“Escape From Tomorrow” is an indie movie screening at Sundance that was shot, seemingly without permission, at Walt Disney World. The film sounds pretty good, though the reviewer who saw it thinks it’ll never get wide release, due to the risk-aversion of distributors and exhibitors:
See, the entire film is set inside the property at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and a fair amount of the film appears to have been actually shot on the property, during business hours, without anyone’s permission. It is largely stolen feature film, and while they were careful to change all the music so they’re not playing anything in the film that they could get sued over, they are still including tons and tons of familiar Disney iconography. Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck… all the costumed characters appear. We see huge chunks of the “Snow White” ride, portions of the “Winnie The Pooh” ride, material shot inside the Haunted Mansion. There’s an entire sequence built around waiting in line for the Buzz Lightyear ride. They go to Epcot, and Spaceship Earth is prominently featured and even blown up at one point. It feels like someone saw “Eraserhead” and said, “Hey, why don’t we get that guy to shoot an infomercial for the Magic Kingdom to get more families to come?” and this is the oh-so-not-what-they-wanted result. It is a magnificent, impossible nightmare.
It is not possible that this film exists. It is not possible that they shot long scripted sequences on the actual rides. It is not possible that I just saw a film in which it is suggested and then shown that the various Disney princesses all work as high-priced hookers who sell their wares to wealthy Asian businessmen. It simply cannot be true.
I grew up in Florida, and I have been going to Walt Disney World my entire life. I worked at that park. I’ve been there as a child, as a teenager, as an employee, and as a parent. I’ve done Disney sitting on my father’s shoulders, and I’ve done the Disney parks with my kids sitting on my shoulders. It is a huge part of my DNA, and I can tell you that there is no way Randy Moore pulled off what I saw tonight. It is a film that should not exist by any rational definition.
Review: ‘Escape From Tomorrow’ is a surrealist treat that will give Disney’s lawyers nightmares
[Drew McWeeny/HitFix]
(Thanks to all the people who suggested this!)