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The Timekeeper
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The Timekeeper (also known as "From Time to Time" and "De Temps en Temps") was a 1992 Circle-Vision 360° film that was presented at three Disney parks around the world.
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Encyclopedia
| The Timekeeper/Le Visionarium | | | | Land | Discoveryland, Tomorrowland | | Theme Parks | Walt Disney Parks | |
| Locations and Opening Dates | | Disneyland Paris | April 12, 1992 | | Tokyo Disneyland | April 15, 1993 | | Magic Kingdom | November 21, 1994 | |
The Timekeeper (also known as "From Time to Time" and "De Temps en Temps") was a 1992 Circle-Vision 360° film that was presented at three Disney parks around the world. Unlike previous films, it was the first show that was arranged and filmed with an actual plot and not just visions of landscapes, and the first to utilize Audio-Animatronics. The film features a cast of European film actors of France, Italy, Belgium, and England. The film was shown in highly stylized circular theaters, and featured historic and futuristic details both on the interior and exterior.
The Timekeeper and its original French counterpart Le Visionarium, formerly at Disneyland Paris, marked the first time that the Circle-Vision film process was used to deliver a narrative story line. This required a concept to explain the unusual visual characteristics of the theater, hence the character 9-Eye. 9-Eye is sent through time by The Timekeeper, so that she can send back the surrounding images as she records them in whichever era she finds herself in.
The French attraction was also known by its film name as: "De Temps en Temps", while the Japanese attraction was simply "Visionarium", with the caption "From Time to Time" on the poster, respectively. The American film theater was known as "Transportarium" for a period of six months after it debuted, but the name was later dropped in lieu of "Tomorrowland Metropolis Science Center", or formally "The Timekeeper".
History
"Le Visionarium" (the original title) was not just an ordinary Circle-Vision 360°Film, but was important in the fact that for the first time in a Circle-Vision film, that creators at Walt Disney Imagineering wanted to tell an immersive story and attempt a light-hearted dialog without just switching between scenes of landscapes, as had been done in all of the previous Circle-Vision films.
The original concept for the film had included Jules Verne and the culture of past and present European history and events, and new inventions. Along with the previous elements, the story had to do with the idea of time travel with one concept including a child that explored the story of the great European scientists of the past on a computer. However to keep the audience focused and use imagination to depict situations and places that do not cater to the average person, the number of visions of the past and extreme situations of the plot kept increasing all the time for the project.
The film first premiered in Discoveryland at Disneyland Paris on April 12, 1992 as Le Visionarium. It was an extravagant attraction and was touted by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner as the showcase of the land at the time. However, TIME Magazine derided the film as a "flop" of a "wan drama" in its review of Disneyland Paris. The next year, the third incarnation of the ride opened at Tokyo Disneyland, as part of that park's 10th Anniversary Celebration.
The attraction had long been on the 'Discoveryland USA' proposal for the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort. However when financial difficulties arose because of the EuroDisney Project, the Discoveryland Project was canceled. At one point, the attraction was to be extended into a restaurant featured next door to the attraction. The Plaza Pavilion was to receive a makeover as the "Astronomer's Club" where a stage would have been located and actors portraying famed scientists such as Da Vinci and Galileo would appear in the restaurant only to be called back to the past by either 9-Eye or Timekeeper.
However, the film was named "From Time to Time" and opened in the Magic Kingdom's Circle-Vision theater rechristened "Transportarium" on November 21, 1994 as part of the New Tomorrowland expansion. Six months later the attraction under went some name changes. The theater was called "Tomorrowland Metropolis Science Center" and the film was formally known as The Timekeeper, which is the most known and remembered name.
In 2001, the attraction was moved to the seasonal list of attractions along with Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. In February 2006, the Walt Disney World Resort reported that The Timekeeper was to be closed on February 26, 2006. Walt Disney World's version was the last version of the attraction to be closed. Both the Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris "Visionarium" films had closed in 2002 and 2004, respectively.
Pre-show synopsis
French pre-show
A short movie about the history of Renault making cars is shown (until they dropped sponsorship in 2002). Guests are introduced to Timekeeper, who tells guests that they will join him in an experimentation by viewing his last and greatest invention. The invention is his extraordinary machine to explore time. Before he introduces his invention, he gives a short speech on how his machine will change the world just as the ones that surround the guests in the pre-show theater. After he gets tied up rambling about ideas and famous inventors, he introduces the crowd to "9-Eye" and explains what she can do.
