New Canada Film...

Originally Posted By pheneix

Its actually really good. A little short, but definitely a worthy addition to World Showcase. God knows its way better than the Gran Fiesta Craptacular we're enduring on the other side of the park.

Martin Short definitely adds a special kind of charm to the film. The second they announced it I knew he would be perfect for the role.

Eva Avila... She did the song justice. Big time. I like it better than the original.

 

Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA

Thanks for the update. Does Martin Short appear in the movie? Or just his voice?

Also do they still sing 'Canada -- You're a Lifetime Journey'?

Has anyone recorded it? Can someone take me to Epcot?

 

Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA

Found the movie online, for those who might be interested.

<a href="http://www.attractionsmagazine.com/video.php" target="_blank">http://www.attractionsmagazine
.com/video.php</a>

SPOILERS ALERT -- I HAVE SOME COMMENTS







Things I liked:

Martin Short. I'm a big fan of his, and enjoy watching him on David Letterman.

I'm glad the movie was redone. While the original is beautiful, it was tine for a new movie.

The Imagineers did a nice job of integrating the new footage with the existing footage.

I was very pleased to hear the original theme song -- nice re-do, with an Canada Idol winner Eva Avila, who I'm not at all familiar with, but she sounds very much like Celine Dion. A nice update to a beautiful tune.

Things I don't like:

While I'm a big fan of Martin Short, I get a bit impatient with the 'glib, self-aware, making-fun-of-Circle-Vision movies' approach that is taken.

It very much reminded me of the tone of the Disneyland 50th movie with Steve Martin -- which I also didn't like either. Or to a lesser extend, the glibness of 'Under New Management' at The Tiki Room, which I also don't like.

Sure, we've seen travellogue movies before, but at some point isn't okay to 'play it straight'?

The comic bits with Martin Short -- stopping the movie at the beginning, and asking the announcer to leave -- yeah, ha,ha...

And where he's on hockey skates as a kid, 'Who knew my parents had a CircleVision movie camera' -- rather cringe-worthy.

And toward the end, when we're viewing a beautiful montage of the sites and people of Canada, and it might even get a little emotional, he quips 'This would be a perfect place for a song -- I think so, don't you?' -- argh.

And then at the end where Martin is standing there 'Get me out of here, I have a Fast Pass for Soarin'' -- yeah...like we really think you're stuck in the movie screen or something.

And yeah, I know, he's just reading his part from the script, and he's not responsible for that, but sheesh...

Another unfortunate bit, with the addition of current actors and celebrities at the end [Canada's most important export?, this new 'Oh Canada!' is going to become dated just as fast as the 'Jeopardy!' pre-show sequence in 'Universe of Energy.'

So Disney has this movie, and then the 'Soarin' pre-show with Patrick Warburton, and the 'Imagination' stuff with Eric Idle, and the Boudin Bakery footage with Rosie O'Donnell and Colin Mockrie [at DCA], and that Steve Martin Disneyland movie -- and all of them have that same, sarcastic, David Letterman kind of humor to it.

'Golden Dreams' [at DCA] has that humor, but it isn't afraid to get serious at the end, and let the heartstrings get pulled.

It's a shame that the Imagineers don't have the courage to just produce a well-crafted travellogue, with pretty pictures and music.

It's almost like they think they're too cool for that or something.

 

Originally Posted By TDLFAN

Maybe I can persuade G-Fan to drop by EPCOT Center tomorrow and check it out.. Maybe.

 

Originally Posted By Goofyernmost

I didn't mind the attempt at humor or humour, if your in Canada, but, I think overall I liked the old film better. Even though the old one was choppy this one seems more disjointed to me. Still a very good effort. I am looking forward to seeing it in larger scale in February.

 

Originally Posted By SpectroWishes321

Personally, I liked the new film. Martin Short gives a good tour of Canada while adding some humor along the way. The only things I dislike are when he showed a clip of him "playing hockey" and when he said, "I think it's time for a song" But overall, it's a good film and I think Disney did a good job of updating it.

 

Originally Posted By Goofyernmost

I guess I agree that saying, "this looks like a good place for a song" was not necessary and not even that humorous. They can easily edit that one line out if they so choose. Perhaps with enough encouragement they will. The hockey thing didn't really bother me because it didn't interrupt a moment...the song thing did and seemed completely out of place and awkward. A song at that moment did not need a lead in!

I could see the shades of Ellen's World of Energy and quite frankly, that vastly improved that attraction, so I am absolutely OK with going that direction.

 

Originally Posted By TDLFAN

Ok... G-Fan and I just got back from EPCOT Center a few moments ago, before the afternoon thunderstorms rolled in..
I happen to notice a lot of gay couples in the park as well... both men and women. Did I miss some kind of Family event at Disney today?

