Back in 1990, Michael Eisner and many other Disney execs were hoping that Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy would become a popular and potentially evergreen property. So much so, that even before the film's June release of that year, plans were already on the drawing board for attractions in both Disneyland and Disney-MGM Studios. Dick Tracy's Crimestoppers looked to be an elaborate extension of the gangster scene from The Great Movie Ride, coupling audio-animatronics with interactive elements (ala tommy guns in ride vehicles).The film was only a moderate success and the concept soon faded back into the blue sky from whence it came, another casualty of the curse of the Disney Decade.
The film did have a presence in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World that year in the form of the Dick Tracy Diamond Double Cross stage show.
Seems like this would have been a neat idea - if the movie took off [I'll admit I've never seen it]. The Indiana Jones stunt show is always a popular attraction at MGM and an extension of the GMR gangster scene into a full blown show would have been interesting. Thanks for this look at another attraction that never was!
ReplyDelete"The film was only a moderate success and the concept soon faded back into the blue sky from whence it came, another casualty of the curse of the Disney Decade."
ReplyDeleteReally? Everything I've read makes it sound like this ride was the precursor to the Buzz Lightyear rides we have now.
Given how unique and stylized the movie's setting and characters were, I could see the ride taking off regardless of the movie's fate. It's a shame it never made it off the drawing board.
I always liked Dick Tracy--the odd juxtoposition of Madonna and Stephen Sondeim really kind of worked for me.
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