Theme Parks & Themed Entertainment
Disney’s Hottest Attractions: Fires in the Park
Okay. By now, you have to have seen all of the videos from Saturday night, April 22nd. That’s when – as the 10:30 p.m. performance of “Fantasmic!” was drawing to a close at Disneyland Park – Murphy the Dragon (That’s the nickname which this piece of show equipment has been stuck with since the Summer of 2009. We’ll get to exactly why Murphy is called that in a few minutes. Anyway … )
What’s cool about this particular moment in “Fantasmic!” is that this is when this 45-foot-tall prop (Which looks just like Maleficent does when that Mistress of Evil turns into a fire-breathing dragon in Disney’s hand-drawn film from 1959, “Sleeping Beauty”) belches out this 35-foot-long plume of flame. Which then seems to set the Rivers of America on fire.
Very cool moment in this show. Looks great. People lined up along the shoreline in Frontierland & New Orleans can actually feel the heat from this sudden burst of flames.
Disneyland’s Animatronic Dragon Catches Fire during “Fantasmic”
Things got a lot little hotter than usual at 10:30 p.m. on April 20, 2023. The Maleficent-the-Dragon prop had just done its setting-the-Rivers-of-America-on-fire thing. Mickey had just said his line “You may think you’re so powerful. But this is my dream.” And – after pulling the Sword from the Stone – Mickey (as he usually does in this part of “Fantasmic!”) seemed to defeat the dragon. So cue the sound effect that now has Maleficent screaming in agony.
That sound effect was a little on the nose. For – as the air was filled with Maleficent’s screams – flames started to shoot out of this mechanical dragon’s head & mouth. Flames that are not typically part of this show.
If you’re watching the right video of what happened back on April 22nd, you’ll catch one of those truly classic, only-at-Disneyland moments. Where you’ll hear one kid’s voice – as clear as a bell – say “Is that supposed to be happening?”
Herbie – The Love Bug – Catches Fire at Hollywood Studios
Not the first time America’s youth has been traumatized when an animated piece of show equipment caught fire at a Disney theme park. How many of you remember the Studio Backlot Tour at Disney-MGM (Now Disney’s Hollywood Studios)? There was originally this vignette where – as your tram was rolling down Residential Street – where, after you passed the Golden Girls house, you’d then come across Vern’s house.
Side note: Vern was that off-camera / unseen character that Jim Varney was always interacting with whenever he played Ernest P. Worrell. Varney was a very, very funny / incredibly talented man. Original voice of Slinky Dog in the “Toy Story” movies. Made a quartet of Ernest movies for Disney in the late 1980s / early 1990s. Sadly passed away back in February of 2000 at the age of 51. Gone far too soon. Still quote him to this day (i.e., “Mean old Mr. Gravity”).
At the end of Vern’s driveway, there was this animated prop version of Herbie the Love Bug. And – as the tram rolled by – Herbie would then go through his pre-programmed routine. He’d pop a wheelie. Herbie’s tires would spin & smoke. His hood would fly up. His doors would flap open. Herbie’s headlights would flash and his windshield wipers would flap back & forth. If you were on the right side of the tram (the one facing Vern’s house) you also might get sprayed with Herbie’s windshield wiper fluid (Really just water). Fun little vignette in the Studio Backlot Tour.
There was however the day that Herbie caught fire while he was parked in Vern’s driveway (As it’s been explained to me, it’s believed that the Rosco fog machine that had been installed on the underside of this animated piece of show equipment. That’s what made it look as though Herbie’s tires were smoking when he popped that wheelie) somehow got overheated and then burst into flame.
But here’s the thing: The Imagineers had built this incredibly sturdy piece of show equipment. Which meant that – even as Herbie was on fire – he’d still go through all of his paces as each of those trams rolled up Residential Street full of Guests with their cameras.
Only now when Herbie popped a wheelie, opened his hood, flapped his doors and honked his horn … Given that this animated piece of show equipment was now engulfed in flames, it now looked as though the Love Bug was in agony. That Herbie was imploring those trams full of tourists to please stop. And – for God’s sake – go next door to the Golden Girls house and grab a hose.
I’m told that at least 5 – possibly 10 – trams rolled past Herbie the Love bug while he was on fire before the folks from Reedy Creek got there and finally put out the flames. After this, the animated Herbie prop was removed from the Studio Backlot Lot.
