"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard."
These were supposedly the last words of Sir Donald Wolfit, a British actor & director who passed away back in 1968. Though I'm sure that there's a few Imagineers at Walt Disney World right now who - after five weeks of watching their CG performers repeatedly die on stage during the initial testing phase of the Magic Kingdom's new "Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club" show - who would agree wholeheartedly with Wolfit's thoughts on comedy.
Copyright 2006 Disney Enterprises
This new Tomorrowland attraction was originally supposed to end its test phase on January 1st and then begin presenting dozens of performances on a daily basis. With the really-for-real grand opening of the "Laugh Floor Comedy Club" being scheduled for January 27th as part of WDW's annual press event.
But now … While the members of the press are expected to get a walk-through of the revamped "Timekeeper" show building next month (as well as perhaps the chance to do an interview with a "live" CG version of Mike Wazowski) … As for the official opening of the "Laugh Floor Comedy Club" … As of yesterday, that's been pushed back to the Spring of 2007. And perhaps maybe later, if the current rumblings coming out of WDI prove to be true.
"So exactly is wrong with the 'Laugh Floor' show?," you ask. To be honest, it's not really a case of anything being wrong with Tomorrowland's new "Monsters, Inc." -themed attraction. At least from the tech side of things, this "Living Character Initiative" show has been performing as expected. With its trio of computer generated monster comics coming "out" on stage, interacting with the audience and then cracking a few family-friendly jokes.
If anything, it's the test audiences' rather tepid response to the "Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club" that has caused the opening of this new Tomorrowland show to be pushed back by at least four to five months.
As one WDI insider yesterday told me:
"It's not that people disliked 'Laugh Floor.' They just didn't love it. Right now, people seem to think that this is a very middling show. And we don't want middling. For the amount of money that we've already spent on this Tomorrowland attraction, the thousands of hours devoted to R & D, we want a smash. Which is why we're going to shut down now and retool for a while."
As to why the "Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club" has been getting middling scores from these early test audiences … The Imagineers have a number of theories about that subject. These include:
There are two possible solutions that the Imagineers are reportedly considering to address this particular problem:
1) Cut the number of "acts" featured in the show back from three to two. Thereby allowing the remaining performers more stage time. Which (in theory) will then give the audience more time to warm up with these new characters. Which will then make it that much easier for WDW guests to just sit back and enjoy the material that's being presented to them. 2) Drop Buddy, Sam, Ella & Spike from the "Laugh Floor" show entirely and instead bring in other, more familiar characters from the "Monsters, Inc." film that audience members will immediately recognize & warm up to. The theory here is that people will be much more likely to laugh at jokes being told by characters that they already know.
1) Cut the number of "acts" featured in the show back from three to two. Thereby allowing the remaining performers more stage time. Which (in theory) will then give the audience more time to warm up with these new characters. Which will then make it that much easier for WDW guests to just sit back and enjoy the material that's being presented to them.
2) Drop Buddy, Sam, Ella & Spike from the "Laugh Floor" show entirely and instead bring in other, more familiar characters from the "Monsters, Inc." film that audience members will immediately recognize & warm up to. The theory here is that people will be much more likely to laugh at jokes being told by characters that they already know.
Getting back to those middling test scores … Another contributing factor here to those test audiences not fully embracing the "Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club" show may be the size of the crowds attending these performances and/or the venue itself.
Think about it, folks. Those first two wildly successful "Living Character Initiative" shows - "Stitch's Picture Phone" at Disneyland and "Turtle Talk with Crush" at Epcot's Living Seas pavilion - were fairly intimate experiences. With one being presented in a very confined space to just 5 - 8 people at a time while the other is staged in low light in a small room with just 100 people huddled in front of that faux aquarium window for each presentation. Which makes the whole experience seem that much more magical.
Whereas the "Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club" show … It's presented in the cavernous old Circlevision 360 theater to 400 people at a time. Which is hardly an environment that's conducive to an intimate, magical experience.
Sadly, at this point, the Imagineers really can't do anything about the size & scale of the venue that the "Laugh Floor Comedy Club" is being presented in. They're pretty much stuck with their retrofitted Tomorrowland location. Though - in future versions of this "Monsters, Inc." - themed show (Should "Laugh Floor" ever be cloned) - they'll supposedly make an effort to make sure that this "Living Character Initiative" show is presented in a much more intimate performance space.
The WDI insider that I spoke with yesterday made a point of stressing that this isn't the "Stitch's Great Escape" revisited. That no one on this project is in panic mode right now because they're struggling to make a fundamentally flawed show work.
As they put it:
"Look, we already know that this show works. The test audiences that we've been running through 'Laugh Floor' have been enjoying themselves. Just not as much as we had hoped they would. So we're going to shut down and retool for a while. Maybe audition a few new monster comics or just write the ones we have now some funnier jokes."
"Look, we already know that this show works. The test audiences that we've been running through 'Laugh Floor' have been enjoying themselves. Just not as much as we had hoped they would.
