this was in the LA daily news...somebody posted it a while back
UNIVERSAL CITY -- Universal Studios announced plans Wednesday to open a new theme park attraction this summer in all three of its parks, reuniting the three stars of the animated hit "Shrek" long before the planned 2004 sequel.
Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz will reprise their "Shrek" voice-over roles as part of "Shrek 4-D," a multisensory and multimedia continuation of the "Shrek" fairy tale that features 15 minutes of all-new 3-D animation. It will bridge the storyline from the first "Shrek" film with the upcoming sequel from DreamWorks Pictures.
"This will be our single-biggest attraction launch," said Don Skeoch, Universal Studios Hollywood senior vice president of marketing and retail. "It's taking a great property like 'Shrek' and making it come alive as a theater event with state-of-the-art technology that has never been seen."
The new attraction will open just before Memorial Day at Universal theme parks in Universal City, Orlando, Fla., and Osaka, Japan, and will be able to accommodate 1,200 guests per hour. It marks the first time all three parks have opened a new attraction simultaneously.
Tourism has suffered a major hit since the 9-11 terrorist attacks, and the possible war with Iraq has cast a pall over future international travel. So "Shrek 4-D" comes at a time when Southern California theme parks are vying for the drive market that includes visitors from Northern California, San Diego and neighboring states like Arizona and Nevada.
"Any time you have a theme park with a major new attraction, that's good news," said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. "What you are seeing is a little more optimism in the theme park industry in Southern California, where we can tap into a larger drive market."
The attraction will be housed in a castle-like building, and guests will be given a pair of "OgreVision" glasses to wear as the screen and the theater come alive with sensory elements.
Myers is the voice of the title character, a swamp-dwelling ogre, and Murphy voices his chatterbox companion, Donkey. Shrek's bride, Princess Fiona, is voiced by Diaz. The first film won the first Academy Award for best animated picture, earning $267.6 million at the U.S. box office. It has also been a smash on home video.
The new theme park attraction features a tale that begins as Shrek, Princess Fiona and Donkey set off for a honeymoon but are faced with trouble in the form of the ghost of Lord Farquaad, voiced by John Lithgow in the films and in the new attraction. The trio is transported into an adventure featuring such fast-paced sequences as an aerial dogfight between fire-breathing dragons and a steep plunge down a 300-foot waterfall.
"Shrek 4-D" marks the first animation to be created for a theme park by PDI, the animators of "Shrek," as well as the earlier computer animated hit "Antz." The addition of three-dimensional depth to the animation and the creation of in-theater effects are by attraction designers at Universal Creative.
