Official artwork, copyright Universal Studios Hollywood.

Universal Studios Hollywood proudly presents the all-new King Kong: 360 3-D attraction, now open for guests of the world famous Studio Tram Tour. ThrillNetwork was invited to preview the attraction at the recent media event.  Does the new attraction live up to King Kong’s legacy?  Read to find out!

Nearly two years ago, tragedy struck Universal Studios Hollywood. A fire broke out in the historic backlot, burning down many famous sets and facades. Nowhere was the devastation felt more than with the loss of the classic King Kong attraction. For 22 years, Kong ruled his corner of the backlot, knocking down helicopters, shaking trams and roaring his pleasant banana breath toward millions of happy park guests. Larry Kurzweil, Universal Studios Hollywood park president, remembers many frantic calls on the day of the fire. Concerned people wanted to know: What happened to Kong?

King Kong Media Event Presentation Stage

King Kong is no ordinary movie monster. For generations he has inspired fear, wonder, terror, laughter and sadness. His tale is tragic, doomed to a climactic fate at the peak of the Empire State Building. His tale has been told, retold, sequeled and re-imagined. Peter Jackson, the Academy Award-winning director of the “Lord Of The Rings” trilogy, cites the original 1933 “King Kong” as his inspiration to become a filmmaker. Loyal fans cried out in sorrow at the loss of the Eighth Wonder of the World. Unlike in Florida, where Kong was closed to make room for Revenge of the Mummy (much to the chagrin of fans), this was not a planned closure. There was no chance to say goodbye.

King Kong's imposing new home.

Within a few days, cheerful tour guides pointed out the devastation on the tram tour, but the shortened tour experience could not be ignored. In an effort to help the tram tour’s length, the broken bridge attraction was quickly brought out of retirement and back to active service, and two small character shows were added; one with a stunt demonstration in the western area of the backlot, and a small scene where Norman Bates carries a body from the Bates Motel set to the trunk of a nearby car. Still, the experience was not the same. People missed Kong.

Universal Studios announced that it would not rebuild the classic attraction, instead building something more modern, but overwhelming fan support persuaded Universal to bring Kong back to life. Fans would have been happy to see the classic attraction rebuilt, but Universal decided to build something far grander, high tech and more impressive. It would be bigger, immersive, 3-D. You can picture Carl Denham selling the idea to a smoke-filled room of studio executives.

Climbing the hill toward the entrance.

Hold on a moment. Kong would be in 3-D? No more crashing helicopter? No more large monkey head? Everything will be virtual? How can this possibly work?

Allow me to take a small break from this review to rant from my soapbox.

3-D is a silly gimmick. It is not a revolution in film making or a technology that will change the way we consume media. 3-D does not immerse you in the picture. Human vision encompasses a vast viewing angle horizontally and vertically, which the rectangular screen in front is not able to fill. A limited frame of 3-D inevitably cuts off the picture, or an arm, leg, torso or something else. The depth added by 3-D ends at the edge of the picture. 3-D does not enhance a story. A good movie is a good movie, no matter how many dimensions it is presented in. “Avatar” would have made dump trucks full of money even without 3-D. “Lord of the Rings” and “Titanic” did just fine without 3-D. Effects coming out of the screen do not help to tell a story. A case in point, the press event for Kong featured a video introduction by Peter Jackson, shot and presented 3-D, requiring everyone attending to wear 3-D glasses. The net effect is Jackson’s boot sticking out of the screen. To date, only one movie contains a 3-D effect coming out of the screen that is essential to the story: T2: 3-D. The finale features a large liquid metal spider coming out of the screen to attack actors running around the theater. Everything else is merely a variant of the paddleball bouncing out of the screen gag.

Now that I have that out of my system, I will step down off of my soapbox, fall to my knees and worship King Kong: 360 3-D like the natives of Skull Island. Kong has retaken his rightful position as the best part of the tram tour, and the 3-D that I spent the last three paragraphs voicing criticisms against, works beautifully to immerse you into Kong’s world.

SPOILER ALERT!

If you do not want to know what happens during the attraction, skip ahead.

SPOILER ALERT!

I have a bad feeling about this.

The tram struggles up an incline, powerful engine roaring in protest for effort required to defeat gravity. The path to the broken bridge is different now. On the hill to the right of the tram, a new soundstage towers imposingly, blocking the sun. The broken bridge finally comes into view, but the entrance is blocked by a damaged tram car. The roof is caved in from the crushing weight of a giant, mysterious force. The tram car smolders. Seats litter the ground.

A highly skilled driver pulls the tram into an impossibly tight right turn. A dark tunnel, surrounded by rocky outcroppings, leads to the large sound stage. The tram finishes the tight maneuver and drives into the darkness. Skulls imbedded into the walls portend a dark fate ahead. You leave the park and drive into another world.

Entrance to Kong's lair.