So we're going to shut down and retool for a while. Maybe audition a few new monster comics or just write the ones we have now some funnier jokes."
Let me add here that just because the Imagineers suddenly push back the opening date of a new attraction doesn't automatically mean that the Walt Disney Company now has a disaster on its hands.
I mean, let's remember that -- back in 1966 -- Walt Disney personally pushed back the previously announced opening date of "Pirates of the Caribbean" because he thought the Imagineers could do better. That Walt wouldn't settle for just a good show. He wanted Disneyland visitors to experience a really great attraction.
So to have the Imagineers looking at the test scores for "Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club" and thinking "You know, we can do better …" That's a good thing, folks. The sort of attitude that the online Disneyana community should be applauding. Rather than continuing to carp about how this new attraction should have never be built in Tomorrowland in the first place.
So please don't be like that so-called expert who briefly appears in the newscast portion of "Monsters, Inc." You know? The one who looks so seriously into the camera before he says: "It is my professional opinion that now is the time to PANIC !!"
Anyway, that's a brief update on the whole "Laugh Floor" situation. Your thoughts?
Very good. WDI should be perfectionistic about their attractions, and thankfully they are. Too bad we have to wait longer, but if that means we get a much better experience, than I applaud it.
"2) Drop Buddy, Sam, Ella & Spike from the "Laugh Floor" show entirely and instead bring in other, more familiar characters from the "Monsters, Inc." film that audience members will immediately recognize & warm up to. The theory here is that people will be much more likely to laugh at jokes being told by characters that they already know."
Before I read this article, I had assumed that Mike, Sully, & the gang were the stars of this show. It's disappointing that the Imagineers even thought to put characters that we've never seen into the "Monsters, Inc" attraction.
"Though - in future versions of this "Monsters, Inc." - themed show (Should "Laugh Floor" eventually get cloned) - they'll supposedly make an effort to make sure this "Living Character Initiative" show is presented in a much more intimate space."
So, WDW will be stuck with the worse version...yippee. The retooled show better be great. I didn't even know that they were having test audiences...I wish I could've gone to a testing.
I do applaud the Imagineers for retooling the attraction. I think that that's a very wise move.
Turtle Talk with Crush is great- I like how it's different every time, since Crush interacts with the people in the room. Will the characters in this show always tell the same jokes, or will each new visit be a completely new experience?
"Drop Buddy, Sam, Ella & Spike from the "Laugh Floor" show entirely and instead bring in other, more familiar characters from the "Monsters, Inc." film that audience members will immediately recognize & warm up to. The theory here is that people will be much more likely to laugh at jokes being told by characters that they already know."
That is what they definitely should do. Why create new characters when you already have existing ones. First off, it would be much cheaper. Why waste time reinventing the wheel? Secondly, it would be a much better experience. Think about all the characters they can use. There is of course Needleman and Smitty (who are very Crush-like), there's Charlie & George (2314), perhaps the Yeti, a few more appearences by Roz, maybe Sully, more Mike, and any other characters from the movie. I think audiences would react much better.
Now the biggest complaint I've heard about the show is that the Jokes are just downright bad. Create better jokes, and the audience will like it more. And of course a show like this will never be loved by everyone. Every show will be different, some will be bad, some will be good (like Jungle Cruise).
Part of the problem with making Mike Wazowski the star of the show is definitely the voice.
For Crush, Andrew Stanton just did a stereotypical "surfer" accent that almost anyone can immitate. Mike, otoh, speaks in an exagerated version of Billy Crystal's own distinct voice, he will be much harder to pull off convincingly. This is why Dory uses prerecorded dialogue where Crush is interactive, Ellen's voice is too recognizable.
This all reminds me of when the new Imagination ride opened over at Epcot and, being there on a preview day, I was asked what I thought on the way out. I told them I thought they had ruined it and the rest of the group had tepid responses as well. Based on the crowds I've seen on the ride lately, I'd say a lot of people found it a poor replacement for the original. It's fantastic they are doing extensive research before opening new attractions and are making changes based on that research when it's called for.
Better jokes are always the solution, but I agree that the creation of unfamiliar characters is a little...dumb, really. You're there in the attraction because you like Sully, Mike and Co., so why spend time with a couple of wannabes?
I'd like to see the Abominable Snowman here- maybe created some story to suggest HE's a frustrated comic trying out new shtick for us, or do this with another character. It seems like a solid idea, given Ratzenberg's history with comedy and his sense of comic timing. Maybe one of the new characters could heckle/mentor a more familiar character on stage or something like that. Fold the new characters into the mix a little more.
And definitely rewrite the act, because it it's not funny, it's not going to get any funnier with a second viewing.
What this show needs is a finale. I have not even seen it and I will bet this thing just wheezes its way to the end, with no payoff. Same as Everest, same as The Seas with Nemo.