FYI: Residential Street was demolished in 2003 to make room for the stateside version of “Lights, Motor, Action: Extreme Stunt Show.” The Studio Backlot Tour officially shut down for good on September 27, 2014. It was a shadow of its former self at that point. Severely truncated.
Back to fires at the Disney theme parks … Look, Disney is very, very dedicated to safety when it comes to its theme park. But unforeseen things sometimes happen.
WDW’s “Seven Dwarfs Mine Train” Rooftop Fire
The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Walt Disney World. This family coaster first opened to the public back in May of 2014 (It was the very last piece of the New Fantasyland project. Which more than doubled the size of the Magic Kingdom’s most popular land, going from just 10 acres to 21 acres).
Anyway, the show building that houses the 2000 feet of track that the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train runs along is right in the middle of New Fantasyland. Which would have then made it difficult for WDW’s horticultural team to get access to all of the real plants & trees that would then be needed to make this place look like it was actually “ … over the seven jeweled hills, beyond the seven fall.”
FYI: Those are actually the instructions that the Magic Mirror gives the Evil Queen when she’s looking to travel to the Seven Dwarfs cottage and get rid of Snow White once & for all. “Over the seven jeweled hills, beyond the seven fall. Just after the 7/11, the Dwarfs’ place will be the second cottage on your left. They’re right across from the Three Little Pigs. If you see the house where Goldilocks lives, you’ve gone too far.”
Okay. So to make things easier to maintain the exterior of this structure, the Imagineers opted to cover the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train show building with artificial foliage. Fake grass (which looks great from a distance).
This family coaster had only been open five months when – in early November of 2014 – right after “Wishes” had been presented at the Magic Kingdom, a still smoldering fireworks shell tumbled out of the sky and landed on top of the show building for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. This spent shell landed in among a clump of that artificial grass (which – this kind of surprised me – was made out of flammable material). And as a direct result, a small fire broke out.
Want to stress here that this was a very small fire. Lots of videos were taken that night of the top of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train aflame. What wasn’t typically reported was that Reedy Creek was there in the Magic Kingdom within minutes of this fire being reported. They quickly put out that fire. And within one hour of this fireworks-related blaze being reported, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was re-opened and Guests were once again having a great time on this New Fantasyland attraction.
Side note: Many of the structures in Fantasyland at WDW’s Magic Kingdom have a discreet sprinkler system that – just before each night’s fireworks display – then wets down the roof of these buildings. So that this very thing (i.e., a fire that’s accidentally started by a stray fireworks shell landing in the wrong place at the wrong time) doesn’t happen. Does anyone out there know if the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train has the same sort of system in place on the roof of its show building? I mean, I’d have to assume so. So what went wrong on that night back in November of 2014? Did this spent shell land in the one spot of the roof of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train show building where those sprinklers didn’t reach?
Real Fire at Disneyland’s “Pirates of the Caribbean”
And speaking of fire prevention … There’s a famous story about the original version of “Pirates of the Caribbean” (the one that opened at Disneyland Park back in March of 1967). As the story goes, the Anaheim Fire Chief was touring this attraction just ahead of its grand opening. And when he got to the scene where the pirates have set that city ablaze (That scene is another one of Yale Gracey’s masterpieces. He’s the one who figured out that – if you place a piece of mylar in front of a fan and then light that now-moving piece of fabric with a red & an orange light – you now have a very real looking recreation of fire) …
Anyway, the Anaheim Fire Chief is touring the “Pirates of the Caribbean” show building at Disneyland and see that attraction’s city-ablaze scene and basically says “You need a kill switch for all of the fire effects in this room. Something that can shut down all of these effects all at once. Otherwise, if you ever a fire in this room, my guys won’t be able to tell what’s real and what’s not. And trust me, you don’t want us wasting time in here putting out pretend fires.”
And that fire chief’s warning proved to be prescient. For just three months after Disneyland’s version of “Pirates of the Caribbean” first opened to the public, a fire did break out in this very same room of the attraction.
Luckily, it only impacted just one Audio-Animatronic attraction. Do you remember that drunken pirate in the city-ablaze room? The one who’s kind of holding himself upright by hanging onto a lamp post? He’s got a bottle in his one free hand and is singing “Yo Ho Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me)?
