''O Canada!'' was a

Circle-Vision 360° Circle-Vision 360° is a film format developed by The Walt Disney Company that uses projection screens which encircle the audience. Circle-Vision 360° developed from the Circarama format, which uses eleven 16 mm projectors. The first Circ ...

film attraction at the Canada Pavilion, within Epcot's World Showcase at the

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...

in Florida. Its name derives from Canada's national anthem. It showcases many images of Canada's cities and sights, including

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

's Musical Ride, the

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, fair, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year a ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and Vancouver Harbour, the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

, and more. The movie was filmed mostly during 1981 and has been in continuous exhibition since that time, with an updated version released in 2007. It closed on August 1, 2019, and was later replaced by a new Canadian Circle-Vision film titled '' Canada Far and Wide''.

History

The attraction was inspired by the popular

documentary film '' Canada '67'', shown at the Telephone pavilion during

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...

, created by Canadian film director Robert Barclay. The Disney version was described by Barclay as "a superficial, glib look at the country". The following excerpt shows the similarities between the two films: the official Expo '67 Guide Book described some of the ''Canada '67''

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

's many scenes: ''"You're on centre stage for the RCMP Musical Ride... on centre ice for

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

... on the track at the

Stampede A stampede () is a situation in which a group of large animals suddenly start running in the same direction, especially because they are excited or frightened. Although the term is most often applied to animals, there are cases of humans stamped ...

! CIRCLE-VISION 360° surrounds you with all the fun and excitement of Canada's most thrilling events and its scenic beauty''"."Official Expo 67 Guide Book: Telephone Pavilion", Maclean-Hunter Publishing Co. Ltd., 1967, pg.178.Expo 67 Circle Vision 360
Expo 67 In Montreal website. Retrieved August 12, 2011. Footage for the RCMP Musical Ride was shot in Rockcliffe Park, located between the Rockcliffe Parkway and Hillsdale Road in the village of Rockcliffe Park and not at the RCMP stables located close by on Sandridge Rd. The ''Canada '67'' film also presented a

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobs ...

hurtling down a steep ice track at the

Quebec Winter Carnival The Quebec Winter Carnival (), commonly known in both English and French as Carnaval, is a pre-Lenten festival held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. After being held intermittently since 1894, the ''Carnaval de Québec'' has been celebrated ann ...

, along with many other events and scenes iconic to the country.Gagnon, Monika Kin
Reconstructing Two Immersive Multimedia Pavilions from Expo ‘67: The Christian Pavilion and the Telephone Pavilion
Concordia University, April 25, 2009. (PDF) Viewers in the audience occasionally experienced

vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

after one particularly dramatic sequence filmed over

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

Scenes (original version)

# People of the Maritime Provinces # People of Québec # People of Ontario # People of Manitoba and Saskatchewan # People of the west and far north # Royal Canadian Mounted Police at Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa # Gulf Island, British Columbia # Rose Blanche-Harbor le Cou, Newfoundland # River in Saint Martins, New Brunswick # Bluenose II in Lunenberg, Nova Scotia # Bluenose II deck # Bluenose II in the Bay of Fundy # Birdseye view of Montréal # Place Jacques Cartier in Old Town Montréal # Inside of Notre Dame Cathedral, Montréal # Algonquin Provincial Park # Canadian wildlife # Reindeer on Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, Northwest Territories # Calgary Stampede # Bridge over Kananaskis River, Alberta # Bow River, Alberta # Banff Springs Hôtel # Bow River Rapids # Kananaskis Valley, Alberta # Skiers in Bugaboo Provincial Park, British Columbia # Quebec City in winter, Plains of Abraham, Citadel and Chateau Frontenac # Toboggan run near Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City # Ice sports in Ottawa, Ontario # Rideau Canal, Ottawa # Canadian National Tower, Toronto # Vancouver, British Columbia # Harbor at Victoria, British Columbia # Ottawa River; Rideau Canal # Changing of the Guard in front of Parliament # Bagpipe bands at Canadian National Exhibition # Ukrainian dancers # Fifes and drums at Old Fort Henry, Ontario # Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds squadron # Kaskawulsh Glacier, Yukon Territory # Kananaskis Valley # Wheat field in Saskatchewan # Farmland of Prince Edward Island # Thousands Islands Bridge over St. Lawrence River # Aerial shot over Alberta Prairie # Salmon fisherman near Campbell River, British Columbia # Sunset over Mackenzie River Delta, Northwest Territories # Snow geese on lake # St. Lawrence River in Quebec City # Night skiing at Mont Tremblant # Rapids of Ottawa River # Stanley Park, British Columbia # Vancouver Harbor # Butchart Gardens, British Columbia # Snowy peaks in Kananaskis Valley, British Columbia # Victoria, British Columbia # Giant firs at Cathedral Grove, British Columbia # Mackenzie River Delta, Northwest territories

2007 update

On August 6, 2007, the original exhibition of ''O' Canada!'' closed. Month later, on September 1, the new Circle-Vision 360 film debuted at the Canada Pavilion, made in part in response to a seven-year campaign by the Canadian Tourism Commission due to a steady stream of complaints over the years about the dated representation of Canada. ''O' Canada'' is primarily narrated by

Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian and American comedian, actor, and writer. Short is known as an energetic comedian who gained prominence for his roles in sketch comedy. He has also acted in numerous films and television ...

, after he makes the original narrator (

Corey Burton Corey Burton is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on '' The Transformers'', Brainiac in the DC Animated Universe, Count Dooku and Cad Bane in ...

) angry enough to quit during an argument over the latter's inaccurate portrayal of Canada. The newer version of ''O' Canada!'' includes updated footage of Canada's cities and natural features, including

and a new orchestral score by

Bruce Broughton Bruce Harold Broughton (born March 8, 1945) is an American orchestral composer of television, film, and video game scores and concert works. He has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career and has contributed many ...

. The song "Canada (You're a Lifetime Journey)" has been re-recorded by Eva Avila, the winner of the fourth season of ''

Canadian Idol ''Canadian Idol'' is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show '' Pop Idol''. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Do ...

''. This version of the attraction closed on August 1, 2019, for a new updated film.

References

External links

Canwest News
- article about movie update {{Epcot Amusement rides introduced in 1982 Amusement rides that closed in 2019 Epcot 1982 films Circle-Vision 360° films Documentary films about Canada Walt Disney Parks and Resorts films Films shot in Canada World Showcase

History

Scenes (original version)

2007 update

See also

References

External links