Japanese pre-show
While the pre-show film is the same as the French version (with the exception of the Renault film), the area is different. Instead of the dark circular enclave as in the Paris location, a bright open area is present. The wall that separates the building from the Tomorrowland corridor is a large stained-glass mural featuring 22 famous inventors and visionaries. Also featured is the Timekeeper's study, library and laboratory. The pre-show area also features a 20-foot model of Leonardo Da Vinci's heliocentric Solar System, the Nautilus from Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the Zeppelin from Verne's The Clipper of the Clouds, a real 1920s film projector from Walt Disney Pictures, and an actual copy of Verne's novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
American pre-show
Before the actual show, we are introduced to the invention of the show, "Circumvisual PhotoDroid", more commonly known as "9-Eye". The nine eyes she has represents the nine cameras used in filming the show in the round, thus showing the view from one of her "eyes" on each of the nine movie screens. She is the latest development from The Timekeeper, the keeper of the time machine. Guests are invited to be witnesses of the first ever use of the newly invented Time Machine.
Attraction synopsis
After guests enter the theater, Timekeeper comes to life and has "9-Eye" prepare for the journey through time. Timekeeper then turns on the Machine for its first use, then watches from his control panel as 9-Eye is thrust back to the Jurassic age period in Earth's history. She narrowly escapes hungry dinosaurs as Timekeeper sends her to the last great ice age about 12,000 years ago. As she starts to freeze up Timekeeper sends her to 1450, for what is to be demonstration of Johannes Gutenberg's printing press.
However, Timekeeper has yet again messed up and sent her to a Scottish battle field in which one warrior comes after her, but is saved by Timekeeper. Finally working the kinks out of the time machine, Timekeeper sends 9-Eye to the year 1503, at the height of the Renaissance. The machine has placed right in the middle of Leonardo da Vinci's workshop where he is painting the Mona Lisa. 9-Eye, being curious starts to pick up some of the painting supplies and is noticed by Leonardo, who becomes fascinated by the strange machine.
However the meeting between 9-Eye and DaVinci is cut short as her next stop in time is 1763, where Mozart is giving a performance to a crowd, which includes Louis XVI. However the meeting is again short as she is noticed by the people who begin to chase her through a house. Timekeeper decides to send her to the Exposition Universelle (1878) but the machine is stuck on fast forward with a skyline of Paris in such a motion that the progress of the Eiffel Tower, symbol of the Exposition Universelle (1889), is shown in the background. Finally Timekeeper has the machine stop in 1900, just in time for the Exposition Universelle (1900).
Timekeeper announces that guests are in time for a meeting between H. G. Wells and Jules Verne. 9-Eye hides from the fair-goers but not so that Verne and Wells are hidden. After a brief meeting, Wells walks away leaving with Verne a model of his time machine, which Verne had just criticized to him as impossible. After a sarcastic comment about time travel from Verne, 9-Eye rebuts his claim, and Verne notices her. Jules Verne decides to take a closer look at 9-Eye and tries to grab her. Timekeeper seeing this tries to bring her back to the present but brings not only her back but Verne.
Timekeeper and 9-Eye realizing their mistake try to send him back, but he refuses after discovering he is finally in the future and begs for them to show him the world of today in 10 minutes or less, so he can return to 1900 and deliver his speech. They agree and Timekeeper sets the machine for today. He sends Verne and 9-Eye to a dark tunnel, which Verne believes to be a dark future, however they are unaware they are standing in a railroad tunnel. The next thing to happen is a collision between Jules Verne and a French TGV train, and Verne becomes a new hood ornament.
From the train, Jules Verne and 9-Eye explore the modern roads of Paris with cars, which leads Verne, curious, to try driving. However Timekeeper puts him in the front seat of a race car, and Verne takes off, albeit in the wrong direction. From race car driving, Verne then enjoys a bobsled run. After the bobsled run, Timekeeper sends Verne and 9-Eye to the bottom of the sea, to show Verne how his novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea has come to life.
The scene changes and going from under water to flying. The screen now shows a flight through the air above the European countrysides featuring castles and mountains. Verne is shown in a helicopter, sitting dangerously close to its open door. After a view of English countrysides and New York skylines, Verne requests to go even higher. They take him to space to show that another one of his ideas, space travel, has come true from his books, this time, From the Earth to the Moon.
