Credit: DisneyThe Walt Disney Company is celebrating its 100th anniversary with the Disney100 events. From Disney Animation and the Parks to entire lines of merchandise, the studio is going all out to bring fans a taste of the magic that has saturated the entertainment industry for the past century. However, Disney has expanded beyond just theme park rides and Funko Pops.
As part of the 100th anniversary, Disney has partnered with Lighthouse Immersive to create an experience described as “a whole new world Disney Animation. While the experience is generally magical, great for fans of animation and the art of Walt Disney Pictures, one particular sequence was way darker than the production advertised.
The Dark Depths of Disney Animation
Lighthouse’s Disney Animation Immersive Experience is definitely impressive. The experience is essentially an hour-long film in 360 with lots of projections of your favorite Disney films from Cinderella to Encanto, it’s whimsical, it’s magical, it’s what it says on the box. However, most fans (including this writer) might not be expecting the sharp left turn into some terrifying territory.
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As with most projects that feature the meeting of heroes and villains, there’s always that one scary moment where the best of Disney’s baddies get together for a musical number. In this case, it was Ursula’s “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” Imagine our surprise when a large projection of Fantasia 2000’s “Firebird Suite” consumes the space later in the production with the titular phoenix’s inferno.
It only gets darker from there, as visions of Disney’s villains triumphing over the heroes flood the walls and structures of the viewing area. The pièce de résistance of the display was the eternally tragic scene of Mufasa’s death in The Lion King washing the walls, this time further enhanced by a chorus of “Dies Irae” from Hunchback of Notre Dame’s “Hellfire.” More than likely, it traumatized a new generation of young Disney fans in the process.
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Disney Animation isn’t above walking on the dark side, but the fact that this comes completely out of nowhere after some romantic scenes from movies like Tangled and Cinderella only intensify the experience. Thank Walt that it ends with characters like Moana and Elsa rising back to the high notes.
The Immersive experience is a marvelous and magical production, but it will definitely be too much for some viewers below the age of six. Disney fans can learn more about the exhibit and buy tickets at Lighthouse Immersion’s website.
Have you seen this traveling and “traumatizing” production? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!