‘Captain EO,’ starring Michael Jackson, returning to Disney World on July 2

It’s official: Captain EO is returning to Disney World. The 17-minute 3-D film featuring Michael Jackson will re-debut July 2 at Epcot, where it played from 1986 to 1994.

Captain EO will play in the Honey, I Shrunk the Audience building in Epcot’s Future World for an indefinite amount of time, although Disney officials said Tuesday that Honey is expected to return eventually.

There has been a movement for the revival since Jackson died unexpectedly last year.  The film, directed by Francis Ford Coppolla, already has been brought back to  Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. , and has start dates in Disney parks in Paris (June 12) and Toyko (June 30).

Public demand played a role in the comeback.

“It’s certainly rooted in guest feedback,” says Disney World spokesman Rick Sylvain. Response at Disneyland, where EO has been playing since February,  has been “overwhelmingly positive,” he says.

The film as a futuristic, Epcot-y feel with its space warrior theme. Jackson plays the title character. Other recognizable actors include Anjelica Huston as “the Supreme Leader” and Dick Shawn as “Commander Bog.” (Shawn died in 1987.)  One of the captain’s alien crew is a flying sidekick called Fuzzball.

It features two songs by Jackson: “We Are Here to Change the World” and “Another Part of Me.”

OK, so who’s excited about this? And who had their fill of Fuzzball by the ’90s? Drop me a line at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com.