Captain EO

Captain EO
Film poster
Directed byFrancis Ford Coppola
Written by
Produced byRusty Lemorande
Starring
CinematographyPeter Anderson
Edited byLisa Fruchtman
Walter Murch
Music byJames Horner
Production
companies
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date
  • September 12, 1986 (1986-09-12) (Florida)
Running time
17 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$23.7 million ($68 million in 2024 dollars)

Captain EO is a 1986 American 3D science fiction short film shown at several Disney theme parks from 1986 until 1998. The film, starring Michael Jackson, was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film was shown as part of an attraction with in-theater effects. The attraction returned to the Disney theme parks in 2010 as a tribute after Jackson's death. The film was shown for the final time at Epcot on December 6, 2015.

A co-production between Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm, in collaboration with Walt Disney Imagineering, the film's executive producer was George Lucas. It was choreographed by Jeffrey Hornaday and Jackson, photographed by Peter Anderson, produced by Rusty Lemorande and written by Lemorande, Lucas and Coppola, from a story idea by the artists of Imagineering. Lemorande also initially designed and created two of the creatures, and was an editor of the film. The score was written by James Horner and featured two songs ("We Are Here to Change the World" and "Another Part of Me"), both written and performed by Jackson.

Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro was the lighting director during much of the principal photography. Captain EO is regarded as one of the first "4D" films (a 3D film that incorporates in-theater effects, such as lasers, smoke, etc., synchronized to the film).