Near as they can figure, a Guest who was floating through this particular show scene aboard one of “Pirates” bateaux flicked a lit cigarette at this AA figure. That lit cigarette got caught somehow in this animatronic’s costume. Which then caught fire.
But here’s the thing: Disneyland’s version of “Pirates of the Caribbean” has only been open for a few months at this point. So many of the Guests who are now floating through this New Orleans Square attraction are doing so for the first time. So they don’t know what the “city ablaze” scene in “Pirates” is supposed to look like. So – when their boat slowly floats past this engulfed-in-flame animatronic figure – they don’t raise an alarm with the Cast Members when they get back to this ride’s Load / Unload station. They just think “ … That was a very realistic looking fire effect.”
The story – as it was told to me – was that … Well, it was only after “Pirates” had closed for the night and a Disneyland employee was floating through this attraction (This is something that they do nightly. Noting things to bring to Maintenance’s attention. Stuff that can be repaired / addressed during Disneyland’s third shift) when they then came upon the now-charred / grotesque / melted AA figure still supposed dangling off of that lamppost with a bottle in his hand.
Disneyland really dodged a bullet here. They were lucky that this one AA figure didn’t set that whole show scene inside of “Pirates of the Caribbean” ablaze.
Coming Out Unscathed – “Fantasmic” & Murphy’s Law
I’ve heard the very same thing about what happened during that performance of “Fantasmic!” back on April 22nd. That Disneyland was very, very lucky that the wind was blowing in the direction that it was this past Saturday night. Given that Isopar (that’s the petroleum product that produces that 35-foot burst of flame that shoots out of the dragon prop’s mouth) is incredibly flammable … Well, imagine if the wind had been blowing in the opposite direction that night? And some of that stuff had landed on the Cider Mill directly behind that dragon on Tom Sawyer Island? That’s where all of the stage managers and technicians who actually run “Fantasmic!” are typically holed up when this show is being staged. I don’t even want to think about what could have happened then.
Speaking of what could have happened … There’s been a lot of speculation about why Murphy caught fire back on April 22nd …
Why is the “Fantasmic” Dragon named Murphy?
Need to explain the dragon’s nickname … How many of you remember the dragon that originally appear in “Fantasmic!” when this Disneyland show first debuted back in May of 1992? Back then (due to budget cuts), this piece of show equipment was just a mechanical head on a boom lift. Which then had lengths of non-flammable fabric hanging off of that boom lift to hide that mechanism. To further hide the fact that there was no dragon body below that dragon head, they used to release this cloud of thick chemical fog just before this scene in “Fantasmic!” got underway.
The only problem was that all of the TV ads for “Fantasmic!” (along with all of the billboards along California’s highways. The full page ads in Los Angeles’ newspapers that summer) all showed Mickey Mouse in his Sorcerer’s Apprentice outfit battling with a full-sized Maleficent-the-Dragon with a body below its head.
Disneyland’s Entertainment was genuinely embarrassed by how the dragon originally looked in “Fantasmic!” But since the crowds kept coming to this nighttime show, it took them years (17 in fact) to finally persuade Disneyland management to allow them to upgrade this specific element of this show.
Garner Holt was then hired to build a second dragon for “Fantasmic!” Very tall order. Had to fit in a pit directly below the stage on Tom Sawyer (This is why this dragon is actually in two pieces. A body that’s roughly 23 feet in height. And then a neck & head portion of this same figure that’s 22 feet in height. This element then raises up into place once the dragon’s body is in position. Forming one 45-foot-tall, fire-breathing dragon [FYI: “Fantasmic!” original dragon – the mechanical head of a boom lift – was only 40 feet tall]).
It took a heavy-duty, custom built elevator to quickly lift this 18,000 pound / 32-foot-wide figure up out of that pit. It only has 35 seconds to pull off this particular effect in that show. Four computers then power the 60 microprocessors which control Murphy’s movement. Doing everything from control the actuator that sends that flammable petroleum derivative up to Murphy’s mouth (where it’s then squirted out under high pressure just before it’s ignited. Which – again – is how you get that 35-foot-long jet of flame) to changing the color of this animated prop’s LED-powered eyes.
