Turtle Talk with Crush

Turtle Talk with Crush is an interactive show that debuted at Epcot's The Seas with Nemo & Friends on November 16, 2004 and opened at Disney California Adventure in July 2005. It briefly ran at Hong Kong Disneyland for the "Nonstop Summer Fun" promotion in 2008 and it opened at American Waterfront in Tokyo DisneySea on October 1, 2009 with a more elaborate framing theme. A variation now appears on the Disney Cruise Line's Disney Dream in the Animator's Palate restaurant

The show is a live animated conversation with a lot of improvisation with Crush where he answers audience questions about Sea Turtles

Summary
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.

Other events may occur during this improvised conversation, including cameo appearances by other characters from the original film. Though the format, structure and rough duration of the show are consistent, the show itself varies considerably depending on the guests' questions and comments.

Technology
The show is a cutting-edge blend of sophisticated computer graphic techniques, image projection, and live, interactive, quick-witted improvisation. The "Window to the Pacific" is in reality a large rear-projection screen portraying an animated undersea environment. The image of Crush is a digital puppet controlled by a backstage actor/puppeteer whose performance is translated in real time into 3D computer animation. 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. Sophisticated digital puppetry techniques allow the puppeteer's movements to control the body motions of the projected turtle, enabling Crush to maneuver about naturalistically with real-time human control. This breakthrough technology enables every show to be different than the one before as Crush responds uniquely to each individual audience. Thanks to a system of hidden cameras, the invisible actor is able to see the audience with whom he is interacting, and thus 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 the guests' questions and comments, delivered in a mimicry of the character voice from the film (originally performed by Andrew Stanton).