Walk Time: Should 'One Piece' go full-time at Universal?
The highlight of the week, for me, had to be the return of Universal Fan Fest Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood: Universal cracks the case again with Fan Fest Nights. I love Universal's embrace of interactive theater and fresh storytelling for this annual event, which has become my favorite theme park hard-ticket, after-hours event. (Sorry, Halloween fans.)
I welcome a debate whether this year's Scooby-Doo backlot experience was better than last year's Back to the Future production. I think Scooby-Doo solved some of the logistical challenges with Back to the Future. A printed "Mystery Inc. Manual" provided a map to the available character encounters and instructions to help solve the mystery. That was missing from Back to the Future, where many fans missed several of the production's elements. Plus, I just love to see a park provide a tangible souvenir like this these days.
I missed BTTF's musical performances this year, but that's the nature of the IPs involved. Last year's BTTF finale did not measure up to the rest of the production, but Scooby-Doo fed everyone into a natural conclusion for this event - a "Big Reveal" that ticked every box as an homage to the cartoon franchise. (Spoiler warning for the video below.)
Fan Fest Nights this year also had me questioning whether Universal needs to bring One Piece in as a permanent replacement for Waterworld. I saw more straw hats this year than any other cosplay element, testifying to the popularity of the world's biggest selling comic book franchise. Part of what Universal creative leaders have said that they want to accomplish with Fan Fest Nights is to introduce visitors to other popular fandoms. Well, it worked on me, as I am ready now to dive into One Piece.
(I want to note that Universal requested no photography or video during the One Piece show at the Waterworld theater, which is why I am not including a show video for you to watch here. If you see them online, those folks violated Universal's rules in recording it. FYI.)
Finally, Universal did an amazing job of dressing the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey extended queue into a beautiful, haunting and engaging Forbidden Forest. The set decoration and puppetry here were chef's kiss.
Universal Fan Fest Nights continues on select evenings through May 16. You can grab tickets at a discount here from our partner, with a small commission going to us.
My second favorite moment this week was the release of the first trailer for the upcoming movie, "Coyote vs. Acme." Warner Bros. tried to kill this film as a tax write-off, but fan outrage prompted the studio to offload it to partner Ketchup Entertainment, which will release it theatrically on August 28.
That's a terrible release date for what should be a family film, given the start of the school year. But at least the movie is getting a theater release. As the film's title implies, Wile E. Coyote finally has had enough and is suing Acme Corp. for all the garbage tools and weapons that they have shipped him over the years. It's a wild set-up, and "Coyote vs. Acme" has soared to the top of my must-watch list for the rest of the year.
Tying this into theme parks, the trailer just reminded me what an amazing job Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi did honoring the Looney Tunes source material in its Cartoon Junction land. Skip to the 10:45 mark in our walking tour for those vibes.
Replies (4)
For a casual One Piece fan like me (Netflix show only), I thought it was fantastic and say bring more! With my husband, who knows almost nothing about it, did nothing for him.
I think Waterworld (and even The Purge there) was accessible and successful because it didn’t have a deep mythology and could be summarized with a quick narration, further complemented by having seen the film. One Piece, thankfully, has more to it to where you have know enough to understand the significance of what is happening in 20 minutes.
I want to know how they can create Luffy's stretching ability in a live action stage show. I also read Captain Buggy shows up -- do they switch over to some kind of marionette?
My son is a huge fan of One Piece. I'm more of a casual fan, but I really enjoy it. We just did the escape room/interactive adventure at Netflix House outside of Philadelphia and had tons of fun. I think Universal could do some really cool things with the franchise over at Islands of Adventure. Convert Mythos into Baratie, add a stunt show to the old Sinbad theater, and there's still room for an immersive dark ride where Poseidon's Fury sits. It's a no-brainer.
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The question: "Should One Piece go full-time at Universal?"
Over 600 million copies of the manga sold around the world. A franchise worth $23 billion in revenue, putting it amongst the likes of Transformers and Cars. An anime with over 1000 episodes and still going. A new generation of fans with the Netflix adaptation.
The answer: A resounding "YES!!!". Especially compared to Waterworld, a title people mostly associate with the stage show at Universal and not the film it was based on.