The experience: beauty as far as the eye can see

The trick: bioluminescence throughout the journey

Image: DisneyIn speaking of Pandora prior to its opening, Disney executives sounded unusually confident. They’d seen the aspects of the land that would differentiate it from anything that had come before…at Disney or anywhere else.

People familiar with Avatar the movie know that one of the distinguishing characteristics is the colorful illumination. Director James Cameron wanted to introduce creatures that would emphasize the beauty of the then-nascent 3D technology. He settled on bioluminescent ones, with the result being the most popular global release of all-time. Movie-goers loved Avatar for its breathtaking visuals. Disney wasn’t about to slack on the themed land that mirrors it.

Image: DisneyAnd that leads to the logical question. What’s bioluminescence? There’s a simple, not-too-science-y answer to this, too. These are lights produced by living organisms. Some creatures emit this light as part of a biochemical reaction. When you hear the phrase bioluminescence, what you’re really hearing is bugs, plants and animals that naturally create light. And you’ve seen an example of bioluminescence your whole life. You just didn’t know the name.

The most famous such creatures are fireflies and jellyfish, but literally thousands of other examples are likely to exist. Most of them are underwater, a place mankind is just now understanding thanks to new camera innovations, some of which were championed by…James Cameron. So, he’s legitimately one of the world’s foremost experts on bioluminescence and someone Imagineers could lean on while spitballing ideas. And these discussions led to…

The experience: shiny animals frolicking in their “natural” environments

The trick: integrating set pieces and projection televisions to bring Pandora to life

Image: DisneyThe canoe ride down the Kaspavan River is magical due to the way that Disney presents the various set pieces. Some of the constructs are real pieces that you can reach out and touch. These elements like mushrooms and flying fan lizards provide the backdrop for the ride, but they do more. They also provide the artificial illumination that brightens the path through the darkness.

Disney recreated many of the creatures seen in the movie for this reason. The animals add to the illusion that you’re taking a tourist cruise on an exotic planet. According to the Avatar wiki, the list of bioluminescent and native animals of Pandora includes hexapedes, prolemuris, panoprya, and sturmbeests, plus the flying fan lizards and woodsprites. During the ride, you’re most likely to notice the lizards since they seem like spinning discs, but everything has a purpose straight down to the mushrooms.

To accentuate the perception of a real trip through Pandora, Disney uses video projection mapping akin to what you’ve seen in the Happily Ever After fireworks exhibition. As you drive past certain points, you’ll see Na’Vi hunters and some of the most dangerous fauna in the background. It’s an adrenaline surge on an otherwise laid back ride.

Disney even pulls out one of its oldest tricks to bring Pandora to life. Some of the leaves above the boats have shadows on them. The blue of the vegetation meshes with the black shadows to create a specific illusion. It looks like creatures are walking on the leaves. Since this vegetation is basically on the ceiling, such a thing is impossible. Imagineers again use projection to cast these skittering shadows. They make every “living” creature on Na’Vi River Journey seem real, especially…