Turtle Talk with Crush

Turtle Talk with Crush
Children await Crush at Epcot, while a Cast Member speaks prior to starting the show
Epcot
Area	The Seas, Future World (2004–2021) The Seas, World Nature (2021–present)
Status	Operating
Opening date	November 16, 2004
Lightning Lane Available
Disney California Adventure
Area	Hollywood Land (Disney Animation)
Status	Operating
Opening date	July 15, 2005
Hong Kong Disneyland
Name	Turtle Talk with Crush 哈囉阿古
Area	Main Street, U.S.A.
Status	Removed
Opening date	May 24, 2008
Closing date	August 10, 2008
Tokyo DisneySea
Name	Turtle Talk
Area	American Waterfront
Status	Operating
Opening date	October 1, 2009
Children's Hospital of Orange County
Name	Turtle Talk with Crush
Status	Operating
Opening date	2013
Ride statistics
Attraction type	Interactive talk show
Designer	Walt Disney Imagineering
Theme	Finding Nemo
Duration	10-16 minutes
Show host	Crush
Wheelchair accessible
Assistive listening available

Turtle Talk with Crush is an interactive talk show type attraction that has appeared at several of the Disney theme parks.^[1] It first opened on November 16, 2004 at The Living Seas pavilion (later renamed The Seas Pavilion) at Epcot and later at Disney California Adventure in July 2005. The attraction opened in Hong Kong Disneyland from May 24 to August 10, 2008 as part of the "Nonstop Summer Fun" celebration. The attraction also opened in Tokyo DisneySea on October 1, 2009.

Designed by Walt Disney Imagineering in collaboration with Pixar, the attraction consists of an improvisational, real-time conversation with Crush, the green sea turtle from Pixar's 2003 film Finding Nemo.

A similar version is also featured in the Animator's Palate restaurant aboard Disney Cruise Line's Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy cruise ships. In addition, another Turtle Talk with Crush unit was donated to the new CHOC Bill Holmes Hospital by Walt Disney Imagineering during early 2013 to entertain the child patients and their siblings. This was the first attraction created by Imagineering to be placed in a non-Disney environment, but is operating twice a day by volunteering Cast Members (currently suspended since 2020). It was featured in the advertisement for the new Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage submarine-shaped tour in 2007 before the ride opened to the public in 2007.

Guests are admitted to a movie theater-like room featuring what appears to be a large aquarium-style window opening onto an undersea vista. Children are encouraged to sit on a carpeted area up front so that they may have a better view, while parents and other adults sit on benches behind them. The host and moderator gives a brief introduction to the show, and then Crush swims down to appear in the window. Crush looks and sounds much as he does in Finding Nemo, complete with animated facial expressions and subtle gestures. With the help of the moderator, Crush selects children and adults from the audience and engages them individually in dialogue, asking them questions and responding with quick wit and humor to questions about his life as a sea turtle or any other questions guests choose to ask. Crush individually chooses the children by saying what they are wearing (e.g.: "Oh hey, dudette in the pink shell (shirt) down on the sub floor, what is your name?").

Other events may occur during this improvised conversation, including cameo appearances by other characters from the original film and its sequel. Though the format, structure and rough duration of the show are consistent, the show itself varies considerably depending on the guests' questions and comments. For example, if an audience member asks where Dory is, a special ending involving Dory and Destiny will be triggered, complete with another attempt by Dory and her friend Destiny to speak whale. Crush will also refer to the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage when asked where Nemo is, saying he is at the Tomorrowland Lagoon (where that attraction is).

The show was developed as part of Walt Disney Imagineering's "Living Character Initiative", a project to develop non-human characters—usually in the form of animatronics controlled and/or voiced remotely—that could actively interact with park guests. To overcome the limitations of physical animatronics, experiments had been conducted with attractions incorporating real-time 3D graphics and digital puppetry: a prototype attraction known as "Mickey's Toon Elevator" would have starred a 3D animated Mickey Mouse voiced and controlled by a cast member.^[2][3]

Concerns were raised over whether Mickey could be consistently and correctly portrayed in-character by varying operators, especially due to the character's status as Disney's flagship property. At the suggestion of Imagineering's vice president Tom Fitzgerald, the team pivoted to developing a tech demo incorporating Stitch from the then-upcoming Lilo & Stitch. This resulted in Stitch's Picture Phone—a Lilo & Stitch-themed exhibit at Disneyland's Innoventions which allowed guests to engage in an interactive meeting with a 3D animated Stitch, presented as being a video call from Hawaii. The character's actions were controlled using a gamepad and lip synced to the actor's voice, with the attraction containing a mix of interactive improvisation and a scripted progression.^[2]

A version of Mickey's Toon Elevator was in development by Imagineer Joe Garlington for Tokyo DisneySea's SS Columbia, but faced a logistical issue in the number of different actors that would be required to run the attraction with a sufficient throughput. This led to a retooled concept of a digital puppet character presented to an audience; with the nautical theme of the area, Garlington began developing an interactive attraction starring Crush from the recently-released Finding Nemo. Crush was chosen since his brief appearance in the film and easily-mimicable voice provided a level of flexibility in portraying the character via improvisation. After the pitch was declined by Tokyo Disneyland's owner, the The Oriental Land Company, the attraction concept was repurposed for Epcot's The Living Seas pavilion (which had been receiving a Finding Nemo retheme).^[2]

After its debut, the attraction was updated to include cameo appearances by other Finding Nemo characters such as Dory.^[2] In 2016, the attraction was updated to include appearances of characters from the sequel Finding Dory, such as Bailey, Destiny, and Hank, as well as Squirt.^[4]

The "Window to the Pacific" is a large rear-projection screen portraying an animated undersea environment. The animated image of Crush is a computer graphic avatar controlled by a puppet, operated by a backstage actor/puppeteer whose performance is digitized in real time. Crush's movements and voice-activated lip synch are rendered on the fly and are projected at 60 frames per second, so that the turtle's mouth moves in synchronization with the actor's words. Digital puppetry techniques allow the puppeteer's movements to control the body motions of the projected turtle image. The technology enables each show to be different as Crush responds uniquely to each individual audience.

Using cameras mounted in the theater, the hidden actor can see the audience with whom he is interacting, and thus can refer to the specific appearance and behavior of particular questioners, as well as their location in the theatre. The actor's performance is a combination of semi-scripted banter and improvised responses to guests' questions and comments, delivered in a mimicry of the character voice from the film (originally performed by Andrew Stanton).

• List of Epcot attractions (which includes history timelines)
• List of Disney California Adventure attractions
• Stitch Encounter, a Disney attraction in non-American Disney resorts that also includes unscripted, real-time conversation between park guests and an animated character
• Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, a Disney attraction in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World that also includes real-time interactions between park guests and animated characters
• Turtle Trek, a SeaWorld film projection theater

• Epcot - Turtle Talk with Crush
• Disney California Adventure - Turtle Talk with Crush
• Tokyo DisneySea - Turtle Talk
• Turtle Talk With Crush Video