Disneyland pulled the original version of the “Fantasmic!” dragon (i.e., the mechanical head on a boom lift) off of Tom Sawyer Island in March of 2009. New version of dragon was supposed to debut in June of that same year as part of Disneyland’s Summer Fantasmic! promotion.
That didn’t happen. Had gone from too simple a mechanism to too complex. Los Angeles Time – June 12th – featured a headline which read “Disneyland’s dragon debut delayed.” Lots of Ds in that sentence.
Hence the name Murphy. As in “Murphy’s Law.” Everything that can go wrong will go wrong.
Finally debuted in early September of that same year. All is forgiven. “Fantasmic!” new dragon looks fantastic. Big wow.
“Fantasmic” Dragon
Still a trifle problematic. August 2010, during that moment in the show where the animated dragon prop has to rise up out of that pit in just 35 seconds (with the 22 foot long head & neck section then rising up over that 23 foot tall body section to form one 45 foot tall dragon), something goes wrong. Entire prop suddenly pitches forward. Murphy winds up with his nose rest of the stage portion of Tom Sawyer’s Island. Show E-stops. Disneyland makes announcement “Please don’t take pictures of the dragon looking like this.” People do anyway.
Different theories as to what happened that night. Disneyland execs say neck mechanic broke. Folks at Garner Holt has told me that it was operator error. Wasn’t until November of that same year that Murphy resumed his regular appearances in Disneyland’s “Fantasmic!”
FYI: Disney does have a contingency plan if Murphy malfunctions / isn’t able to appear that night in “Fantasmic!” There’s a version of this show where that show scene can be handled by projecting animated footage on this show’s water screens.
Original “Fantasmic” Fiasco or Simply Mickey’s Dream?
Final thoughts: There are those that say … Well, if Disneyland had just stuck with their original version of the “Fantasmic!” dragon (i.e., the one that was just a mechanical head at the end of a boom lift. FYI: This is what WDW’s version of “Fantasmic!” – the one that’s been running since October of 1998 and will be celebrating its 25th anniversary this Fall – still uses), this never would have happened.
Not true. Kevin Kidney (who was a designer on the original version of this Disneyland nighttime show. Back when “Fantasmic!” was called the “Imagination River Spectacular”) tells a story about what happened just one week before this show opened on May 13, 1992. Which was when – as they powered up that fire effect – the dragon head then flew off of that boom lift and clattered to the stage.
Of course, since we now live in the age of “If you didn’t take a picture, it didn’t happen,” no one outside of Disneyland Entertainment vets ever talks about that incident. But it did happen.
This article is based on research for The Disney Dish Podcast “Episode 425”, published on May 1, 2023. The Disney Dish Podcast is part of the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network.
Television & Shows
The Untold Story of Super Soap Weekend at Disney-MGM Studios: How Daytime TV Took Over the Parks
A long time ago in a galaxy that … Well, to be honest, wasn’t all that far away. This was down in Florida after all. But if you traveled to the WDW Resort, you could then experience “Star Wars Weekends.” Which ran seasonally at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Disney World from 1997 to 2015.
Mind you, what most folks don’t remember is the annual event that effectively plowed the road for “Star Wars Weekends.” Which was “Super Soap Weekend.” That seasonal offering — which allowed ABC soap fans to get up-close with their favorite performers from “All My Children,” “General Hospital,” “One Life to Live” and “Port Charles” — debuted at that same theme park the year previous (1996).
So how did this weekend-long celebration of daytime drama (which drew tens of thousands of people to Orlando every Fall for 15 years straight) come to be?
Michael Eisner’s Daytime TV Origins and a Theme Park Vision
Super Soap Weekend was the brainchild of then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner. His career in media began with short stints at NBC and CBS, but it truly took off in 1964 when he joined ABC as the assistant to Leonard Goldberg, who was the network’s national programming director at the time.
Eisner quickly advanced through the ranks. By 1971, he had become Vice President of Daytime Programming at ABC. That meant he was on the scene when One Life to Live joined the lineup in July 1968 and when All My Children made its debut in January 1970. Even after being promoted to Senior Vice President of Prime Time Programming in 1976, Eisner stayed close to the daytime division and often recruited standout soap talent for ABC’s primetime shows.
