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DHS New Villains Show Coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Summer 2025
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
Ghost93
Well-Known Member
Agree about needing back up dancers. The show feels waaaay too small-scale to be worth of Disney World.
My expectations were that Disney would put out a competent product that at least was of the same standards as the show they put on at the castle frequently. They couldn't even do that. I had hopes that it would be the first real non-film retelling production that we had seen in Orlando in many years, but once we slipped from 40 minutes to 18 minutes, that was unlikely to happen. It doesn't mean they couldn't have done a good show in 18 minutes, but what we got was barely acceptable for a company that knows how to make live entertainment. I'm not even sure it's better than what it replaced. If my expectations are high, it's only because I may have a better understanding than most about the product that DLE/WDE can and has put out in the past.
Mermaid had a team that seemingly cared about it, which is a shock. Seemingly until proven otherwise I believe they may have more than done a good job, based on what we've seen. I was just hoping that we might see an equivalent level of work out of whoever worked on this project.
Literally how I would do it. Probably would lengthen it to about 30 minutes, but this is what I expected from the show. Some level of justification, some level of character work, and some level of actual interest.
It literally feels like an attempt at selling a weird m&g as a show, but with zero personal interaction with any of the characters involved and a bad song involved. Scale is way too small for the theater, it's way too small for the kind of stuff that Disney normally puts out for its stage shows, and it just doesn't make sense given all the money they spent. Why even bother with just three actors and a bunch of pre-recorded stuff? Over just 18 minutes? It doesn't make sense.
Are the personal mics they're wearing to sell the illusion that they're *not* lip-syncing??
Agent H
Well-Known Member
7 to 8 does seem like a good number. That said It feels like some people here were expecting a broadway show in terms of cast when we already knew that that wasn’t going to be the case for months.
PREMiERdrum
Well-Known Member
DisneyHead123
Well-Known Member
Ok I think the full show looks much better than the first leaked video. The actors don’t have a lot of material so the screens are definitely doing some heavy lifting, but as a short, screen based attraction it looks fun… just have to realign my expectations that this was going to be a musical.
PREMiERdrum
Well-Known Member
Production design is superb, and the LED panel integration (not projection mapping) is very well done.
The spatial design intent was obviously purposeful, and could have lent itself to a better and more cohesive story setup as to why we're where we are.
The voice of the Magic Mirror, to my ear, is awfully off model. It sounds like a processed version of Wesley Clark - Ohio State's Marching Band announcer (who I like for TBDBITL, but not for the mirror).
As a multi-media presentation with minimal wait times, it's... fine.
Wasted potential, and hopefully not indicative of other efforts with these characters.
The spatial design intent was obviously purposeful, and could have lent itself to a better and more cohesive story setup as to why we're where we are.
The voice of the Magic Mirror, to my ear, is awfully off model. It sounds like a processed version of Wesley Clark - Ohio State's Marching Band announcer (who I like for TBDBITL, but not for the mirror).
As a multi-media presentation with minimal wait times, it's... fine.
Wasted potential, and hopefully not indicative of other efforts with these characters.
The weakest aspect for me is the Magic Mirror, specifically not enough 4th wall interactions with the audience and a lack of any witty rapport with the Villains. Plus the voice is dreadful.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
I guess it’s just filler to bring your 4-year old to since they can’t go on many rides at DHS?
Mermaid still looks promising.
PREMiERdrum
Well-Known Member
They got a meatball right down the middle with this one, and bunted.
MUCH higher hopes for Mermaid.
Yep... Largely echoing what I think. It's nowhere near as good as it should be, and it is definitely nowhere near what Disney can produce, but I suppose it is better than leaving it empty.
Disgruntled Walt
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Yikes, this was lame. Bring in MuppetVision STAT!
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
I was kinda hoping this would be a Villians version of SIX, would have been fantastic and camp.
This is just... needing more, something.
This is just... needing more, something.
Mr. Sullivan
Well-Known Member
The show itself is a little whatever but the production elements themselves are really fantastic
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
They look expensive. That will be an unfortunate waste of money when this drops down to like 4 shows a day in September and then closes altogether.
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PREMiERdrum
Well-Known Member
Those LED panel systems are 100% modular and will almost certainly be in use - in many different configurations - long after this show closes.
The production design to me oversells the overall output, oddly enough. It seems like everything else lets the visual design down. The imbalance is likely its biggest flaw.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
I like the idea of Six with six villains (and 4-6 shared backup dancers) given a 3-minute vignette. With an opening and closing, you’d have a fun, neat ~25-minute show.