Extended 'Maleficent' movie preview coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios in April

TP2000Apr 26, 2014

The DCA version of Maleficent does that again, except in the Tough To Be A Bug theater. They removed all references to Bugs in the entrance, queue, pre-show and theater and overlayed it with a spooky Maleficent theme with new signage, banners and props. The CM's are wearing new purple and black uniforms for the show. They reprogrammed the theater effects specifically for Maleficent, using wind, fog, smoke, lighting, projections and seat effects in the theater. It's a very impressive package of effects and a perfect venue for Maleficent at DCA! But there haven't been any updates about the WDW version playing at DHS. No photos, no comments, no reports, nothing really. No one seems to be talking about it on these WDW boards, while it's being mentioned repeatedly on Disneyland boards on West Coast websites. Funny how that works. No one really seems to care about it at DHS this spring. :confused:

TTA94Apr 26, 2014

So is the DHS version the same as DCA which some said has some special effects?

neoshinokApr 25, 2014

I saw the Frankenweenie extended trailer at DCA as well as the exhibition featuring the movie props. The cool part was they used the 4D features in the MuppetVision theater to create wind, rain and strobe lightning during the re-animation scene in Frankenweenie. At least that added something unique that you can't experience at your local theater.

tissandtullyApr 24, 2014

Yup, It's funny how people seem to forget the same thing happened last year in the same theater with The Lone Ranger.

GiveMeTheMusicApr 24, 2014

This kind of thing is nothing new. DHS has been home to short-term new release previews for as long as I can remember. When I visited during the 25th, there was an Evita preview running, so anything is possible.

tissandtullyApr 24, 2014

I need to make it out to DL, I had no idea there was a ITTBAB clone out there.

coilbackApr 24, 2014

Any word on how long the "sneak preview" for Maleficent will run at WDW? I'll be there for the 24 hour event in May and wouldn't mind checking it out since I'm a HUGE Maleficent fan, spoilers or not. EDIT: Nevermind, I went back and re-read the article to make sure and it says through mid-June. I think the announcement I read somewhere else didn't have how long it was running for.

TP2000Mar 20, 2014

Hopper is one of those animatronics that is a great point of reference for the differences in maintenance between the coasts. It's Tough To Be A Bug has a multi-week rehab about every 18 months in DCA, but no one seems to remember the last time it closed for a couple weeks of rehab out at Animal Kingdom. DCA's It's Tough To Be A Bug closes for 19 days of rehab next month, after a previous 12 day closure in 2013, as an example. Here's a YouTube video from June of '13 of the Hopper animatronic at It's Tough To Be A Bug at Animal Kingdom. You need to watch it in HD and full size screen at the 3:10 mark for Hopper. He shakes and wobbles on his foundations throughout his movement, and at times almost rocks back and forth a bit. Since I'm a big fan of Katherine Hepburn, I think it looks a bit like he has Parkinson's disease. Compared to this video of Hopper at California Adventure from August of '13. It's taken from further back in the theater, but if you watch it in HD in full screen at the 9:30 mark it's easy to compare his movements to the Animal Kingdom version. Go back and forth and watch each version in full screen. There's a fluidity and purposefulness in the movements, and a broader range of motion in the DCA Hopper that is missing in the DAK Hopper. And with the DCA version we see that Hopper's individual fingers are supposed to move, and his antenna have the ability to move and emote. It's a combination of small things, but it makes a difference. Most folks at DAK won't notice, but when you watch the DCA version you can tell the DAK version needs some work. A two or three week rehab would do wonders for the Orlando version of Hopper!

NMBC1993Mar 19, 2014

Very True, especially since our Hopper here in AK hasn't received any love since 98. Seriously, it looks like Hopper is having a seizure every time he goes on stage.

yetiMar 19, 2014

More like a chance to let Hopper hibernate. Come on, we were all thinking it.

BoltMar 19, 2014

Thread goes quiet once someone said Disneyland does it.

Cody5242Mar 19, 2014

To be honest Maleficent is going to be a tough movie to sell to the general audience and if it doesn't get good reviews I can see it being a non profitable movie. It will most likely make between 100-120mill domestically if it gets good reviews

TP2000Mar 19, 2014

They've been doing these sneak peak previews in Anaheim for several years, with Tron 3D, Oz The Great & Powerful, Frankenweenie, etc., etc. They are just cloning the idea and bringing it to WDW now with this latest one for Maleficent. But they've always done these sneak previews for a few weeks in the MuppetVision theater at DCA... This is the first time they've used the Bug's Life theater for a movie preview, so that's a big change for DCA. I wonder if they'll make it look like the spooky lair of Maleficent???

mutekiMar 19, 2014

They did a similar thing with Tron 2 out in CA when it came out. All they really did was play a trailer in the Muppetvision theater.