Disney’s brand new documentary series, Prop Culture, which is hosted by film historian and prop collector Dan Lanigan.  The second episode takes a look at the classic 1980’s movie, Tron.

It’s an odd choice as to why Tron was picked to be an episode of Prop Culture, since the movie is mainly digital.  However that’s what makes it more interesting, since there was real life props and artwork for the movie, but there isn’t much of it, which is why the hunt for props from the movie is more interesting.

I’ve always liked the Tron franchise, as a gamer from the 1980’s, it was unlike anything else available at the time and most recently, while visiting Shanghai Disney Resort, getting to ride the Tron Lightcycle Power Run rollercoaster was a highlight, because the sounds and feeling of the Tron universe coming to real life.  So I really enjoyed learning more about the creation of the film.

Dan meets with the films writer and director, Steven Lisberger, who now lives an analogue lifestyle, a huge step away from the world of Tron.  It’s very noticeable that the original movie is a bit of a sore subject, while he did work on a couple of movies after Tron was released (including Tron Legacy), the original film flopped at the box office.  As he didn’t seem to be overly impressed with being reunited with the original identity disc. But seeing him go through his own personal archive of memorabilia from the film was a highlight. Especially as he gives more insight into how the movie was made.

The real life Tron, aka actor Bruce Boxleitner also meets up with Dan and tells some stories from behind the scenes.  I personally enjoyed hearing about how the concept artist and technical crew worked out how to make Tron, since it was so groundbreaking at the time.   It’s amazing to see just how basic the props and clothing were.

This series is a real highlight of the Disney+ Original line up, it is taking a serious look at the world of filmmaking, its props and the historical importance of those items.  Dan is a perfect presenter for this series, his love and passion for movies just oozes off the screen.  You can tell he loved making this series and I’m really hoping people watch the show, so we can get another season.

Another fantastic episode that anyone with an interesting in either Tron or in filmmaking should watch.

Rating 4 out of 5

Prop Culture arrives on Disney+ on May 1st.   Both Tron and Tron Legacy are available to stream on Disney+ now.

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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