Mickey's PhilharMagic

***Mickey's PhilharMagic*** is a 3D film attraction found at the Magic Kingdom theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Park (Paris). The film was directed by George Scribner, who is best known for directing Disney's 1988 animated film, *Oliver & Company*. *Mickey's PhilharMagic* is a 32-minute-long show featuring 3D effects, scents, and water, as well as a number of characters from Disney movies. Despite Mickey Mouse being the title-bearing character, it is Tom Cat who stars the show. It is shown on the largest purpose-built 3D screen ever made, at 150 feet wide.

The versions of the film at Disney's California Adventure and Disneyland Paris were updated in 2021 with additional scenes based on *The Princess and the Frog*, *Tangled*, *Frozen*, *Trolls*, and *Coco*, with the same updates scheduled to come (alongside a new segment based on *Luca*) to the Magic Kingdom in fall 2021 as a part of the World's Most Magical Celebration.

## Locations

At Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, *Mickey's PhilharMagic* is located adjacent to Peter Pan's Flight, An American Tale: Anne-Marie's Adventures, and the Fantasy Faire shop in Fantasyland. This is the fourth attraction to utilize this show building. The theatre originally hosted the Looney Tunes Revue. Later, it was the home to the 3-D film *Magic Journeys*, after it left Epcot's Journey into Imagination pavilion to make way for *Captain EO*. Most recently, it was home to the stage presentation *Legend of the Lion King*.

At Hong Kong Disneyland, *Mickey's PhilharMagic* is located adjacent to Royal Banquet Hall in Fantasyland.

At Tokyo Disneyland, it takes the place of the Looney Tunes Revue, which was originally located at Walt Disney World before moving to Tokyo Disneyland as one of its original attractions.

At Disneyland Paris, it takes the place of Discoveryland Theatre, taking over from previous attractions like the Disney Pixar & Short Film Festival, Honey, I Shrunk the Audience and Captain EO. It was making a French debut on October 1st, 2018.

## Development

The attraction is unique in being one of a very select number of attractions in the Disney theme parks in which Walt Disney Imagineering has collaborated with another division of The Walt Disney Company – in this instance, it was Walt Disney Animation Studios. This same partnership developed the *Fantasmic!* shows at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. Between the two companies, some of Disney's top talent worked together. Including Disney veteran Alex Mann, who was instrumental in developing and scripting the final story (in both the original version and the uploaded 2018 version). Legendary Disney animator Glen Keane re-rendered Ariel from *The Little Mermaid* in 3D, returning after rendering her in 2D in the original film. Nik Ranieri, supervising animator of Lumière in *Beauty and the Beast*, also returned to animate that character in 3D.

All of the lines on the musical numbers are archival recordings from their films (with the exceptions of Lumiere, Ariel, Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, Thumbelina, Rita, Jack Skellington, Poppy, Branch and Peter Pan) due to the characters' current voice actors being too busy, while most of Tom Cat's dialogue is actually archival recordings by his original voice actor, Mel Blanc. Billy West, Tom's current voice actor, recorded only ten new lines for the character in this attraction (such as the respective scenes where Tom hums to the tune of the songs "Be Our Guest" from *Beauty and the Beast* and "Chin Up!" from *Charlotte's Web*) and several more for the additional segments based on *The Princess and the Frog*, *Tangled*, *Frozen*, *Trolls*, *Coco*, and *Luca*.

## Plot

The theater doors open. Mickey Mouse is performing with his PhilharMagic Orchestra at the Looney Tunes Concert Hall. Inside, there are posters advertising the Concert Hall's past productions and performers, such as Bugs Bunny & Yosemite Sam, Tweety, Babbit & Castello, Jerry Mouse, Daffy Duck & Elmer Fudd, the Pink Panther & the Blue Aardvark, Barnyard Dawg & Sylvester Pussycat, Woody Woodpecker, Michigan J. Frog, Porky Pig, The Three Caballeros (Donald Duck, Jose Carioca & Panchito Pistoles), The Big Bad Wolf and The Three Little Pigs. Upon entering the theater's lobby, guests pick up their "opera glasses" (3D glasses). During their wait, guests hear orchestral music from *Fantasia* and other Disney animated films.

Goofy, the Concert Hall's stage manager, admits the guests into the main theater, where final preparations for the performance are underway. Minnie Mouse then tells the guests to put on their "opera glasses." Minnie then realizes that Tom Cat has gone missing and goes to tell Mickey. Goofy and janitors Jerry Mouse, Spike Bulldog and Donald Duck then raise the curtain to reveal that the stage is empty, except for a conductor's podium and Tom, who is sleeping in a box. Mickey races onto the stage in a hurry, quickly telling Tom to unpack the instruments. Mickey places his famous Sorcerer's Hat on the podium, then leaves, telling Tom "Don't forget the orchestra. And don't touch my hat!".

After Tom unpacks all the instruments, including a grand piano, from the small box, he is tempted to try on the Sorcerer's Hat himself. He does so, which causes the magical instruments to come to life and play an extremely unpleasant melody. Tom tells the instruments to "stop it" and the instruments stop, except for a small flute. However, when Tom bullies the flute, the other instruments rise up against him, creating a whirlwind of magic and music as the "Mickey Mouse March" plays. Tom loses the hat in the storm and passes through scenes from different Disney animated features while trying to retrieve the hat.