Time is running out so Timekeeper and 9-Eye return Verne to the site of the Grand Palais of Exposition Universelle (1900); however, Timekeeper makes one mistake in the wrong year, and Verne is in the right place, but at the wrong time. When they finally return Verne to his right place, H.G. Wells happens to return to the site of his discussion with Verne and sees all that is going on with the Timekeeper.. Wells is flabbergasted, and Verne and 9-Eye exchange goodbyes as Wells tries to understand what is happening. 9-Eye returns to the present time, and now that the guests have witnessed a "flawless" demonstration of his time machine, Timekeeper decides he wants to see the future.
Timekeeper sends 9-Eye to 2189, 300 years after Exposition Universelle of 1889 and the completion of the Eiffel Tower. As they explore a futuristic Paris, they see many flying cars. Jules Verne and H.G. Wells appear in what looks like a model of Wells' time machine from 1900. After they jet off the show ends, and Timekeeper wishes everyone well. As guests leave, Timekeeper makes plans to see other important events during history and in the future with his machine and 9-Eye.
Voice cast
Film cast
Filming locations
- Calais, Pas-de-Calais, France
- Fly over location for European coastline scene
- Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, Manche, France
- Fly over location of European castles scene
- Paris, Île-de-France, Val-d'Oise, France
- Site for the location of Parisian traffic jam scene
- Rouffach, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, France
- Location of the scene featuring the TGV
- Roissy-en-France, Île-de-France, Val-d'Oise, France
- Location of Charles de Gaulle Airport scene
- Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany
- Fly over location of European castles scene
- Knittelfeld, Steiermark, Austria
- The Renault Grand Prix Scene took place at the Österreichring
- Palm Pavilion, Schloss Schönbrunn, Hietzing, Vienna, Austria
- Site for exterior shots of the Exposition Universal 1900
- Olympic Bobsleigh Run, Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria
- Site for shots of Bobsleigh Run
- New York City, New York, United States of America
- Fly over city in American version
- Red Square, Central Federal District, Moscow, Russian Federation
- Location of Hot air balloon from the French version
- Alnwick Castle, Northumberland County, England, United Kingdom
- Site of Scottish Battle scene
- Lyford Cay, New Providence Island, Commonwealth of The Bahamas, West Indies
- Site of Deep-Sea dive scene
Film variations
The original French version of the film was different than the American version. A certain number of scenes were cut including a hot air balloon scene, more European coastlines, and a dialogue between ground crew and Jules Verne at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport. The only addition to the American version was a New York City skyline scene. The hot air balloon scene that was cut from the American version was filmed over Red Square in Moscow. It was taken under intense conditions by Walt Disney Productions in the then-Soviet Union.
| French Scene Order | American Scene Order |
|---|
| Jurassic Period | (Same) | | Ice Age | (Same) | | The Anglo-Scot Wars | (Same) | | Da Vinci's (Italian Renaissance) | (Same) | | Motzart (Concert in Paris of 1763) | (Same) | | The Construction of the Eiffel Tower | (Same) | | Futurist's Fair/The Accidental Tourist (Exposition Universelle of 1900) | (Same) | | Futurist Meets Future (Verne in the present day) | (Same) | | Verne's Voyage (Collision with TGV in French countryside) | (Same) | | Traffic (Paris, near Arc de Triumph) | (Same) | | Bobsled Run (Innsbruck, Austria) | (Same) | | Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (deep-sea exploration) | (Same) | | Up in the Air (Red Square) | (Omitted) | | Flying (Charles De Gaulle Airport) | (Omitted) | | Over Europe (fly-overs of various countries) | (Same; American Version goes from under the sea to flying over Europe) | | The Big Apple (New York skyline) | The Big Apple (New York skyline) | | Up and Out (outer space) | From the Earth to the Moon (outer space) | | Same Place, Wrong Time (Paris, today) | Same Place, Wrong Time (Paris, today) | | Goodbye (Paris, 1900) | Goodbye (Paris, 1900) | | The Journey Ends (Paris, 2189) | The Journey Ends (Paris, 2189) | | End | End | |
Aftermath and the effects of September 11, 2001
See also Films affected by the events of September 11, 2001
After being placed on a seasonal schedule in April of 2001, The Timekeeper at Walt Disney World was open on a sporadic schedule during the busy seasons.
