You'd think adding one to Knott's would be a no-brainer, even more so than reviving the Knott's Bear-y gang. And yet, 30+ years later, nothing. Sure, The Peanuts gang was added to the Grand Sierra Railroad via Garner Holt as part of Camp Snoopy's 30th anniversary, but that was more of a half-measure. It only served to wet our appetites.
Then the movie came out and while it only garnered moderate success at the box office, I thought for sure Knott's would throw together some kind of attraction tie-in. Unfortunately disappointment set in again, as a red carpet for the movie was about all they did.
Why now? The technology to bring them to life is there. I'm looking at whats Disney has been doing and it seems perfect for The Peanuts.
NO, not that interactive screen garbage like Midway Mania. I just got back from Universal Orlando, where their last six attractions and their next two are all screen attractions, and I can safely say that I have had enough of that crap.
What I'm referring to is Disney's strides in animatronic technology, specifically facial projection mapping. They've come a long way since I first saw this in action back in 1998. Then it was being used on the Buzz Lightyear animatronic in the queue for Space Ranger Spin. Sure, Disney did this decades earlier on Haunted Mansion but those were all stationary. This face was on a moving audio-animatronic. Still, I hated it even as a kid. It was too washed out and his face was too flat. There was no depth and it never even came close to breaking the illusion that it was anything but a projected face. It would be nearly a decade before the technology caught up with Disney's ambitions.
The next major stride in this facial projection technology came during Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion refurbishment in 2007, where Madame Leota would premier a new HD LCD internal rear-projection as part of here new floating head trick. It was awesome. Crystal clear, super bright and very sharp. Finally, it all just worked.
Since then it has been used on a number of new attractions (and updates of classic attractions), including the Seven Dwarf's Mine Coaster, Radiator Springs Racers and most recently, Frozen Ever After. Take a peek:
Just look at all of these in action. They look just like their movie counterparts...
...which brings me back on point. This technology could be used by Knott's, Garner Holt, and Blue Sky to bring the Peanuts gang to life in a truly spectacular fashion. With their round heads and generally flat faces, The Peanuts gang are perfect candidates to display this facial projection technology, which could truly capture their comic book expressions, just as the Blue Sky movie did last year. To give jaded adults the same sense of wonder that their kids experience as they're immersed in the Peanuts world like never before.
What would the story be? Where in Knott's would it go? Neither of those matter. Execution is the most important aspect and I feel the latest technology that Disney has been employing is just what is needed to pull this off.
Also, give us a new Knott's Bear-y Tales.
KBT for the win!
ReplyDelete