The roots of Disneyland revealed from the “Tomorrowland” Expo (Part 1)

Audio-Animatronics

Audio-animatronics is a term coined by Disney, and was invented at the New York World's Fair. In addition to "It's a Small World," Walt Disney produced attractions such as the Ford Motor Pavilion , the Carousel of Progress in the General Electric Pavilion, and the Illinois Pavilion's " President Lincoln's Moving Speech ."

At this time, WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering) developed Audio-Animatronics, a precise mechanical doll. In particular, in " President Lincoln's Moving Speech ," a lifelike version of President Lincoln delivers a speech. This was so well received that a second facility was installed in Disneyland in 1965, during the festival.

The "Carousel of Progress" was also moved to Disneyland in 1967. This was a show in which audio-animatronics performed a story starting from the past and progressing to a future life filled with electrical appliances. To make this a reality, a harness was designed to electromechanically capture the actors' performances in real time, and a system (*6) was developed to record the signals on magnetic tape. In modern terms, this is a motion capture system using mechanical sensors.

*6 This device was not well received, so in 1969 a digital motion input system called “DACS (Digital Animation Control System)” was developed, which was programmed from a control board.

Synopsis ④

Athena convinces the frightened Casey that "You are the last hope to save the world," and heads to the house of Frank (George Clooney), who says he will take her to that world. However, while Casey is asleep, Athena leaves her on a road in the mountains and leaves. Casey wakes up and heads to Frank's mansion, which stands alone. She is suddenly attacked by a guard dog, but Casey immediately realizes that it is a hologram. However, Frank attacks her with an electric shock and tells her that "that dreamlike world is nothing more than a hallucination sent to your head as a promotional video," driving Casey to despair, and does not let her enter the mansion even on a rainy night.

Casey then traces the security camera cable to the room where Frank is, sets fire to a wheel loader parked in the yard, and sends it hurtling towards the room. Frank rushes to put out the fire, but leaves the door open, so Casey, who has successfully infiltrated the room, locks him out. While searching through Frank's shelves, Casey finds a strange rifle-like object next to a tattered pamphlet for the New York World's Fair. She pulls the lever, and a 3D image appears. It shows the future world, with a young boy (11-year-old Frank) talking to Athena.

"Tomorrowland" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

When Casey entered the other room, there were rows of video monitors, all showing gruesome scenes such as disasters, battlefields, and clashes between demonstrators and police. Among them was a monitor that continued to display the number 100, and a counter that decreased in number. Then, Frank appeared from the underground passage. He explained that he had been banished from that world because he had calculated that humanity would be destroyed in about 60 days. However, as soon as Casey said, "You carve out your own destiny," the image changed to a blue sky, and the number on the monitor dropped slightly from 100.

Immediately afterwards, an AA assassination squad dispatched by Nix surrounds Frank's mansion and demands the handover of Casey. However, Frank has set up various traps in the mansion to repel the AA. He then escapes using a rocket engine attached to the bathtub, and Athena's car arrives.