Wernher von Braun’s concepts of space exploration were discussed in these television programs. And with the ‘64 World’s Fair, around that time, Wernher von Braun, who’s one of our godfathers of rocketry, he worked with Walt Disney himself on a number of television programs based around sending people to space, and sending them to the Moon and beyond. Can you tell me about NASA’s history there?īU: The movie has all this sort of retro future stuff going on. And you see those shared traits with people who work here.ĮB: Much of the film centers on the 1964 World’s Fair in New York and carries these Space Age themes. You have this young woman who has an interest in science and engineering, and she has these shared traits that you see a lot here at NASA - the audacity, the ingenuity, and the shear guts, especially if you’re an astronaut. Some of the values that her character has resonate very much with the agency. She has this whole culture about her that has formed her and permeates throughout the film. You develop an affinity for Casey Newton, the main character, because her father works for NASA. There was a small NASA storyline, but NASA kind of sets up the character. Tomorrowland was one of those situations where we saw it from the beginning to end. So, in some cases we get involved from the very start to the very end, and in some cases we get involved right in the very end. I’ve edited our conversation for space and to avoid spoilers.Įric Betz: What was NASA’s involvement in this movie?īert Ulrich: Every movie has a life of its own. I took the chance to speak with NASA’s man in Hollywood, Bert Ulrich, this week about the agency’s role in Tomorrowland and how it continues to inspire young minds more than 50 years after the Space Age helped create a generation of scientists and engineers. The main character is a young female science protégé named Casey Newton, and because her father is a rocket engineer, she’s inseparable from a hat featuring the space agency’s famous “meatball” logo. ![]() NASA imagery abounds throughout the film. The fair itself (though not the movie) featured a space park with elements from NASA’s early space programs. Kennedy’s “We choose to go to the Moon” speech lifted the country to achieve more than any preceding generation imagined possible. The film centers on the 1964 World's Fair in New York - a place and time where President John F. I think that's a positive message every child should hear. Disney’s film tells kids that adults might be riddled with doubts about the world, but there’s no need to listen to them. Tomorrowland excels by rebuking such cynicism. Mad Max: Fury Road had a $45 million opening weekend and is projected to crush the box office again this Memorial Day. Hollywood makes the problem worse with its own apocalypse obsession. Our world is a bouquet of bad news that could encourage any child to give up. And truly, you don’t have to look hard to find its signs right now. ![]() We’re obsessed with the end times, and so that’s exactly what we get. Without giving too much away, Director Brad Bird’s premise is that human negativity has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. In this futuristic world, children are the key problem solvers. And the theme is vital to humanity’s future: Scientists could fix the world if politicians would get out of the way. ![]() But plot holes and story struggles aside, it’s hard not to feel a sense of awe during Tomorrowland. Understandably, the critics' reviews - like those of the people I watched Tomorrowland with - have been mixed. He continues, “When I was a kid, the future was different.”Īs I watched the film premiere in Milwaukee this week, I paid close attention to a little girl and her brother sitting next to me, jaws agape as they leaned toward the screen. “The future can be scary,” Frank Walker (played by George Clooney) tells audiences at the beginning of Disney’s latest film, Tomorrowland. Disney's new film Tomorrowland attempts to bring space age inspiration to a new generation.
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