Some attribute it to the following criticisms, which the overseas versions of the attraction had not been faced with:
- Obese or elderly guests may have found it hard to stand or strainful on the eyes
- The lack of familiar Disney characters
- The building's entrance was very inconspicuous and did not feature a large rotating globe icon or full title.
After the events of September 11, 2001 the attraction faced even harder times. With a decrease in tourism due to the terrorist acts in the United States and the fact the film featured a scene of New York that still included the now-destroyed World Trade Center Towers, the attraction's demise was only certain. To preserve the memory of those events, the Timekeeper's clock registered the current year as 2000, placing him in a time prior to the attacks.
However, it managed to last five more years. During the time when construction was occurring on Stitch's Great Escape!, it was open more frequently along with Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. On days when the show was not opened, the queue was a meet-and-greet for such Disney characters as Stitch and Pixar characters Buzz Lightyear and The Incredibles.
Until December 2005, the Timekeeper attraction in Walt Disney World Resort was the last Timekeeper still entertaining guests, as the Tokyo Disneyland version closed in 2002 and was replaced with Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters in 2004 and the Disneyland Paris version closed in 2004 and was replaced by Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast in 2006, respectively although the Disneyland Paris version closed mainly because they lost their sponsor, Renault.
In early 2007 the former location of the Timekeeper became home to Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. The attraction building still retains most of the elements of the previous tenant, including the water columns in the queue and the basic Circle-Vision theater, however, the theater floor has been modified to include seating and several of the screens are now covered by other elements. The building, theoretically, is still able to revert to a Circle-Vision theater, however, the likelihood of this occurring is low.
While many guests may had not appreciated Timekeeper, in addition to some Disney fans seeing the American version straying away from the original film's point of view, the attraction kept an uplifting and optimistic spirit about science and the future.
Failed proposal for the Disneyland Resort
During the early 1990s, former Disney-Executive, Michael Eisner released ambitious plans for changes to the parks. "Tomorrowland 2055" was plan for a remake of Tomorrowland and the Disneyland Resort in California. The Timekeeper, along with ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter and Plectu's Fantastic Intergalactic Revue, was to be a showcase attraction. One promotional brochure had Delta Air Lines sponsoring the film. But the plans were later scrapped due to financial difficulties within the Parks & Resorts division, most stemming from the billion dollar losses incurred with the EuroDisney project.
Other information placed "Visionarium" as an opening day attraction at the unbuilt park next to Disneyland, WestCOT. The show would have been housed in a European Renaissance building in a European section of the WestCOT version of World Showcase. However, like the New Tomorrowland plan, this also did not occur.
Attraction facts
Magic Kingdom attraction facts
- Grand opening: November 21, 1994
- Seasonal operation: Started April 29, 2001
- Closing Date: February 26, 2006
- Designer: Walt Disney Imagineering
- Slogan: The Timekeeper would love to take the time to take you on a trip through time!
- Slogan (from the Tomorrowland Transit Authority) Be sure to stop by and meet the inventor, The Timekeeper. He'd love to take the time, to take you through time.
- Previous attractions:
- "America the Beautiful" November 25, 1971 - March 15, 1974 & March 15, 1975 - September 9, 1984
- "Magic Carpet ‘Round the World" March 16, 1974 - March 14, 1975
- "American Journeys" September 15, 1984 - January 9, 1994
- Replaced by:
- Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor (April 2007)
- Show length: 20 minutes
- Ride system: Circle-Vision 360° theater
Disneyland Paris attraction facts
- Grand opening: April 12, 1992
- Closing Date: September 5, 2004
- Designer: Walt Disney Imagineering
- Slogan: Un Voyage A Travers Le Temps.
- Previous sponsor: Renault
- Current attractions:
- "Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast" April 8, 2006 -
- Show length: 20 minutes
- Ride system: Circle-Vision 360° theater
Tokyo Disneyland attraction facts
- Grand opening: April 15, 1993
- Closing Date: September 1, 2002
- Designer: Walt Disney Imagineering
- Theater Capacity: 632 guests per showing
- Previous sponsor: Fujifilm
- Previous attractions:
- "Magic Carpet ‘Round the World" 1983 - 1986
- "American Journeys" 1986 - 1994
- Current attraction:
- "Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters" 2004 -
- Show length: 20 minutes
- Ride system: Circle-Vision 360° theater
Technical aspects
- Film negative format (mm/video inches)
- Cinematographic process
- Printed film format
- Aspect ratio
Soundtrack notes
Audio dialog
The three versions of the attractions featured a soundtrack of dialogue in each park's country's native tongue (French, Japanese, and English)
- Both The Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris version featured guest-selectable translations on headset.
