The little girl with blond braids loved her dog. “I love you, Spot,” she cooed, petting his perfect, auburn fur. Spot didn’t look too good. He whimpered, a sad look in his round, little eyes.
“Oh, dear!” said the little girl. “I know I can save you if I go to the magic place in the forest.”
Thus, the little girl went to the forest, and everything seemed fine and dandy until a big animated demon head came floating out of nowhere and started chasing her through the woods. It flew out of the screen and over the heads of the audience, causing several small children to start waving their hands in front of their oversized 3-D glasses.
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| Brightly-colored tulips help depict an authentic Dutch theme in the park. |
Of course, the girl managed to escape the demon in the end, at last finding the magical cure for Spot in a dream landscape evocative of a bad ’60s drug movie. The film ended with her frolicking merrily in a field of tulips, a Dutch windmill turning lazily in the background.
As it turned out, this was only one of the many unusual attractions at Huis Ten Bosch.
Huis Ten Bosch, Dutch for “house in the forest,” is a Dutch-themed amusement park about an hour north of Nagasaki, Japan. Most of the attractions are light shows or fountain shows reminiscent of Disneyland à la 1985.
The “Mysterious Escher” 3-D adventure my friend Trisha and I witnessed reminded me instantly of the old Captain EO show I saw at Disneyland when I was a kid, starring Michael Jackson.
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Of all the attractions at Huis Ten Bosch, our favorite was a ride called the “Flight of Wonder,” although the real wonder being how it managed to stay in operation so long. It was clearly showing signs of age, as it emitted a variety of pained creaks, groans and squeaks as the cars traveled along the track.
Despite its flaws, Trisha and I loved it. Much like Peter Pan’s Flight at Disneyland, this ride involved sitting in a car that hung from the ceiling, winding around a track through darkness as you followed a chronological story. The journey was an anime-style adventure with antiquated claymation figures on screens acting out a story involving a wicked witch, a castle and a good little witch on a broom.
Continued: Demons, Tulips, and Scenic Canals: Japan’s Dutch-Themed Amusement Park
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