Luxor IMAX Theatre unveils ‘CyberWorld 3D’

Kirk Baird

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2000 | 10:03 a.m.

What: "CyberWorld 3D."

When: Six showings daily, beginning at 11 a.m.

Where: IMAX Theatre at Luxor.

Cost: $8.95.

Information: 262-4400.

Homer's never had it so good ... or real.

The animated patriarch of the long-running TV show, "The Simpsons," has made the transition from the boob tube to the big screen. And in 3-D no less, courtesy of IMAX in the new film "CyberWorld 3D."

"CyberWorld 3D" is playing at the Luxor IMAX Theatre.

To see Homer in all his 240-pound glory so close and lifelike is quite a sight in 3-D. It's easy to feel like you can reach out and touch the bouncing blubber.

But Homer isn't the only one of the Simpsons clan to appear in the film. The segment, titled "Homer3," which was taken directly from a "Treehouse of Terror" Halloween special, also features Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, Grandpa, Professor Frink, Police Chief Wiggum, next-door neighbor Ned Flanders and many more of Springfield's denizens.

The story concerns a 2-D Homer as he steps into a concealed wall behind a bookshelf and ventures into a mysterious 3-D world "like that Twlighty place about that zone."

In an attempt to bring Homer back into their world, Bart ties a rope around his waist and jumps into the wall too, emerging on the other side as a 3-D computer figure the same as Homer.

Certainly with the popularity of "The Simpsons," the chance to see Homer and Co. on an IMAX theater is going to prove tempting to fans of the show. But there's more to "CyberWorld 3D" than that. In fact, there are seven other computer-animated segments -- all diverse in concept and rich in imagery and visual allure.

There's the bar scene from the 1998's computer-animated film "Antz"; "Monkey Brain Sushi"; "Flipbook / Waterfall City"; a Pet Shop Boys video, "Liberation"; "Tonight's Performance"; "Joe Fly & Sanchez -- Mostly Sports"; and "KraKKen."

Additionally, there's the main plot the segments are wrapped around. In this case it concerns a computer-animated hostess, Phig (voice of Jenna Elfman from ABC's "Dharma & Greg"), and a cyber showcase she zips through in a hover vehicle.

The idea is for her to guide the viewers through each of the different animated segments, which are located in different portals throughout the cyber world. When three computer bugs invade the system, however, chaos ensues and watching the various animated snippets becomes problematic.

It seems the bugs are devouring the computer program to the virtual world and it's simply a matter of time before the program becomes erased.

In steps Phig, who declares war on the intruders and attempts to destroy them.

The sequences with Phig, which are also in 3-D, are the only original material in the film -- the other segments are all from other sources.

Written for children, the hostess sequences are generally clever enough for adults, although the humor is, at times, a bit strained. But the eye-popping visuals make up for that -- especially when the world begins to disintegrate around Phig.

Barely two months in release, "CyberWorld 3D" is the first 3-D computer-generated images filmed for IMAX. After premiering at the Luxor on Nov. 17 for a six-month run, Gil Perez, director rides and attractions for the hotel, said "CyberWorld 3D" is doing better than he had hoped.

"It was hard for me to tell how adults would respond to a fully animated film, but it's done tremendously," Perez said. "It's the best 3-D you've ever seen."

And that's the selling point of the film, and on the IMAX it's not going to get much better.

With the larger-than-normal curved screen and high-tech 3-D glasses that resemble visors more than the cardboard disposable kind from the days of "Creature From the Black Lagoon" and "House of Wax," whatever's on the screen seems to float in front of you. Which is the point of having the film in 3-D in the first place.

"In 3-D film, the relationship that is created between the characters and the audience is much more intimate than in usual 2-D film," said Steve Hoban, producer and co-screenwriter, in a press release. "It is similar to watching a live performance where the actors exist in an immediate environment.

Hoban further stated that since audiences are only used to seeing familiar characters such as Homer in 2-D, as well as animation in general, the 3-D aspect of the film helps give the images a striking quality of realism.

"That's what makes it so stimulating, astounding and fun," he said.