Today, Disney is announcing a new virtual reality experience for Oculus Rift with Touch and Gear VR.
To coincide with the release of its latest live action remake, the legendary studio is giving you a front row seat to one of Beauty and the Beast’s most iconic scenes. Lumiere’s Dress Rehearsal puts you at the master’s table and invites you to witness the titular candelabra’s full culinary performance. Lumiere’s Dress Rehearsal is being made available through the Disney Movies VR app that can be downloaded now for free on Oculus Home for Rift and Gear VR.
According to an Oculus blog post accompanying the release:
“This unforgettable VR experience puts you in the dining room of Beast’s enchanted castle, as Lumiere prepares for a special feast in Belle’s honor. Swirling napkins, spinning plates, and dancing flatware surround you as everyone’s favorite candelabra—voiced by Ewan McGregor—belts out Be Our Guest in classic Disney style.”
Lumiere’s Dress Rehearsal also utilizes the Oculus Touch controllers to allow for interactivity during the dinner ware’s production. According to Oculus, in this experience you can “grab plates from mid-air and use your hands to interact with the spellbinding world around you.”
According to its description, The Disney Movies VR app is a “fully-immersive experience where you visit themed worlds, including Disney, Marvel and Lucasfilm” in which you can “interact with some of your favorite characters in their natural environments.”
Disney Movies VR is updated semi-regularly with new experiences, most of which tie into an upcoming or releasing Disney film. Even if it is just a glorified ad, Lumiere’s Dress Rehearsal should still be a true thrill for any fan of Disney magic and Beauty and the Beast in particular.
Although, no amount of technology can make Ewan McGregror’s warbling French(?) accent quite as good as Jerry Orbach’s nostalgic baritone. Bless his heart. He’s trying his best. But when it comes to this song, Orbach will always have the high ground.