After a few moments in the cave to let your eyes adjust to the darkness, the tram drives into a vast, dark, empty cavern. The tram slows to a crawl, inching forward to stop at the perfect spot. Red light. Air brakes hiss. Anticipation builds.

A jungle suddenly surrounds you. Small dinosaurs notice the tram and start advancing. You rush forward. The air turns putrid with the smell of rotting flesh overpowering the jungle scents. You stop suddenly as a T-rex grabs one of the small dinosaurs with powerful, teeth-filled jaws. A second, then a third T-rex appear, surrounding both sides of the tram. You are trapped. The T-rexes turn toward you, growling.

Trees splinter and crack. The earth shakes. A mighty roar bellows out. Kong crashes through the trees. The T-rexes notice and turn to face this new threat.

A brawl breaks out. Kong wrestles with the T-rexes to defend the tram, breaking jaws and tossing dinosaurs in all directions, including over the top of the tram. The heavy dinosaurs careen against the roof, rocking the tram from side to side. Giant spiders hang from the roof of the tram to see what is inside.

Blurry view from inside the attraction.

One T-rex decides to start munching on the fifth car of the tram, pulling it to the side. Kong tries to rescue you, but the wrestling match carries the tram over the edge of a cliff, plummeting into a deep chasm. Vines catch the tram and keep it from wrecking on the floor of the valley. Kong and the T-rexes continue to fight over the tram, hanging from vines. Kong defeats one T-rex with a mighty haymaker to the chops, spraying you with dinosaur slobber. Vines snap, and the tram falls the rest of the way to the floor.

At the last moment, Kong catches the tram, helping to lower it safely. After defeating the final T-rex, Kong roars and leaps on top of the tram, claiming his prize.

The screens go dark. The door opens, and the tram drives out of the soundstage. You survived King Kong: 360 3-D.

END SPOILER ALERT!

OK, it’s safe to start reading again.

END SPOILER ALERT!

Red carpet arrivals.

King Kong: 360 3-D is a phenomenal attraction. Unlike all of the 3-D I ranted about earlier, the 3-D is used perfectly to add the sense of depth and immersion lacking from standard theaters. This is accomplished not just because the film is in 3-D, but is due to the pair of 200-foot-long screens on either side of the tram. Your peripheral vision sees more of the jungle, and not the walls of the theater. The roof of the tram eliminates the need to project anything above you, and is used to good effect in the film with dinosaurs rolling over the tram.

The original 1933 King Kong.

Further adding to the immersion is the motion base the tram is parked on. This motion base is the most accurate one in the backlot, and one of the best out there. The motions are perfectly timed to simulate impacts from heavy objects on the sides or roof of the tram.

The final ingredients in this immersion stew are the 4-D effects. The scent of rotting meat and vegetation is used to give a sense that you are in a prehistoric jungle. The effect works well, and, most importantly, actually makes sense to the story. The water effects also make sense with the story. 4-D attractions have been around for years and always invent reasons to spray water at the audience. A character may have to sneeze, or a water hose gets out of control, or a fire hydrant explodes, or lawn sprinklers are turned on, or any other myriad reasons. Unlike all of these examples, King Kong: 360 3-D’s water effect is purely a reactionary effect based on what is going on. Kong punches a dinosaur in the mouth, generating a spray of saliva and sweat similar to a boxer being punched. In this case the water spraying at you makes perfect sense because of the close-quarter combat happening in front of you.

Those of you who have read my reviews for a long time know that I can always find some nits to pick. I would be lax in my duties as a reviewer if I did not mention a few extremely minor issues.

The first official tram is loaded with media and invited guests.

First, the length. This attraction lasts only a minute and a half. But you are certainly left wanting much, much more! Second, unlike the other tram attractions in the backlot, there is not much setup to this one. You drive up to the building, watch a video of Peter Jackson talking about the ride as you drive, then when the tram stops, he tells you to put your 3-D glasses on. The film starts with no other setup. It would have been nice if something was done to build it into the backlot, maybe calling it a demonstration of new virtual 3-D set environments. Third, the motion base is wonderful and perfectly executed, but it runs on air pressure. The hisses of the air pistons firing distract ever so slightly and reveal part of the technology behind the show. Finally, the 3-D does require glasses. They hand you glasses as you board the trams, then collect them at the end of the tour. Universal Studios may wind up with a trail of broken 3-D glasses along the entire tram route.

Kong is ready for his close up!

Still I am being incredibly picky to come up with these issues. The presentation is amazing, exciting, dense, action packed and superb. Multiple projected images combine to seamlessly cover a pair of huge screens. The creators were able to build a unique attraction for an unwieldy viewing arrangement (a long tram) and surround all cars with interesting things to see. This is a must-see attraction.

Kong has returned. Long live the king!

Review by Tom Zeliff.

Images by Tom Zeliff unless otherwise noted.

Tags: 360 3D, Backlot, King Kong, King Kong: 360 3-D, Kong, Kong 360, Kong 3D, Tram, Tram Tour, Universal, Universal Studios Hollywood