Review of Escape from Tomorrow (2013) by Colson V — 11 Oct 2013

Through movies, merchandise, and the famous theme parks, The Walt Disney Company prides itself on its incredible reputation of delighting folks young and old. With pristine attention to detail, lovable source material, and iconic imagery, the famed house of mouse conjures up memories and experiences so powerful they have the power to unite different generations if just for a temporary period of time. According to a list of the ten most visited theme parks around the world, Disney owns eight spots and for good reason; memories are made between family, friends, loved ones, and even complete strangers. These memories pose as inspiration to many people on various levels- some want to live life as optimistically as they saw in the parks, and some just want to make enough money to return to the property as soon as possible. In the case of director Randy Moore, Walt Disney's dream spoke to him in a unique way- to film an entire motion picture guerilla-style at the WDW resort. Without Disney's permission.

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Jim (Roy Abramsohn) is on his last day of vacation with his family at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. In the early morning, Jim receives a call from work informing him of his termination. Riddled with guilt, Jim keeps this a secret from his wife Emily (Elena Schuber) and kids Sara and Elliot (Katelynn Rodriguez and Jack Dalton, respectively.) As the family heads off to the Magic Kingdom for their final day, Jim begins to see strange visions, hear disturbing noises, and ultimately starts questioning his own sanity when a conspiracy under Epcot's Spaceship Earth is brought into the light.

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As an example of guerilla filmmaking, "Escape From Tomorrow" is absolutely astonishing. The film opens onboard Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, immediately pulling audiences in with fascination and wonder. As the film progresses, more famous icons from famous attractions are seen, fully embracing the guerilla-style camerawork. It is undeniably cool to see sequences of beloved attractions in a big-screen theatrical film and the controversy surrounding the film pushes that fascination into a higher level. When "Escape From Tomorrow" premiered at Sundance, it quickly became the most talked about film of the festival due to its existing without Disney's permission nor acknowledgment. Speculation abounded with the constant anticipation of corporate lawyers ruthlessly coming after the film, furthering mass curiosity with what exactly this movie features. Unfortunately, it seems as if Disney has written off the movie and is ignoring it, essentially ruining a large portion of the film's bold reputation, ironically, ruining the entire point of it.

When "Escape From Tomorrow" isn't showing off in the visuals, audiences must suffer through one of the most unnecessarily convoluted and painfully stupid narratives of the year. What starts out as a simple problem of style over substance quickly derails into a story about alternate dimensions, pedophilia, an outbreak of cat flu, and the Siemens Corporation partaking in an evil conspiracy to brainwash unsuspecting park guests. The plot is so needlessly convoluted that it feels like the film is desperately trying to convey some sort of ludicrous message about indictment of big corporation or... something, without fully understand its own concepts. One could argue that the film is nothing more than a fun horror film spinning a fascinating twist on a place that is famous for being "the happiest place on Earth," but that simply puts the film further down as a pointless tale that will now forever be associated with The Walt Disney Company.

Amidst the ridiculous plot comes the abysmal acting. Roy Abramsohn's Jim does a very unconvincing job at portraying a sad man seeing disturbing hallucinations. Instead of the confusing paranoia one would feel in that circumstance, Jim just kind of accepts it all as "weird" and moves on. His descent into madness isn't a believable one and his final "transformation" comes so far out of left field that it isn't even in the ball park. The kids do a fairly bad job in the acting department, also. While Kateylnn Rodriguez does do a somewhat decent job at being the cute daughter that just wants to have fun, Jack Dalton's Elliot is absolutely painful to sit through. Clearly going after the creepy kid vibe, Dalton's performance here is unbearable as the precocious creepy kid. Not to be outdone, however, is one of the worst on screen performances of the year Elena Schuber as Emily. Not only does the script make her out to be a hatable antagonist, her acting features some of the film's biggest unintentional laughs. Whether it is her crying, random outbursts of random paranoia, or even laughing, Elena Schuber's performance is one for the ages. Rounding out the rest of the cast is Alison Lees-Taylor hilariously playing Other Woman. While clearly trying her hardest here, she actually shows the most promise out of anyone. Unfortunately, her backstory is revealed in the film's final act (and what a doozy of a backstory it is,) allowing director Randy Moore to direct her in a really uncomfortable and awkward way. Out of everybody in the cast, she is the shining gem in this vacuum of bad acting. The fact that numerous reviews have genuinely questioned if this film is a satirical comedy based on the acting alone is outstanding.

Randy Moore's "Escape From Tomorrow" is a film of two experiences. On one hand, it is neat to see how much director Randy Moore was able to film inside the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort, but on the other hand, "Escape From Tomorrow" is a terrible film with dozens of major problems. With such a fascinating making-of story behind the film, and a plot filled with limitless potential, "Escape From Tomorrow" is an incredibly disappointing look at what could have been an interesting trip into the dark side of imagination. To quote Disney's "Fantasmic!," In your imagination, mysteries and magic, visions fantastic, leading to strange and wonderous dreams." Ironic then that a movie about the dangers of imagination set in a place fueled by imagination could be so lifeless. As a film fan, it is disappointing to write this review. As a Disney fan, it is even more upsetting. Whenever I look up at Spaceship Earth, I will be reminded of the creepy man in the scooter. Whenever I ride El Rio del Tiempo, I will be reminded of the strange visions. Whenever I think about Disney, I will be reminded of this terrible movie. That's not cool, Randy Moore. Not cool at all.