Fast forward nearly two decades to July 31, 1995. The Walt Disney Company announced that it would acquire ABC/Cap Cities in a $19 billion deal. Although the acquisition wasn’t finalized until February 1996, Eisner was already thinking ahead. He wanted to use the stars of All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital to draw people to Disney’s theme parks.
He had seen how individual soap stars were drawing huge mall crowds across America since the late 1970s. Now he wanted to bring dozens of them together for something much bigger.
Super Soap Weekend Takes Over Disney-MGM Studios
The very first Super Soap Weekend was announced in June 1996, just a few months after the ABC deal closed. The event was scheduled for October 19 and 20 at Disney-MGM Studios and was a massive success.
The weekend featured panel discussions, autograph sessions, and photo opportunities with the stars of ABC’s daytime dramas. Thousands of fans packed the park for the chance to meet their favorite actors. Due to the overwhelming response, the event became an annual tradition and was eventually moved to Veterans Day weekend each November to better accommodate attendees.
Longtime fans like Nancy Stadler, her mom Mary, and their close friend Angela Ragno returned year after year, making the event a personal tradition and building lifelong memories.
West Coast Events and the ABC Soap Opera Bistro
Disney even tried to recreate the event out west. Two Super Soap Weekends were held at Disneyland Resort, one in April 2002 and another in June 2003.
At Disney’s California Adventure, Eisner also introduced the ABC Soap Opera Bistro, a themed dining experience that opened in February 2001. Guests could dine inside recreated sets from shows like General Hospital and All My Children, including Kelly’s Diner and the Chandler Mansion. The Bistro closed in November 2002, but for fans, it offered a rare opportunity to step into the world of their favorite soaps.
SOAPnet, Port Charles, and the Expansion of Daytime TV at Disney
Eisner’s enthusiasm for soaps extended beyond the parks. In January 2000, he launched SOAPnet, a cable channel dedicated to prime time replays of ABC’s daytime dramas.
During his time at Disney, General Hospital also received a spin-off series titled Port Charles, which aired from June 1997 to October 2003. The show leaned into supernatural plotlines and was another example of Eisner’s commitment to evolving and expanding the soap genre.
The Final Curtain for Super Soap Weekend
In September 2005, Eisner stepped down after 21 years as head of The Walt Disney Company. Bob Iger, who had previously served as President of ABC and Chief Operating Officer of ABC/Cap Cities, took over as CEO. While Iger had deep ABC credentials, he didn’t share Eisner’s passion for daytime television.
In the fall of 2008, Disney hosted the final Super Soap Weekend at what was then still called Disney-MGM Studios. That same year, the park was rebranded as Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney began shifting away from television-focused experiences.
Within the next five years, the rest of Eisner’s soap legacy faded. One Life to Live was canceled in January 2012. SOAPnet was rebranded as Disney Junior in February 2013. Later that year, All My Children ended its 41-year run on ABC.
Only General Hospital remains on the network today, the last standing soap from the golden age of ABC Daytime.
A New Chapter for Daytime TV and Super Soap Fans
The soap genre may have faded from its former glory, but it’s not gone. On February 24, 2025, CBS premiered a brand-new daytime drama called Beyond the Gates, marking the first new soap launch in years.
Meanwhile, All My Children alum Kelly Ripa has been actively working on a revival. In September 2024, she mentioned a holiday-themed movie set in Pine Valley that would bring back many original cast members. The project was in development for Lifetime, though its current status is unclear.
And what about Super Soap? Fans like Nancy and Angela still hope Disney will bring it back. Even if it only featured the cast of General Hospital, it would be a welcome return for longtime viewers who miss that one weekend a year where the magic of Disney collided with the drama of daytime TV.
If you want to hear firsthand what it was like to be part of Super Soap Weekend, be sure to listen to our I Want That Too podcast interview with actor Colin Egglesfield. He shares behind-the-scenes memories from his days as Josh Madden on All My Children and what it meant to be part of one of the most unique fan events in Disney park history.
One of the highlights of the Super Bowl isn’t just the game itself—it’s the moment when the winning quarterback turns to the camera and exclaims, “I’m going to Disney World!” This now-iconic phrase has been a staple of post-game celebrations for decades. But where did this tradition begin? Surprisingly, it didn’t originate in a stadium but at a dinner table in 1987, in a conversation involving Michael Eisner, George Lucas, and aviation pioneers Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.
