The Retort

From the Desk of One Baroque College Student: 3D Has Come a Long Way Since Captain Eo

March 26th, 2010 by Lou Donaldson Of The Retort Staff

I remember my first taste of 3D was when I was five or six years old; we were at Disney Land in California and my mom took me to see Captain Eo. Back then Michael Jackson was still “normal” and to see the movie in 3D was to wear the cardboard glasses with one red lens and one blue lens that appeared to be made out of colored cellophane. I know this was about twenty-odd years ago, but nevertheless I find myself rather impressed with how much 3D has evolved since then.

I’m not one to buy into massive amounts of hype and b.s. that are ever-present when something new comes out, be it a new tech gadget or movie or whatever. So when Avatar came out I figured it was a hype machine and brushed it off. Besides, the tree-hugger crap that I was told permeates the plot line further reduced my desire to see the movie, I believed it to something to the effect of a cross between Fern Gully and Dances with Wolves. However, after enduring much whining from my friends and professors in the art department using Avatar as a point of reference during class discussions, I broke down and went to see it.

My husband smiled quietly as we stood in line and I made wisecracks about the red/blue cardboard glasses. We got our tickets and the kid behind the counter handed us two pairs of what appeared to be ordinary black frame glasses, not unlike the pair I have at home. As I stared at my pair with a puzzled look on my face my husband just laughed and pulled me over to the concession stand for movie munchies (on a side note, never ever ever go to a movie hungry). As we go to the theater and get seated and watch the previews, I’m still puzzling over the glasses in my hand.

Eventually the movie starts and I once again became the six year old kid seeing 3D for the first time. It was mind-blowing. My husband started laughing as my jaw hit the floor. It was simply amazing, I found myself wanting to reach my hand out to touch the plants and little things that were floating in the air. As far as the plot for the movie goes, it was surprisingly not as in-your-face with the hippie tree-hugger crap as I had been led to believe, and was honestly pretty decent and rather enjoyable. I don’t know if it was intentional that the tree-hugger message was fairly low-key or if the complete awesomeness of the graphics made it easier to ignore, but I can see why people were calling it a combination of Fern Gully and Dances with Wolves - both of which are good movies in their own right, in my opinion.

If nothing else, go see the movie simply for the graphics; they are truly freaking fantastic. My only fear is that some directors might feel the need to remake cult classic movies. But you never know, Star Wars might look good in 3D - now that it doesn’t require the red/blue glasses.