manually with poles. The new dragon was designed to be a full-bodied replica of Maleficent's final form in *Sleeping Beauty*, standing at 45 feet tall.

In early February 2010, the entire Rivers of America were drained. Both the *Mark Twain* and the Sailing Ship *Columbia* were refurbished, and the track along which the ships travel was replaced. The show's underwater effects underwent maintenance as well, and the laser effects for the finale were upgraded. On August 28, 2010, the second-generation dragon broke again, partly collapsing during a performance. It was restored to the show on November 12, 2010.

On January 11, 2016, *Fantasmic!* and other attractions closed due to the construction of *Star Wars*: Galaxy's Edge. It reopened on July 15, 2017. This version features some scenes that are inspired by the defunct Tokyo DisneySea version of *Fantasmic!*, along with the "Imagination" song as part of the post-show.

### 2023 fire incident

On April 22, 2023 during the 10:30 PM performance of the show, the audio-animatronic dragon caught fire. It became engulfed in flames which resulted in its destruction. The Frontierland area was evacuated, with no injuries being reported according to the Anaheim Fire Department. The incident is currently under investigation.

## Disney's Hollywood Studios version

### Synopsis

The Florida version of the event and show takes place at the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater, with a rocky mountain and a façade of trees serving as the setting. The narrative of the Walt Disney World version is fairly similar to that of Disneyland's original version and defunct Tokyo DisneySea version, with the show's introduction and conclusion nearly identical. However, there are notable differences throughout the rest of the show.

* The *Fantasia* sequence at the beginning of the show transitions into a scene from *The Lion King* only.
* The *Dumbo*, *Aladdin*, *The Little Mermaid*, and *Finding Nemo* sequences are replaced with a bubble montage of Disney animated films presented on the mist screens that includes *The Lion King*, *The Jungle Book*, *Dumbo*, *Balto*, *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs*, *Alice in Wonderland*, *An American Tale*, *Hercules*, *Pinocchio*, *The Pebble and the Penguin*, *Aladdin*, *Mulan*, *Cinderella*, *Lady and the Tramp*, *The Land Before Time*, *Fantasia*, *Banjo the Woodpile Cat*, *Tangled*, *The Princess and the Frog*, *Anastasia*, *Bambi*, *Beauty and the Beast*, *The Little Mermaid*, and *Frozen*.
* The *Pirates of the Caribbean* segment is replaced with a medley of Disney heroes and heroines, featuring onstage appearances of Anne-Marie, Charlie B. Barkin, Pocahontas, Anastasia, Mulan, Aladdin, Anna, Elsa, and Moana. From 1998 to 2020, the original show instead featured an onstage battle scene from *Pocahontas* during the entirety of this act.
* Snow White and Prince Ferdinand still appear in the princess segment, dancing to "Someday My Prince Will Come", instead of Rapunzel and Flynn.
* The climax features more villains than in the Disneyland version. In addition to the Evil Queen, Ursula, Chernabog, and Maleficent, Cruella de Vil from *One Hundred and One Dalmatians*, Scar from *The Lion King*, Carface Carruthers from *An American Tale*, Rasputin from *Anastasia*, the Great Duke of the Owls from *Rock-a-Doodle*, Jafar from *Aladdin* and Hades from *Hercules* also appear.
* The battle between Mickey and the villains, as well as their subsequent defeat, is longer in the Florida version.
* Mickey appears in his *Brave Little Tailor* attire and uses the sword to defeat Maleficent, in her dragon form.
* Instead of the *Mark Twain* Riverboat, the characters appear on board the *Steamboat Willie* during the finale.