Escape From Tomorrow

"Bad things happen everywhere."

   

        Randy Moore made his directorial debut earlier this year at Sundance with a film that he decided to shoot inside Disney World without Disney’s knowledge. The film is entitled Escape From Tomorrow and the surrounding hype for it definitely means it’s one to look out for come awards season. The premise of the film is that the main character, Jim, loses his job on the last day of his family vacation to Disney World. Jim decides not to tell his wife and instead becomes obsessed with two French girls wandering through the park. Lucky for us, the trailer was finally released to the public last week on September 12^th. Let me just say, the trailer does not disappoint. From seemingly possessed children to Epcot exploding, this is not a movie to miss.

        Looking at the footage from the trailer, it’s clear that this was not home-movie style footage, but how exactly did they film it? According to Moore, it was shot guerrila-style and completely under the radar from Disney. Actors were forced to keep scripts on their phones and Moore only used consumer video cameras for filming. Moore also snuck away to South Korea to edit the film so that Disney wouldn’t shut it down before it was done. So far, these tactics have worked in as much as Disney has yet to contact them. However, many suspect that Disney’s strategy in simply not acknowledging the film might be the smartest course of action. This would mean less attention given to Escape from Tomorrow and therefore less box office success. Like always, Disney knows best.

        Although it may on first glance seem like an outright attack on Disney, this is not necessarily the case. It is very much based in a bizarre Lynch-like version of reality. Moore is not trying to shut Disney down. He has explicitly stated multiple times that he was not trying to make an activist film, but simply a film exploring the relationship he had with his father and the parks as a child. Be that as it may, Moore still does harshly critique Disney’s style of mass entertainment through his use of B&W. B&W reveals an alternate Disney without the veil of bright colors. The surrealism and dream-like quality of this film also add to its appeal.

        The movie is set to release in select theaters on October 11th. I know I will definitely be seeing this movie and hopefully that will be before Disney shuts it down.