The Unlikely Beginning of a Marketing Sensation
To understand the origins of this campaign, we have to go back to December 1986, when the Rutan Voyager became the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. Pilots Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager completed the nine-day journey on December 23, 1986, flying over 26,000 miles before landing at Edwards Air Force Base. Their historic achievement earned them national recognition, and just days later, President Ronald Reagan awarded them the Presidential Citizen Medal at the White House.
Meanwhile, Disney was gearing up for the grand opening of Star Tours at Disneyland, set for January 12, 1987. Following its usual playbook of associating major theme park attractions with real-world pioneers, Disney’s PR team invited astronauts Gordon Cooper and Deke Slayton to the launch event. But in a twist, they also invited Rutan and Yeager, who were still making headlines.
A Dinner Conversation That Changed Advertising Forever
After the Star Tours opening ceremony, a private dinner was held with Disney CEO Michael Eisner, George Lucas, and Eisner’s wife, Jane. During the meal, Eisner asked Rutan and Yeager, “You just made history. You traveled non-stop around the planet on a plane without ever refueling. How are you ever going to top that, career-wise? What are you two gonna do next?”
Without hesitation, Jeana Yeager replied, “Well, after being cramped inside that tiny plane for nine days, I’m just glad to be anywhere else. And even though you folks were nice enough to fly us here, invite us to your party… Well, as soon as we finish eating, I’m gonna go over to the Park and ride some rides. I’m going to Disneyland.”
Jane Eisner immediately recognized the power of Yeager’s statement. On the car ride home, she turned to Michael and said, “That’s a great slogan. I think you should use that to promote the theme parks.” Like many husbands, Michael initially dismissed the idea, but Jane persisted. Eventually, Eisner relented and pitched it to his team.
The Super Bowl Connection
With Super Bowl XXI just around the corner, Disney’s PR team saw an opportunity. The game was set for January 25, 1987, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena—just miles from Disney Studios. What if they convinced the winning quarterback to say, “I’m going to Disneyland” live on-air?
Disney quickly struck a deal with both quarterbacks—Phil Simms of the New York Giants and John Elway of the Denver Broncos—offering each $75,000 to deliver the line if their team won. Simms led the Giants to victory, making history as the first athlete to say, “I’m going to Disney World!” on national television.
A Marketing Triumph
That year’s Super Bowl had the second-highest viewership in television history, with 87 million people watching Simms say the famous line. The next day, Disney turned the clip into a national commercial, cementing the phrase as a marketing goldmine.
Since then, “I’m going to Disneyland” (or Disney World, depending on the commercial) has been a staple of championship celebrations, spanning the NFL, NBA, and even the Olympics. What started as a casual remark at dinner became one of the most successful advertising campaigns in history.
A Lasting Legacy
Jane Eisner’s keen instinct and Disney’s ability to act quickly on a great idea created a tradition that continues to captivate audiences. The “I’m going to Disneyland” campaign remains a testament to the power of spontaneous inspiration and smart marketing, proving that sometimes, the best ideas come from the most unexpected places.
To learn more about Disney’s ties to the world of sports, check out I Want That Too: A Disney History and Consumer Product Podcast.
Television & Shows
How the Creators of South Park Tricked A-List Celebrities to Roast Universal – “Your Studio & You”
Universal Studios has a rich and storied history, but few moments are as peculiar—and as hilariously cutting—as the creation of Your Studio & You. This 14-minute parody film, commissioned in 1995 to celebrate Universal’s new ownership under Seagram’s, brings together an all-star cast, biting humor, and the unmistakable comedic fingerprints of Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
Long before South Park debuted on Comedy Central in 1997, Stone and Parker were already carving out a reputation for their irreverent style, and Your Studio & You perfectly encapsulates their knack for turning even the most corporate project into something delightfully subversive.
Matt Stone & Trey Parker Before South Park
Stone & Parker were already known out in Hollywood as funny guys. Thanks largely to “The Spirit of Christmas,” which was this video greeting card that they’d crafted for a Fox executive – who then distributed this infamously funny thing (which had Our Lord Jesus Christ & Santa Claus literally duking it out for the holiday affections of Cartman, Kenny, Stan & Kyle) to friends & family.
