I cannot be the only one who has come to the conclusion that Madame Tussaud’s is perhaps the closest thing to hell on earth that can be experienced. It’s like some sort of unholy shrine to the union of snakes that are consumerism and celebrity, filled with people who consider photographing themselves with eerie, dead-eyed sculptures of famous people such a great idea for a day out that they are prepared to not only pay top-dollar for the privilege, but to cram themselves into the tiny corridors of the building like so much cattle awaiting the bolt through the hypothalamus, where the ethos of anti-establishment icons like Pink Floyd and The Sex Pistols are available to purchase in fridge magnet form for £2.50. My annoyance with the place began when my breakfast of over-priced and disgusting meatball Panini was interrupted by several thousand school children (each sporting an Oxford University hooded top, for reasons known only to God) and reached its apex upon discovering that Madame Tussaud’s not only renders celebrities immortal in wax, but also serial killers.
Fortunately, between these two events I had the pleasure of being among the first to witness the attraction’s soon-to-be-opened Marvel Superheroes 4D exhibit. Upon arriving, I was offered bacon sandwiches, orange juice and muffins free of charge, which was lovely, but did serve to salt the wound somewhat of my bad experience with the meatball Panini. I and the other lucky chosen few were then escorted to the entrance of the event, where punters are able to have their photo taken with Spider-Man, check out Wolverine and try out his claws and see what they’d look like after a dose of gamma radiation (big and green, as opposed to weak and frail). A ma-hoo-sive Hulk sculpture presided over the room.
In the foyer before the 4D experience are figures of Nick Fury and Tony Stark (modelled on Sam Jackson and Robert Downey Jr) and a spookily realistic Iron Man. The 4D film itself is an amusing jaunt which sees all the aforementioned superheroes, plus Captain America and Ms Marvel kicking Dr Doom’s bottom in jolly old London town. This being a 4D presentation, we are not only adorned with 3D specs, but are blasted with air and mist, vibrated in our seats and subjected to flashes and booms from a top of the range sound system. It is tremendous fun, especially for the younger visitors who are delighted by the film’s every set-piece. At one point I thought someone was kicking the back of my seat, until I realised that I was actually being poked by Wolverine’s adamantium claws.
All too quickly, the film ended and we were treated to a question and answer sessions with the folks behind the whole shebang, who explained how the exhibit was created in a mere six months at an incredible cost, with a team of hundreds working closely with Marvel – even Stan Lee has his standard-issue cameo in the short film. Clearly as excited by the experience as the fans in the audience and delighted at our positive reception, we are treated to another viewing, after which I had a quick chat with the director of the video, Joshua Wexler.
Hi Josh, can you tell me how you were chosen to direct the feature?
It was a collaboration between the guys at Madame Tussaud’s and Marvel. We had done a number of projects for Merlin Entertainment [the company behind Alton Towers, Legoland Thorpe Park, etc] already, we’d done Clutch Powers and Bob the Builder 4D shows for Legoland and as we were talking to them about it, we were just incredibly passionate about Marvel, so I sat down with Robert Henry, a friend of mine, and we wrote the script. We kept going from there. There’s two co-directors on board with me, one storyboard artist, one animation director, and we put it all together.
Who is your favourite superhero and what is your favourite bit in the film?
Spider-Man has to be my favourite. I grew up on the Spider-Man cartoons, with Stan Lee narrating them every morning. It’s definitely Spidey, so he gets a lot of little extra bits of humour in the film. I have to say my favourite moment in the film though is probably when Wolverine jumps out of the screen and flies at you with his claws out.
How long is the exhibit going on for? Indefinitely, or is it a limited run?
That’s a good Madame Tussaud’s question. It will end, but not for a while. There’s plenty of time to see it.
Do you have any future projects coming up?
Yes, we are working on a third Mortal Kombat feature film and a new top secret project with Lego, a feature length movie.
As we left, we were treated once again, this time to a lovely goody bag with some surprisingly valuable merchandise inside. Frankly, the exhibit is easily the best thing at Madame Tussaud’s by some distance. If you’re a fan of Marvel, it’s probably worth the ticket price alone, especially when the rest of the show rooms are included. I would advise arriving first thing however; the queues outside as I left were almost Biblical in size. For Marvel fans, Madame Tussaud’s have basically created their version of Mecca.
http://www.blogomatic3000.com/2010/05/29/marvel-superheroes-4d-preview/
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