Reflections of China
| Reflections of China | |
| |
| The entrance sign for Reflections of China. | |
| Epcot | |
| Land | World Showcase |
|---|---|
| Attraction type | Circle Vision 360 Film |
| Opening date | May 22, 2003 |
| Ride duration | 13:00 [1] minutes |
| Formally Known As | Wonders of China |
| FastPass + | No |
| Budget | 1,000,000 [2] (Wonders of China) |
|
| |
Reflections of China is a movie located within the China pavilion, within Epcot.
Attraction History
When Imagineers initially conceived the China pavilion, plans for what would eventually become Reflections of China originally called for the show to be film on a standard theater screen, before it was developed into a CircleVision 360 film.
In order to create the attraction, Imagineers led by director Jeff Blyth traveled to China in film a travelogue style movie for the attraction [3]. Initially, the Chinese government was interested in partnering with Disney but was uncomfortable with Western film crews filming their country. Because of this, the government initially but strict restrictions of Disney's film crew, including making the Great Wall and Tibet off limits.
As Disney and China continued to negotiate over filming restrictions, little progress was being made. In a last ditch effort to attain more creative freedom, Disney showed representative's from China the film Fantasia. This showing seemingly helped convince the Chinese government to loosen their restrictions, and Disney was given more autonomy. As part of this new agreement, when shots of China's "sensitive" areas was called for, Blyth would turn the sequence over to his Chinese counterpart. The Chinese film crew would then film the scene. It was then reviewed by the American team, who would decided if any additional takes were needed.
After two months of scouting, filming began in the fall of 1981[3]. As previously mentioned, the film was shot in CircleVision 360, which required crews to film on nine cameras, which were stationed on a platform. Imagineers returned to China in the winter to record the seasonal changes, before concluding filming the following spring spring[3]. In order to make the film more interesting, Disney decided to use the famous Chinese poet, Li Bai as the films narrator. Li Bai (who is known as Li Po in the West) [4] wrote over 1,000 poems during the Tang Period[3]. According to director Jeff Blyth:
I chose Li Po, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, to be our guide and on-camera narrator. This might seem like the equivalent of using Shakespeare to narrate a film on present day England, but I deliberately chose a historic figure so that the words he spoke would not seem to some conservative members of the audience like the official party line. [5]
The completed Wonders of China film was approximately 19 minutes long, and it featured parts of China that had never been seen by most Westerners [3]. The total cost of making the film as just over $1,000,000 [2]. The film opened with the rest of World Showcase on October 1, 1982. The film remained unchanged until 2002. By 2002, China had become both an industrial country and a popular tourist attraction. With these changes, Wonders of China began to seem dated. Imagineers eventually decided that they needed to update the film, and on March 25, 2002 Wonders of China was shown for the final time [4].
Jeff Blythe returned to direct the updated film, which would used new footage of the country shot in 2002, along with scenes from the original film, and scenes shot in 1981 that had never been used. Imagineer Steve Spiegel wrote the screenplay for the attraction's new scenes [6]
Disney's film crews arrived in September 2002 for two months of filming[6]. Joined by filmmakers from the the China Research Institute of Film Science, the team set out to record new footage in seven Chinese citiesCite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
Leon Chooluck- Production Manager (Wonders of China) [2]
Jeff Blythe- Director/Writer (both films) [1] [2]
Fun Facts and Trivia
- When filming the Huangshan Mountain sequence, over three dozen locals were hired to lift a 300-pound camera up 16,700 stone steps [3].
- In Wonders of China guests could see the Peking Opera Company perform The Monkey King Raises Havoc in Heaven [2]
- To make the scene seem more natural, actors were used instead of real tourists in the attraction's Great Wall scene [2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://d23.com/a-to-z/reflections-of-china-film/
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19820607&id=tvdLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kO4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7014,2843621&hl=en
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/walt_disney_world/theme_parks/epcot/china/
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The EPCOT explorer's encyclopedia: R. Pedersen - Epcyclopedia Press - 2011
- ↑ Viner, Michael, and Terrie Maxine. Frankel. Tales from the Casting Couch: An Unprecedented Candid Collection of Stories, Essays, and Anecdotes by and about Legendary Hollywood Stars, Starlets, and Wanna-bes--. Beverly Hills, CA: Dove, 1995. Print. Pages 68-69
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/43324.htm