This was the early 1990s. No internet. Each copy of “The Spirit of Christmas” was made on VHS tape and then mailed. Went viral the old-fashioned way. It’s rumored that George Clooney made over 300 copies of “The Spirit of Christmas” and passed these VHS taps along to friends and family.
Things didn’t move as fast as they do today. “The Spirit of Christmas” still became a sensation out West.
Zucker Brothers
Matt & Trey also had other supporters in the entertainment industry. Among them David Zucker, who was one of the members of ZAZ (i.e., Zucker Abrahams Zucker), the talented trio that made “Airplane!” in 1980, “Top Secret!” in 1984 and the three “Naked Gun” movies.
- The original “Naked Gun” in 1988
- “Naked Gun 2 & 1/2 : The Smell of Fear” in 1991
- and “Naked Gun 33 & a 1/3: The Final Insult” in 1994
All five of these parody films had been made for Paramount Pictures. But in the Late Winter / Early Spring of 1995, Universal had persuaded the Zucker Brothers to come over and set up shop in a bungalow on their lower lot. With the hope that – at some point further on down the line – David & his brother Jerry would start making funny films for Universal.
And it’s during this same window of time (We’re now talking April of 1995) that news breaks that Seagrams (Yep, the adult beverage company. Who – at the time – was making an absolute fortune on the sales of wine coolers) was about to buy a majority stake in MCAUniversal. We’re talking control of 80% of that company’s stock. Which would effectively make Seagrams the new owners of Universal Studios.
Edgar Bronfman
And Edgar Bronfman – the owner of Seagrams – knew that Universal had had a tough time with its previous owners – which had been the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. of Japan. Matsushita had bought MCA back in November of 1990 for $7.5 billion but had never really understood the entertainment industry.
This is why – after repeatedly butting heads with Lew Wasserman & Sidney Sheinberg (i.e., the heads of Universal Studios & the Universal theme park respectively) when it came to creative control of this company – Matsushita decided to wash it hands of the entire enterprise. Agreeing to sell their holdings in MCA to Seagrams for $5.7 billion (effectively taking a nearly $2 billion loss on this investment).
And Bronfman … He knew that some bad feeling had developed between Hollywood’s creative community and the Japanese owners of Universal. The thinking was that executives at Matsushita Electric had just not gotten what it took to make movies & TV shows.
And Edgar? Right from the get-go, he wanted to show that Seagrams was NOT going to be Matsushita Electric Redux. Bronfman was looking for a way to send a clear message to Hollywood’s creative community that Universal’s new owners got it. That they were willing to work with Hollywood to make the best possible movies & TV shows at Universal.
And how did Edgar decide to get this message across? By making a funny movie.
Zucker Commissions Trey Parker for “Your Studio & You”
Mind you, Bronfman himself didn’t make this film. The owner of Seagrams reached out to David Zucker. Who – after initially agreeing to produce this introduction-to-Universal film – then farmed out the production of the actual project to Trey Parker. Who – just two days before shooting was supposed to star on the Universal Lot – persuaded Matt Stone to come help him on this project.
Which brings us to “Your Studio and You.” Which is a parody of an educational film from the 1950s, right down to being shot in black & white and featuring a very generic soundtrack.
Now what’s amazing about watching “Your Studio and You” today is that this 14-minute-long film features some of the biggest names working in Hollywood back in the mid-1990s. We’re talking about people like recent Golden Globe winner Demi Moore, Sylvester Stallone, Michael J. Fox and Angela Lansbury. Not to mention two of the most powerful men in all of Hollywood, Steven Spielberg & Jeffrey Katzenberg.
And what’s especially interesting about watch “Your Studio and You” is that – as you watch these performers go through their paces in this motion pictures (which – most of the time – involves doing some innocuous task while holding a Seagram’s wine cooler) – you often get the feeling that this star is not in on the gag.
So how did Matt & Trey get away with this? Simple. There was never actually a script for “Your Studio and You.”
