Age of Plus UItra: Watch the Cut Pixar Animated Sequence from 'Tomorrowland'

Whether or not you loved Brad Bird’s ‘Tomorrowland,’ most agree that it was refreshing to see an original film being released during the summer blockbuster season, and appreciated the optimistic view of the future the film presented, and the fact that the film was decidedly family friendly. Bird was definitely forced to make a lot of creative decisions/cuts to make the film work, including an impressive sequence animated by his friends over at Pixar, where they delve into the history of the mysterious Plus Ultra group of inventors, the men who started the movement that culminated in the creation of Tomorrowland. The full clip has been released to the internet, and it’s a real shame that the clip didn’t make it into the movie. The beautiful animation and deft voice-work by Maurice LaMarche (that’s right, Brain from ‘Pinky and the Brain’ is narrating the clip) make the sequence informative and entertaining, and really sets up the backstory of the film well. As to where the sequence would have fit in the finished film, the co-visual effects supervisor Eddie Pasquarello recently explain in an interview with ‘Business Insider’ that the sequence would have fit into the early World’s Fair:

“It was pitched as a ride under a ride. When Frank drops below the ‘It’s A Small World’ ride instead of going right to the portal to Tomorrowland he would have taken this ride first, like a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ boat ride. Moving set pieces, mist curtains, it would have been literally riding a classic Disney ride and it would have told the backstory of Plus Ultra.”

Why did it get cut? According to sources, Brad Bird said it stopped the pacing of the movie dead, the audience having to watch a cartoon right before they would have gone to the actual city, and Bird felt the backstory could be expedited through dialogue later in the movie, namely in the scene with the mannequins of the original Plus Ultra group.

Do you think Bird misstepped in not including this scene? Or did he make the right choice? Let us know your opinion in the comments below!