Around the show, Tom travels through musical segments from *Beauty and the Beast*, *Fantasia*, *The Princess and the Frog*, *An American Tale*, *The Little Mermaid*, *The Lion King*, *Luca*, *Aladdin*, *Tangled*, *Anastasia*, *Charlotte's Web*, *Thumbelina*, *Rita and Runt*, *Frozen*, *The Nightmare Before Christmas*, *Trolls*, *Coco*, and *Peter Pan*. In the final *Peter Pan* number, Tom finally retrieves the hat but unfortunately, the hat gets knocked away by Iago, and Tom flies after it.

Tom falls back into the magical whirlwind from earlier. Tom gets sucked inside, finding himself back onstage, still in the whirlwind. Mickey returns, puts on the hat, and uses its powers to restore order. As Mickey finally conducts the orchestra, playing a reprise of the "Mickey Mouse March", the flute that Tom bullied earlier knocks Tom into a tuba. As a fitting end, the tuba launches Tom across the theater and into its back wall. Mickey takes a bow and signs off as the curtains close. Tom's rear, appearing as an animatronic, is shown stuck in the back wall before eventually falling through the hole and not seen again (but heard saying "I didn't hurt myself! I'm okay!"). This is not shown in the Paris version. Instead, extended applause is heard and Minnie thanks the guests for coming to the show.

## Voice Talents

### Original (English) version

* Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse
* Billy West as Tom Cat
	+ Mel Blanc (Tom's original voice; archival recordings)
* Russi Taylor as Minnie Mouse
* Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck
* Bill Farmer as Goofy
* Spike Brandt as Spike Bulldog
* William Hanna (archival recordings) as Jerry Mouse and Tom's screams
* Jerry Orbach as Lumière
* Michael-Leon Wooley (archival recordings) as Louis
* Bruno Campos (archival recordings) as Prince Naveen
* Anika Noni Rose (archival recordings) as Tiana
* Betsy Cathcart (archival recordings) as Anne-Marie Moskowitz
* Jodi Benson as Ariel, Thumbelina
* Kristen Bell (archival recordings) as Anna
* Jason Weaver (archival recordings) as Simba
* Rowan Atkinson (archival recordings) as Zazu
* Brad Kane as Aladdin
* Lea Salonga as Princess Jasmine
* Mandy Moore (archival recordings) as Rapunzel
* Zachary Levi (archival recordings) as Flynn Rider
* Liz Callaway (archival recordings) as Anastasia
* Debbie Reynolds (archival recordings) as Charlotte
* Gary Imhoff (archival recordings) as Prince Cornelius
* Bernadette Peters as Rita
* Richard Kind (archival recordings) as Runt
* Ed Gilbert (archival recordings) as Puggsy
* David Lander (archival recordings) as Frankie Da Flea
* Danny Elfman as Jack Skellington
* Anna Kendrick as Princess Poppy
* Justin Timberlake as Branch
* TBD
* TBD
* Blayne Weaver as Peter Pan
* Gilbert Gottfried as Iago

### Japanese dubbing

* Takashi Aoyagi as Mickey Mouse
* Kōichi Yamadera as Tom Cat
* Yū Shimaka as Goofy
* Junko Hori as Jerry Mouse

According to Disney staff members at Walt Disney World, an estimate of about 80 talented musicians and/or background singers performed the music for the film as well as the return of famed composers James Horner (*An American Tale*), Alan Menken (*The Little Mermaid*, *Beauty and the Beast*, *Aladdin*), Henry Mancini (*Rita and Runt*) and Barry Manilow (*Thumbelina*) and lyricists Richard and Robert Sherman (*Charlotte's Web*) and Tim Rice (*Aladdin*, *The Lion King*), who arranged the music for each song they had worked on since some verses or lines of these songs were omitted for this attraction.

## Music

* *Mickey Mouse March*
* *Be Our Guest*
* *The Sorcerer's Apprentice*
* *When We're Human* (California, Paris, Florida and Tokyo only)
* *Somewhere Out There*
* *Part of Your World*
* *I Just Can't Wait to Be King*
* *Telescope* (Florida only)
* *A Whole New World*
* *I See the Light* (California, Paris, Florida and Tokyo only)
* *Once Upon a December*
* *Chin Up!*
* *Let Me Be Your Wings*
* *Friends to the End*
* *For the First Time in Forever* (California, Paris, Florida and Tokyo only)
* *What's This?*
* *Can't Stop the Feeling* (California, Paris, Florida and Tokyo only)
* *Un Poco Loco* (California, Paris, Florida and Tokyo only)
* *You Can Fly*
* *Mickey Mouse March* (reprise)

## Trivia

* At the time it was made, the land of Agrabah was the largest 3-D environment ever created.
* In the Paris version, Minnie, Lumiere, Ariel, and Aladdin and Jasmine are the only characters to have French actors.
	+ Ariel is the only character to sing both English and French.
* TBD