Disney Infinity executive producer John Vignocchi shared an intriguing tweet earlier this evening that reveals a character he desperately wants to see in the popular “toys to life” Disney Interactive video game in the future. That figure is none other than Captain EO as portrayed by Michael Jackson, and Vignocchi has some strong words regarding his love for the character.
I took my first family trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida as an adult this past fall and of course took my kids to see Captain EO at Epcot. Their dad was far more into the trip down nostalgia lane than the were. In fact, they were more interested in trying something else out rather than a return trip into director Francis Ford Coppola’s trippy outer space realm. I openly admit that while watching Captain EO, the thought of a Disney Infinity figure based on the Michael Jackson hero character crossed my mind.
Like Michael Jackson, Captain EO is best remembered as a product of the 1980s, and the children of that time — myself included — are the ones buying Disney Infinity figures for their children. Today’s kids may be all into Anna, Elsa, Lightning McQueen, Sully and the other more recent Disney characters, but I’ve seen more than one adult enthusiastically grab a Jack Skellington for their kids because those are the characters they relate to from their childhood and want to share them with their kids.
Here’s Vignocchi’s tweet as he wrote it:
Before I die, we will incorporate Captain E/O into @DisneyInfinity!
— John Vignocchi (@JohnVignocchi) January 8, 2014
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I’d love to see Vignocchi follow through on this social media proclamation, and also take note of this awesome fan-art for a Disney Infinity Indiana Jones figure and make that become a plastic reality as well.
Our best bet for a wild foray outside the current Disney Infinity character set that adheres closely to Pixar and modern Disney animation is the upcoming LucasFilm Star Wars Rebels television series that premieres on Disney XD this fall. It offers the perfect opportunity to introduce Star Wars to Disney Infinity and cross-promote the show with the sequel game that is expected to be announced at either Toy Fair in February or shortly thereafter.