Anyways... I thought the film was very cute. It moved at a conciderable pace. Had the necesary mix of cheese to keep today's type of audiences interested for the time being. Martin Short, though not a spring chicken anymore, does keep things lively. The new scenes are crisp clear, and while there is a noticeable change in picture quality when the old scenes are edited in... the movie does look great. The flying panoramas of Canadien cities are exciting. The polar bears are awshucks cute. The montage of famous canadien artists remind us how much prettier their men are over our american leading males. And while Short's "this is the perfect time for a song" line is pure velveeta (as is the Zeus-like narrator getting ticked off and leaving the room) I thought it was necesary to keep the spirit of a wacky tour of our northern neighbors frontiers. The only portion of the movie I had trouble with.. was the used of the same image in all 9 screens, and there a few too many of those moments in the new movie. Like...hello? this is a "circle-vision" movie. Not a 9-screen multiplex playing the newest release in every auditorium.
All in all, TDLFAN rates it a 3 and a half stars out of 5. But I would have prefered to see Short come to MGM (Oooops! DHS) in his own attraction from Paris, "Cinemagique".

 

Originally Posted By dennis-in-ct

Thanks for the review TDLFAN and I agree with you about the Paris, "Cinemagique".

Great stuff - one of the only redeeming things about that embarrasement of a place (but it does seem it is on it's way to getting better)

 

Originally Posted By TDLFAN

I agree... all it needs is a World Bazaar and presto.

 

Originally Posted By bobbelee9

I don't have ipod, is there some other way I can see the film? When Martin Short was mentioned, I feared for all the complaints you had. The Canada film is not the place for a comedian.

 

Originally Posted By avromark

Play it on your computer using Quicktime

 

Originally Posted By bobbelee9

<<< hangs head in shame. Thank you avromark.

 

Originally Posted By Dave

<a href="http://mb.laughingplace.com/MsgBoard-T-90004-P-1.asp" target="_blank">http://mb.laughingplace.com/Ms
gBoard-T-90004-P-1.asp</a>

 

Originally Posted By Doobie

We've got here as well now:
<a href="http://laughingplace.com/lotion-view-457.asp" target="_blank">http://laughingplace.com/lotio
n-view-457.asp</a>

Doobie.

 

Originally Posted By bobbelee9

Thanks Doobie, that was much easier for me to access. Would somebody please sit on Martin Short! The scenes during the song were really the best part. Is it no longer being billed as Circlevision? As someone said earlier, a lot of it isn't circlevision.

 

Originally Posted By Doobie

I'm surprised how much I liked the movie. I absolutely can't stand Martin Short and the original Canada song is my favorite theme park song ever. But despite all that I think they did a good job here. I liked the old film but I think this one is more accessible and entertaining for most people without coming anywhere near going over the line of being too light or flip. I'm very pleasantly surprised.

Doobie.

 

Originally Posted By Lake Nona

Thanks Doobie for posting the movie.

Glad they added Calgary into the movie as well as the walled city in Quebec City. Also a good camara shots of Montreal and Toronto.

Eva did a great job, better than Anne Murray and I forgot that other name.

Can't wait to see the movie in November.

 

Originally Posted By FerretAfros

I have to admit that I don't remember the old movie too well, but I don't remember there being any narration (same with the France movie, which apparently also has some). If there was any, it was blended in much better. Until the song started at the end, it just felt like I was watching a long commerical for Canada. I know that is technically what it is, but it just all seemed really forced and unnatural. I'm glad to see that they have incorporated some memorable parts of the old film (skating in the canal, and the extremely memorable opening shot of the Mounties that was moved later in the film).

I just wish that there was less Martin Short, especially on screen. It appeared that without the song part, it was less than half CircleVision, which really takes a lot away, IMO. When you are surrounded by screens, you can really feel yourself there. The only time when it worked to not be a circular piture for me was when they were showing the diversity of the people (translation of that section: See! Canada isn't just a bunch of white people!). Other than that, it really seemed dumb to show the same thing on all screens, or related things that weren't a circle.

As for it becoming dated, it already feels dated to me, and it just opened. Martin Short is a little past his prime (at least that's how it seems), and will probably grow less famous. Many of the celebrities shown are in the same boat or ones that I don't recognize (although that section would be pretty easy to keep up to date). A lot of the jokes are pretty painful too. The only one that I liked was when he mentioned checking out the boat when you get Canadian change by mistake.

Overall, I would say that it was a serious downgrade to the film. Yes, the old one was out of date, but it aged well. This seems like it will age a lot faster and had little repeatability. I would give the old film about a B+ and this one a C-.

 

Originally Posted By TDLFAN

>>I'm surprised how much I liked the movie. I absolutely can't stand Martin Short and the original Canada song is my favorite theme park song ever. But despite all that I think they did a good job here.<<

Doobie, I think you'd be wonderfully surprised by Martin Short's performance in WDSP's Cinemagique. That film is his crowning achievement for Disney and an attraction I would love to see brought to WDW.