Credit should be given where it’s due: “Escape From Tomorrow,” which may just be the most talked about movie you will never get a chance to see, was a near impossible film to make.
Shot on the fly and on the run in both Disneyworld and Disneyland, two places where the use of cameras for commercial use is strictly forbidden, first time Director Randy Moore has made a daring, stylish and damned strange film that ties the Happiest Place on Earth to sexual perversion, fatherly trauma, conglomerate conspiracy and personal psychosis. Moore should be applauded for finding a way against all odds to put Disney’s head on the chopping block.
And yet in another way, Disney is something of an easy target. The legacy left by Walt has such an oddly glowing reputation that they’ve always seemed like they have the farthest to fall. Even institutions like “The Simpsons” have recognized the almost surreal annoyance brought on by “It’s a Small World After All” and “Zip a Dee Do Dah.” If you’re going to make a Lynchian mind-bender, you’d better have immensely strong imagery that can go beyond the Disney gimmick, and you better know exactly what movie you want to make so that people aren’t just amused by the novelty of it. Continue reading “Ebertfest Review: Escape From Tomorrow”