Magical Sentosa

In 1997, ECA2 commissioned the creation of Le Lac Aux Images to celebrate French theme park, Futuroscope's tenth anniversary.[1] The show; which operated in Futuroscope's own musical fountain in France, closed down in 2002, the same year of Magical Sentosa's release.[2] Its plot contained similarities with some of Magical Sentosa's own plot elements and characters. Most assets from the show were later recycled for Magical Sentosa, most prominently imagery used for the character, Princess Pearl. The musical centers on a character by the name of Ouïatouké, who is voiced by renowned French voice actor, Luq Hamet.[3][4] Ouïatouké's name is a French pun on the abbreviation, "Y2K" or the year 2000 problem; a reference to him as a glitch.

Not much is known about the show's development and very little information is provided regarding Magical Sentosa. A majority of information sources have directed viewers to the show's credits and reviews. Bang Productions managed the show's technical design[5] while Fischer Media Group was involved in an undisclosed role.[6] The show, was eventually opened on 19 September 2002 to an audience of an estimated 150,000.[7]

The following people who are listed, are according to ECA2 press releases:

• Design and Direction: Yves Pépin
• Music and Soundtrack: Philippe Villar / Pascal Lengagne
• Cartoons and Animation: Dominique Fages
• Laser Design: Claude Lifante
• Content Production: Thierry Nutchey
• Project Manager: Jean-Christophe Canizarès
• Production: ECA2[8]

• Technical design and setup: Alain Gaillard[5]

On 30 January 2013, an anonymous YouTuber by the username of, "caix92", rediscovered the album in its original entirety. In a comment he / she mentioned that the album was originally bought by him / her shortly before the show stopped operations in March 2007.[9] The rediscovery of the album also revealed entirely new and unknown cast members involved in the making of the soundtrack. Examples included, Adele Masquelier and Jerome Scemla. The album's artwork was also prominently displayed in all of the video thumbnails.

Kiki, a lime green coloured monkey; is the main protagonist of the show. During Mr Whamsey's performance, he interrupts the "usual program" intended and appears laughing hysterically at the audience. He then challenges Mr. Whamsey to a duel over the control of the Sentosa Musical Fountain. Afterwards, he introduces the surprised Mr. Whamsey to several of his friends, namely the mock band "The Fantastic Fish", and other unnamed characters. He then invites Mr. Whamsey to the alternate dimension where he lives. Kiki also acts as a guide to Mr. Whamsey throughout his journey in the alternate dimension. Despite this, the both never appear on the water screen at the same time. When the latter finally returns, he bids Mr. Whamsey and the audience farewell, reminding them that he'll be waiting for them. He then makes his trademark laughter and disappears from the scene.

Mr Whamsey is a "fountain master" who first appears when he makes his entrance on to the fountain's symphony stage. He shows off the audience his skills with several performances on the fountain but before he could finish the final segment, his performance is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Kiki, who is first seen laughing out of control before jumping back into hiding. Kiki then reveals himself to Mr. Whamsey, and he is challenged by the latter to a duel over the control of the Sentosa Musical Fountain. He is then introduced to several of Kiki's friends, and persuades Kiki in excitement to invite him to the alternate dimension where the hyperactive monkey lives. When he does, he is greeted by the beautiful siren princess, Princess Pearl. He later exits the alternate dimension and compliments Kiki for the wonderful experience. When Kiki bids the audience farewell, he finishes the final segment of his performance, before bowing and taking his leave.

She is the beautiful siren princess who first appears after Mr. Whamsey manages to arrive in Kiki's world. Her head is adorned with countless bubbles, or pearls, hence giving her name. She appears as she rises from the fountain, and smiles at the audience. A dolphin plunges into the fountain, before she breaks into her enchanting siren song. Her image then switches, where she dances to the audience. As she finishes her dance, her image fades and sinks back into the fountain. Princess Pearl's sequence has been noted as the most remarkable as she was directly recycled from ECA2's earlier production, Le Lac Aux Images. The only differences being her image mirrored for Magical Sentosa, and the use of only one of the two dolphins that were part of her original sequence in Le Lac Aux Images.

The Fantastic Fish are a band consisting of laser-colored fishes that are just a few of Kiki's friends. They first appear in the song segment for, Hello Hello. Later on, more of Kiki's friends appear, namely two sea creatures called, "The Crazy Fish", a monstrous whale-like creature, and a robot named, Omeo. The band then reappears during the climax of the song and as they disappear from the scene, a mass of laser-colored bubbles shoots up in front of them. They would later reappear in a cameo in Kiki's song, "It's My World". As Magical Sentosa uses quite a number of references to Le Lac Aux Images, most of Kiki's friends and the laser-colored bubbles were actually from the latter.

Although not considered a prominent character, the Merlion statue located behind the fountain comes to "life" when Kiki sings the last note of, Here Everybody Lives in Harmony, completely out of tune. The eyes of the statue emitted a green Stella Ray laser that shone down onto the fountain and when the song ends, it comes to take Kiki, who subsequently bids farewell to Mr. Whamsey and the audience.

Fischer Media footage - During the first performance of that night, a Fischer Media cameraman filmed the show with a standard definition camera. It was later edited by ECA2 to produce the show's promotional reel, now only existing as a fragment on Fisher Media's website.[12] In 2010, the footage was restored to the high definition format as ECA2's trailer for Magical Sentosa. But this trailer was reedited and cut in 2012. The edited trailer from 2010 has since resurfaced on ECA2's YouTube page, alongside the trailers of all the permanent shows produced by ECA2, including the full trailer of Le Lac Aux Images.

Magical Sentosa HD Trailer - ECA2's promotional trailer of Magical Sentosa, which used footage from Fischer Media's promotional footage.[13]

A video covers up the first 51 seconds of the show with the full and muted soundtrack of Here Everybody Lives in Harmony which not many have filmed.[14]

Soundtrack from Magical Sentosa - Water Waltz - A high-fidelity recording of Water Waltz, the earliest of its kind to be uploaded on to the platform before the 2013 soundtrack rediscovery.[15]

Futuroscope - Le Lac aux Images 2000 - Spectacle Entier - Partie 1 un 2 This video is possibly the only video to show one of ECA2's earlier productions, Le Lac aux Images which uses some of Magical Sentosa's characters and plot elements, most notably Princess Pearl.[16]