Maybe Disney Imagineers can Solve Energy Woes

While there hasn't been a great deal of hype about Turtle Talk with Crush at Disney's California Adventure Park and Epcot at Florida's Walt Disney World, I believe it is one of the most stunning applications of technology in a theme park attraction. Using real-time CGI animation, Crush, the surfer-dude turtle character from the Pixar/Disney film, Finding Nemo, interacts with an audience full of giggly kids and slack-jawed adults. Projected onto a screen designed to look like an aquarium window, Crush speaks with guests, responds to their questions, and engages in personalized patter. While mystified adults scratch their heads, younger children accept the illusion at face value: They're talking with Crush. As with the best theme park attractions, the technology is transparent and serves to reinforce the story. The next generation of real-time, interactive CGI animation will be used for The Laugh Floor Comedy Club, scheduled to open in early 2007 at Tomorrowland in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. (It replaces Timekeeper, which I thought was a fine attraction. Sadly, Disney is slowly phasing out its CircleVision 360-degree theaters.) It will pick up where the Pixar/Disney film, Monsters, Inc. left off. To collect human laughs that will convert into electricity on Monstropolis, one-eyed green monster Mike Wazowski is running a comedy club on earth. Although Disney hasn’t released much info about the new attraction, apparently Mike and two monster buddies will interact with the audience and present a different show every time using live voice actors and on-the-fly computer animation.
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