Sunday, December 30, 2007

Filling the laugh canister

Wait time for Monsters Inc.: still 20 minutes. Hey, I could get used to these low late-night wait times. Wonder if it’s the same for Space Mountain?

We enter the queue for the Laugh Floor. Signs nearby tell us how we can text a joke for use during the show. I start to do so once or twice, but in the end decide not to bother. We’re in the queue for about ten minutes, then we move into a preshow holding area for another ten, so the wait time on the sign is accurate.

Finally the doors open and we make our way into the theater. The story behind this attraction stems from the discovery in Monsters Inc. that laughter generates ten times the power for Monstropolis that screams do, so one of the scare floors has been converted to a comedy club. Several monster comedians try out their act on us in hopes of filling a “laugh canister” from our response. Mike Wazowski is our “Monster of Ceremonies.”

As we are filing in, various individuals in the crowd are illuminated and their live video image put up on a screen with humorous captions added, much like the original Saturday Night Live did. I find this out when I am about to sit down, so my rear’s facing the stage, a light comes on me, and there is laughter in the theater. Only after I’m seated and the light goes off do I realize what’s happened, as I watch others get the caption treatment.

I never do find out what caption they put over my backside.

This attraction uses the same technology as Turtle Talk with Crush, in that the characters are animated in real-time and are able to interact with the audience. All in all it’s a really funny show. Some of the jokes are funnier than others, but it’s in the audience interaction that the characters really shine. We especially like the mind-reading monster: “What’s your name?” “Ashley.” “Correct!!!”

One poor guy on the second row is singled out for mistreatment. He’s never interviewed, but every monster on stage works in a cutting reference to “That Guy!” as his picture is displayed on one of the side screens.

In the end, the laugh canister is filled to overflowing, and Mike W. is thrilled to hear from Roz that the one responsible is getting a promotion. “What’s my new title?” Mike asks.

“Not you, Wazowski,” Roz replies. “That Guy!

Great show, fun and funny. I hope we get to bring the others back to see it later on the trip.

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