Cranium Command (1989)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Directors:

Jerry Rees
Gary Trousdale

Release Date:

19 October 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Short

Plot Keywords:

Bully | Brain | Disney Park | Special Venue | Pilot

Cast

Michael Bavaro	...	High School Bully (voice)
Corey Burton	...	General Knowledge / Chicken / others (voice)
Dana Carvey	...	Right Ventricle
Scott Curtis	...	Bobby / Buzzy
Jeff Doucette	...	Bladder
Bob Goldthwait	...	Adrenal Gland
Natalie Gregory	...	Annie
Charles Grodin	...	Left Brain
Kenneth Kimmins	...	Principal Herbert Hardcase
Jon Lovitz	...	Right Brain
Kevin Nealon	...	Left Ventricle
George Wendt	...	Stomach
Kirk Wise	...	Hypothalamus (voice)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Theme Park Productions

Movie Connections:

References "Saturday Night Live" (1975)

One-of-a-kind journey

The actions of the human body is portrayed in a fun and educational manner in this fun amusement park attraction.

Located in the Wonders of Life Pavilion at EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World, this 17-minute attraction takes a look at how the human body responds to certain events. Opened in 1989, it boasts celebrities, educational values, and a unique perspective of it all--the eyes of a 12-year-old.

As you enter the briefing room, General Knowledge (voice of Corey Burton) screams commands at the audience about becoming a recruit for the human body. The most unlikely candidate is Buzzy, a cute little creature with big circle-framed glasses, willing to operate the body. The film shows that brains vary from person to person, with a hillarious comparison between "Genius" [shot of Albert Einstein] to "Stupid" [shot of "Ernest P. Worrell (the late Jim Varney)]. General Knowledge informs the visitors that Buzzy has been recruited for the mind of a 12-year old boy, one of the most precious minds of all. As the audience enters the main room, one realizes that they are walking into a human head. You can see the two large circles are the eyes, the large divided monitor is the brain, the oval shaped monitor at the bottom on the left is the heart, the central oval at the bottom is the stomach, the monitor near the brain is the adrenal gland, and the bladder's screen is right near the stomach. We are introduced immediately to the "operators": There's the studious and sophisticated "Left Brain" (Charles Grodin), the ultra-silly right brain (Jon Lovitz), the right ventricle (Dana Carvey) and left ventricle (Kevin Nealon) of the heart, the crazy adrenal gland (Bobcat Glodthwait), the bladder (Jeff Doucette), and the stomach (George Wendt). All systems are go!

The short film follows Bobby, a twelve-year old, during a typical school day. Of course, EVERYTHING that could possibly go wrong does go wrong, and we get to see how the body parts react. We see everything through his eyes, as Buzzy controls the body's every move. Whenever something bad happens, as it does when Bobby has to go to the principle's office, everything goes haywire!

This attraction, when seen at an early age, usually is hard to keep up with. The jokes fly right over younger viewer's heads, and is usually loud during the haywire scenes. I first saw "Cranium Command" when I was almost 8 years old in August 1990, and once again when I was 16 in April 1999. I caught the inside jokes and LOVED the atmosphere of the attraction, especially the celebrities! Dana Carvey, Jon Lovitz, and Kevin Nealon, all of "Saturday Night Live," where excellent. Bob Goldthwait was CLASSIC when he was all excited, because the sirens would go off and all the lights would flash! It was too much fun.

I highly recommend this to everyone, because it is so much fun. See it twice, because it will be easier to pick up certain jokes. This is light-hearted, typical Disney family fun! Get it in YOUR head to see this attraction!