WDI needs to make a trip to IOA and ask themselves why Spider-man works. It's not the technology that makes that show. It's not this idea of "story." It's that it has an ending that the whole show builds to.
"in future versions of this "Monsters, Inc." - themed show (Should "Laugh Floor" ever be cloned) - they'll supposedly make an effort to make sure that this "Living Character Initiative" show is presented in a much more intimate performance space."
This is a strange sentiment. I mean, if it doesn't work at WDW, why would they want to clone it? (I'd have a hard time believing an Imagineer could convince the suits that the only reason the show didn't take off was that the theater was too big.) And if it does end up working, why would they consider lowering its capacity?
How many people do you think are living in the Orlando area that could do a resonable representation of Ratzenberger's voice PLUS improvise comedically for multiple shows a day 7 days a week on Disney wages? They'd be lucky if they could find one let alone enough to staff the show for 365 a year. And believe me, people would be FAR more dissapointed in hearing a bad Ratzenberger impersonation, or a bad Billy Crystal impersonation go one and on for minutes than they would be hearing the voice a character they are unfamiliar with.
The only logical answer was to design the bulk of the show with new characters with personality types that can be readily voiced by the cast member talent that might be available on a daily basis.
BAD impersonations of KNOWN characters would ensure a failed attraction from the outset. This was obviously realized by the show designers and addressed in meetings duting the initial planning stages.
Where's my proof reader when I need him?
Monsters Inc is loaded with great characters, but guess what, they ALL have recognizable voices! So the solution is to use characters that do not appear in the movie whose name is on the marquee?! Maybe this wasn't thought out very well...
Perhaps the reason that they aren't using Mike and Sully is that their voices are too recognizable. Perhaps it's too hard to find someone who's voice sounds a lot like Billy Chrystal and John Goodman. By introducing new characters you can hire any good actor/comedian that you can find. But I'm just speculating there.
Although I'm not as "Yanqui Pixar Go Home!" as some of the others here, I didn't really warm up to the Monsters show from the description--A) Seemed like they were throwing a warmed-over MI placeholder to placate the "We want a Door Ride!" nuts who kept nagging them to put one there (it's a -show- building, guys), and B) We've already GOT a cool audience-interactive show--Epcot invented it and sent it west, remember, quit acting like you're giving -us- some East Coast DCA-export charity!
Second: >>As to why the "Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club" has been getting middling scores from these early test audiences … The Imagineers have a number of theories about that subject. These include: * While the audience is familiar with Mike & Roz from the "Monsters, Inc." film, they don't really know the trio of comics that WDI has specifically created for this new show: Buddy, the two headed Sam & Ella as well as Mike's nephew, Ike."<<
(Wait--It...WASN'T EVEN going to have Mike & Sully, as most of Disney's promotional artwork for the past year implied it would?...Oh, man. >_< That's a worse bait-and-switch than not actually getting Mike Fink for the Keelboat ride.)
>>"1) Cut the number of "acts" featured in the show back from three to two. Thereby allowing the remaining performers more stage time. Which (in theory) will then give the audience more time to warm up with these new characters. Which will then make it that much easier for WDW guests to just sit back and enjoy the material that's being presented to them.<<
True--Shorter, fewer, and more ensemble-integrated acts could have reclaimed the original Tiki Birds show and made it seem less of a "timekiller" to 90's audiences, without having to get all snooty about it...
If it's not area themed--and it's NOT--at least show us the -courtesy- of making it character themed. Some of us at least give Stitch's Escape a little extra leeway just for that.
>>askmike1 said:
"Why create new characters when you already have existing ones. First off, it would be much cheaper. Why waste time reinventing the wheel? "<<
That was THEN. Now, the new characters are created, and producing new comics for the Laugh Floor, even based on existing Monsters, Inc. characters, would be an expence. But just because it may be an additional expence does not mean it is a bad idea. The whole idea behind using new characters was to eliminate the need for sound alike voice actors. Good idea, not so so good implimentation.
>>Hrundi V. Bakshi said:
"How many people do you think are living in the Orlando area that could do a resonable representation of Ratzenberger's voice PLUS improvise comedically for multiple shows a day 7 days a week on Disney wages? They'd be lucky if they could find one let alone enough to staff the show for 365 a year." <<
LOL, this is probably the most easily imitatable voice of the movie! While I do not know any of the voice performers, I know the were casting from and auditioned performers from the Comic Warehouse at Downtown Disney. Most of the guys there have the talent to pull off the imitaion.
Didn't WDI used to do more extensive "test"-type attractions before they went for the real thing? I was at one of the first showings of "Magic Journys" playing in the (then) outdoor Tomorrowland stage. The showing of that film was not an Eisner/Pressler/Harris era "new" attraction, but a serious study to see if a Disneyland audience would even be interested in sitting through a 3-D film before they committed the big bucks for steel, concrete and Michael Jackson.
Couln't they have tested this out a bit better before tearing up Tomorrowland?
Just asking.