Mabuse

Oops. Me no read good.

TomOpus

It goes by rather fast. I had to look at it twice to be sure I saw it correctly.

VHS?

This was one odd movie. I didnt know what to think.
To me it was a story brought on by a bad acid trip at Disney Land.
I just didnt get it. It was perverted to the point of feeling creepy just watching it.

ardathbey

Man...they totally had my interest with the hype and guerilla film-making. I'm a big Disney nerd and former Cast Master. Really wanted to see how they'd pulled this off.

And they did. The covert film-making was well done, the B/W footage in the dark rides turned out really well, and there are some really good looking shots in it. I was doubly intrigued by the tight shots that were obviously filmed somewhere other than Disney, all the while maintaining the illusion. Technically that was super cool (other than how jarring it is for a Disney nut to see them in Disney World one moment, and Disneyland in another, but that's on me, not them).

But the story blew goats. And IT'S RIGHT THERE! What a fascinating sci-fi concept of what Disney really is, or could be. I bet a hundred better stories could be written easily regarding a Alt-Disverse. They just totally flopped the story here in execution. I didn't want to root for anyone here.

I'm not done with it yet, but Cory Doctrow's book 'Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom', or even the 'Kingdom Keepers' series delve into this type of story much better.

Dash

I saw this at Sundance back in Jan and this may have been the first move that I actually hated. I wanted my 104 min back after the movie and it just put me in a bad mood afterwards. I almost forgot about this movie.

Maybe I'm just not sophisticated enough, I don't know, but I thought the move just went off the rails half way through and it just turned me off to the entire thing. After seeing so many great films at Sundance, It really makes the poor ones stand out.

Jackskeleton

Wow, that certainly was... I.. guess... something.


It suffered from me not giving a shit and that third act was painfully slow.

brainee

Just saw this. And it sounds like I had the same reaction others had. It looks great, and the amateur cast does a solid job. I don't know how they were able to get some of these shots without Disney's permission or knowledge. But it just goes off the rails so badly in the last third that its painful. Reading other viewer comments it sounds like no one has any idea what the hell was going on. Some filmmakers earn the benefit of the doubt with things like that ... but not these guys. What a waste, because the technical aspects and park footage deserve a better movie.

Mondo Kane

Say what you will about the movie, but "Can you find my Hidden Mickey?" is the best film-line of the year!

brainee

I found it odd that for all the authorized stuff they did to shoot the movie, the word "Disney" was bleeped out (though many specific, and I'm assuming trademarked, attractions were mentioned by name). And specific ride music was dubbed over.

If they ever manage to get a home-video release, this is one movie where a making-of doc may be better than the movie itself. I'm curious to learn about how they made this, and also hear from the filmmakers about what they were thinking. There's this little featurette, but its pretty light on content:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/D5dmaOAkq90" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Why do they only (in the youtube video) talk about Disneyland? Wasn't Disneyworld the location (while many rides are the same, the movie features the Contemporary Hotel and Epcot)?

Mondo Kane

The director says he's more familiar with Disney World, but the rest of the film crew/cast seem to be L.A. based. Hence, Disneyland.

As for the bleeping, I heard it once (During the most over-the-top sequence) but I heard it (Without bleeps) plain as day at least two other times. Odd.

Really, the most saving grace of this film for me was the score. The mock-ups were great, but the main overall themes were just so tremendous to me.

BTW, since I've never been to Disney World, I never knew they had a "Three Caballeros" ride over there! Nice to see what their Peoplemover looks like too.

Shannon Nutt

Same here - sometimes they said it, sometimes it was bleeped.

Oh, the movie was shot in BOTH Disney World and Disneyland, although primarily in Disney World.

BambooLounge

Or if they manage to ever get sued, this is one deposition that may be better than the subject of the suit itself. It'll be like a making-of talking head video.

I give Disney a lot of credit though for not taking the bait here and giving these guys the publicity they so were looking for by even acknowledging them, but I would be surprised if this hits home-video as I imagine Disney could easily and quietly get an injunction, but they probably just want this to go in and out of theaters and never really be heard of again instead of reacting and turning it into some sort of off-brand cult classic.

Groucho

There wouldn't be a "quiet" injunction. This is exactly what the filmmakers are hoping for, and you know they'll go apeshit if that happens.

BambooLounge

Well yeah, it wouldn't be "quiet," but it would keep the movie off shelves and money out of the filmmakers' pockets.

The filmmakers' could go as apeshit as they want, but it seems they went out of their way to appropriate a ton of Disney intellectual property to make this (which was the point I guess), so it is not like they'd have much a legal leg to stand on here outside of "fair use," which will be an uphill climb considering this wasn't marketed as a parody at all, but more like a "Look at this IP Heist we're getting away with! Please sue us!"

But, based on the reviews, I think this will just come and go. Doesn't seem to have legs...also, Disney has gone dark themselves already in stuff like Epic Mickey and Kingdom Hearts, so I doubt Tomorrowland is that taboo like it may have been if made in the 70s or 80s.

Jackskeleton

The movie itself will be enough to keep the money out of the film maker's pocket. Disney really did do the smart move in this and just ignored it, letting the film's complete lack of a good movie kill itself.

Dusty Bottoms

I know it's not quite the same thing as physical media, but the film has already gone beyond the limited theatrical release. It's available to purchase and rent through Amazon Instant, Vudu, iTunes, and some cable companies.

RichC2

Disney has done a great job of keeping even their forgotten flicks alive in some capacity at the parks. Hell even Br'er Bear and Br'er Frog are at Disney World.

VHS?

This movie is getting buzz again due to news coverage.
They are a little late but the director has been doing interviews on how he filmed it 'gorilla style'

riotinmyskull

sat down and watched this yesterday. i like weird films, this is a weird film. the first 2/3rds of the film are quite interesting and it's a great build up but once the "intermission" happens...it just doesn't deliver the goods. it's certainly surreal and i'm sure fans of films that are just plain odd will get some enjoyment out of it much like i did. i recommend it with caution.

Supermallet

This was awful. A man with a conveniently shrewish wife stalks underage girls, cheats on his wife, and treats her and his kids like shit. Any comment this may have tried to make about the darker side of Disney are thoroughly lost in this vapid tale of an asshole who can't keep it in his pants.

The filmmaking is also boorishly amateurish.

kstublen

http://www.amazon.com/Escape-From-To...+from+tomorrow

Going to be released on DVD on April 29th. Haven't seen it yet and from reading this thread and other reviews online it seems to get mixed reviews. Still might pick it up for the novelty factor in case Disney does decide to sue at some point and this gets pulled from the shelves.

Groucho

Troy Stiffler

I think Disney would be better off ignoring this and leaving it in obscurity.

If the movie were good, they'd have something to worry about.

dex14

Weird... I literally just got done watching this. Pretty much echoing all the other comments. Starts off cool enough...then just gets weird.

Solid Snake

This is on Amazon Instant Video, free w/ Prime. I don't care to watch it but thought I'd give a heads up.