- Languages included
- Mandarin Chinese (Tokyo Only)
- German (Paris Only)
- Italian (Paris Only)
- English (Both Tokyo and Paris)
- Since both opened before the U.S. version was created, the voicecast and dialogue are completely different. The American style humor and more comedic dialogue was not present in these versions, and was a close translation of the more understated French dialog.
Featured music
- While both the American and French version received different soundtracks, they were both composed by the acclaimed Bruce Broughton.
- During the scene of a conversation between Verne and Wells at the Exposition Universal 1900, the song being played in the background is called Estudiantina, or Band of Students Waltz. It was composed in 1883 by Émile Waldteufel.
- When Verne comes back to the exhibition building, Motownphilly by Boyz II Men can be heard in the background. It was meant to represent popular music at the time of filming. The song can be found on their 1991 debut album Cooleyhighharmony.
Foreign language titles
- French: Le Visionarium
- Japanese: ??????? - Visionarium
Renault's involvement with the film
- The French automobile company, Renault, is heavily featured throughout the film.
- In the scene where Jules Verne steps off the curb into a busy street in front of the Arc de Triomphe, the car that almost hits him is a 5-door hatchback, Renault Clio, at the time of filming the newest model in Renault's fleet of cars.
- In the Formula 1 scene, where Jules Verne drives a race car, he is seated and drives the Renault F1 vehicle.
- The flying car carrying a family from the scene of Paris in the future was made by Renault and called a "Reinastella".
- The Reinastella was removed from the attraction in 2002, however it remained in the film. The prototype car was then seen around Europe in auto shows, most recently it has been seen on display at Renault's showroom on the Champs-Élysées.
- When the prop sat outside the theater at Disneyland Paris during the years, 1992 to 2002, when the attraction was sponsored by Renault, a plaque beneath the prop read:
Blast into the future by checking out the Renault Reinastella! The Reinastella's futuristic design features a vocal command system that makes steering wheels and accelerators a thing of the past. With a cruising height that ranges from 15cm to 150m above surfaces, the Reinastella flies up to 300km/h. The next time you're traveling through time, stop into the 24th century and test drive a Renault Reinastella!
Trivia
- The futuristic scenes of 2189 were created by Rhythm and Hues Studios.
- The first and only Circle-Vision film to utilize Audio-Animatronics.
- The three planes featured in the scene at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris are an Air France Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde and a Boeing 747 and DC-10, both operated by Union des Transports Aériens, respectively.
- Because UTA was absorbed by Air France in 1990, the film must have begun filming in 1990.
- The Arctic scene in the film was taken from an old Circle-Vision film, "Magic Carpet ‘Round the World", and shadows from helicopters were digitally removed.
- The Mickey Mouse hot air balloon "Ear Force One" can be seen during the Red Square scene.
- During the scene of a conversation between Verne and Wells at the Exposition Universal 1900, a man stands between the two men. In the French Version, he acts as a translator between the two men, however when the film was dubbed into English his lines were dubbed over, and left with one line of dialog.
- The submarine in the film is called the Johnson-Sea Link and is a research submarine at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Ft. Pierce, Florida.
- The only new Circle-Vision film of the 1990s. The last new Circle-Vision film was "American Journeys" in 1984 and the next new film would be "Reflections of China" in 2002.
- During the 'The Anglo-Scot Wars' scene a camera man could be seen crouching atop a wooden ram.
- Both the Paris and Tokyo attractions featured a metal-globe with the title "(Le) Visionarium" rotating around the globe. The Orlando version featured a large poster and LED ticker bar held from the entrance rotunda was the outside element.
- Following the tradition of hiding a trace of the past within a new attraction, the Parisian version's audio-animatronic of Nine-Eye can be seen in Buzz Lightyear's Laser Blast.
- The film's Executive Producer, John Badham, also directed Saturday Night Fever, WarGames and Short Circuit.
External links
English information
Attraction history
Editorials
Media
French information
Note: All of the following links are in French.
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