Wikipedia

Randy Moore made most of Escape From Tomorrow on location at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland without permission from The Walt Disney Company. The cast and crew used guerrilla filmmaking techniques to avoid attracting attention, such as keeping their scripts on their iPhones and shooting on handheld video cameras similar to those used by park visitors.

After principal photography was complete, Moore was so determined to keep the project a secret from Disney that he edited it in South Korea. It was called "the ultimate guerrilla film". Moore made the film for less than $1 million with an inheritance from his grandparents.



Extensive pre-production was necessary. The unique nature of the film shoot dictated steps not normally taken in filmmaking, such as charting the position of the sun weeks in advance since they could not use lighting equipment. Scenes were rehearsed and blocked in hotel rooms, rather than the actual locations.

Before principal photography, the cast and crew bought season passes to both Disneyland and Disney World. They spent ten days in Florida, then returned to California for two weeks at Disneyland, making the Disney World depicted in the film a combination of both parks. Actors and crew entered the parks in small groups to avoid attracting attention.

The film was shot using the video mode of two Canon EOS 5D Mark II and one Canon EOS 1D Mark IV digital single-lens reflex cameras, which helped the filmmakers look more like typical park visitors. Actors and crew used their iPhones to communicate and store information such as the script—that way, when they looked at the iPhones it seemed as if they were merely checking their messages. The phones were also used to record sound, in addition to digital recorders taped to each actor's body that were left running all day.


Plot
Shortly after waking up on the last day of a family vacation at Walt Disney World in Florida, Jim White gets a call from his boss, informing him that he has been laid off. He keeps the news to himself in order not to spoil the family’s remaining time at the resort. After his son intentionally locks him out of the family's hotel room, he takes his daughter to the rides of the Magic Kingdom to spend time away from his nagging wife.

His son, working with a wheelchair-bound man, makes attempts on his life. The Disney characters and paraphernalia start to seem sinister and surreal, and White starts to have disturbing visions, such as the animatronic characters’ faces changing and the Disney Princesses doubling as escorts for wealthy Asian businessmen visiting the park. He is not sure if what he sees is real, or if he is just having a breakdown.

Eventually he is apprehended by park security, who seem inordinately concerned about a “cat flu” sweeping the park. He is taken to a secret detention facility under Spaceship Earth at EPCOT Center and interrogated about his possible role in this. After being brainwashed, he is released, and watches as Spaceship Earth is blown up. At the end of the film, he dies at the Contemporary Resort Hotel, apparently of cat flu.

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