Fun with Mr Future

Synopsis

An animatronic talking-head replica of Abraham Lincoln (voiced by Phil Proctor) hosts a tour of what the future will look like.

Production

Fun with Mr. Future originally began development as an Epcot television special, whose crew included Darrell Van Citters, Mike Giamo, Joe Ranft, Mike Gabriel, Tad Stones, and Brian McEntee. At the time, this team was also involved in the development stages of what would become Sport Goofy in Soccermania (1987) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). After Disney shelved the Epcot special, Tom Wilhite allowed them to use footage from the project and edit it into a new animated short. The resulting work marked the directorial debut of animator Darrell Van Citters, who began his career at the Disney studios.

Release

Disney released the film in Los Angeles on October 27, 1982. No other public screenings took place until October 2010, when New York's Museum of Modern Art featured it in a program commemorating the publication of John Canemaker's book, Two Guys Named Joe. According to Tad Stones, "[Working on it] was a lot of fun but I couldn't even tell you where you find it now. It's one of those gems even Disney doesn't know who has it. I went to a comic convention and was surprised to see its cels for sale."