Filming “Your Studio & You” at Universal Studios Hollywood
Mind you, David Zucker would always insist that there was. Especially when he’d phone up celebrities on the Universal Lot and say “Hey, I’m sending over a couple of college kids later today. They’re working with me on a new parody film. It’s something that we’re doing for the new owners of Universal. I need just a half hour of your time. We’re shooting something special for the party we’ll be holding when the Seagrams people first arrive at the Studio. Absolutely. You’ll definitely get an invite to that party. So can I count on you to help these kids out? Beautiful. They’ll be over there later this morning.”
And then Matt & Trey would show up and say “… Dang, Miss Lansbury. We’re sorry. We must have left our copy of the ‘Your Studio and You’ script back in our office. Which is clear on the other side of the Lot. So – rather than waste your time – why don’t we do this instead? Follow us over to the Psycho House. Where we’re then going to get footage of you painting the front porch on Mother Bates’ house while you say ‘Gosh, with all of the wonderful improvements going on around here, everyone is going to want to work at Universal.’ Oh, and can we also get you to wear this button on the front of your blazer which reads ‘Universal is A-OK’ ? “
And over & over again, the biggest names who were working for Universal at that time took part in the production of “Your Studio & You” because A) David Zucker vouched for Matt Stone & Trey Parker and B) this was something that was being made for the new owners of Universal. And it’s just natural to want to get in good with the new boss.
Steven Spielberg, Jeffery Katzenberg, and Jaws
But no one at Universal anticipated that “Your Studio & You” would wind up being as sharp edged as the finished product turned out to be. I mean, it’s one thing to bite the hand that feeds you. But “Your Studio & You” ? It doesn’t just bite the hand. It takes the hand off at the wrist.
It’s a brutally funny film. With one of the meanest moments reserved for Steven Spielberg, who plays a driver on the Universal Studio Tour who’s trying to persuade a tram full of bored tourists (one of whom is played by Jeffery Katzenberg) that the “Shark Attack” scene down by Jaws Lagoon is actually exciting.
Spielberg actually says lines like “ … Whoa, whoa. What is going on here? Ladies and gentlemen, this never happens. Look out! It’s a shark! Whoa, that is one big scary shark.”
Mind you, as footage of this mechanical shark repeatedly coming up out of the water is shown, “Your Studio & You” ‘s off-screen narrator (who is voiced by Trey Parker says):
“But what about tomorrow? If we don’t keep in step with the times, things that were once neat and thrilling can become old and stupid.”
“Your Studio & You” Reception
This film was supposed to be shown only once at the welcoming party for Seagrams executive on the Universal Lot. And I’m told that – when Edgar Bronfman saw the finished product at that party – he reportedly turned to David Zucker and said “ … That’s a little more mean-spirited that I think it needed to be.”
And with that, “Your Studio & You” was supposed to go back into the Universal vault, never to be seen again. But when “South Park” debuted on Comedy Central in August of 1997 and then became a sensation for its biting humor, there was suddenly a lot of interest in what else Matt & Trey had done. Which is why copies of “The Spirit of Christmas” began to circulate. And – over time – copies of “Your Studio & You” began to bubble up.
Which – as Stone & Parker have repeatedly pointed out – was just not supposed to happen. Largely because none of the celebrities who appeared in “Your Studio & You” had never signed releases for Universal’s legal department. Because – again – this was for a movie that was only going to be shown once at a private function on the Universal Lot.
Matt mentioned (as part of a career retrospective at the Paley Center in LA back in 2000) that “ … they wouldn’t even let us keep a copy of the finished film.”
It’s a funny but brutal movie. And worth taking a look at today especially if you’re a theme park history buff because it shows Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Jurassic Park: The Ride” still under construction on the Lower Lot. That attraction would finally open to the public in June of 1996.
“Your Studio & You” became a lot easier to see after Seagrams sold off its share of Universal to Vivendi in 2000. Copies began propagating online after that. Though Universal Legal will periodically make an effort to get the latest copy of “Your Studio & You” taken off the Internet because – again – none of the performers who appear on camera ever signed the proper releases and/or were paid for their efforts.
That said, if you’re up for a mean-spirited laugh, “Your Studio & You” is well worth 14 minutes of your time. That said, once you watch this thing, be warned:
- You’re immediately going to be thirsty for a Seagram’s wine cooler
- And you’re going to have a sudden desire to go out & buy a porcelain deer.
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