As video games began to gain popularity in the late seventies, their unique look began to inspire the creative minds behind movies. At the time, the thought of video games inspiring movies was completely foreign. The medium was in its infancy with some of the greatest hits being games like Pong and Asteroids. So, none of the games that existed up to that point had more to offer than abstract graphics and computerized sounds.
Still, one of Hollywood’s newest directors, Steven Lisberger, became fascinated by the emerging video game industry. So, he became determined to use their unique feel as the backdrop for a film. In many ways, Tron became the first video game movie to ever exist, even though it was an original story. While the movie never featured any existing video games, it showcased stylized games that harkened back to the arcade classics.
When the movie came out, it made waves for its extensive visual effects that brought the digital world to life. However, the movie failed to become a mainstream, commercial success. Despite its less than stellar box office earnings, the movie became a cultural phenomenon. Moreover, the lessons from Tron’s production launched the special effects industry forward. So, join us as we look back at the quirky and unique movie, Tron, and its related media.
Join us as we look back at Tron
Tron (1982)
Steven Lisberger became fascinated with the unique style of video games after his first encounter with Pong. Moreover, he had gained a genuine passion for computer-generated animation during his college years in Boston. So, he began to dream up a film that brought the feel of the arcade to life. He desired to create a game that would speak to all audiences, not just video gamers. So, he decided to not focus on any of the existing games present at the time.
Instead, he began to develop a back-lit animated character that he created to promote Lisberger Studios, Tron. Originally, this character glowed yellow and featured a distinct beard. However, his look significantly changed as the movie began to take shape. As the movie’s medium shifted from animation to live-action, Tron lost his beard. His original yellow glow changed so that he now featured a distinctive blue neon glow.
Originally, Lisberger planned to independently finance the film with the backing of various computer companies. After failing to lure in multiple companies, Information International Inc. became interested in financing the film. With the company pushing the idea of live-action photography with black-lit animation, Lisberger soon found that he could not independently finance the film.
Luckily, Walt Disney Pictures gave the first-time producer and director a chance to see his dream through. Still, the studio looked at Lisberger and his group as outsiders, providing little assistance outside of directional input. Since no Disney animators would help the film, they turned to Wang Film Productions to help with the animation.
The Plot
Tron centered around Jeff Bridge’s character, Kevin Flynn, a former programmer for the massive ENCOM corporation. When Flynn attempted to hack into ENCOM’s systems, the Master Control Program blocked his attempts. Even though ENCOM created it to protect their systems from hacks, the program began showing signs of a power-hungry self-awareness. Ed Dillinger, who rose to the top ranks at ENCOM by stealing Flynn’s game, found himself blackmailed by the MCP after it overtook the network.
Undeterred by his failed hack, Flynn agreed with Lora Baines and Alan Bradley to break into ENCOM to unlock a security program, “Tron”. During the break-in, Flynn made direct contact with the MCP, who decided to digitize and upload Flynn to the mainframe cyberspace before he could become a larger problem.
Within ENCOM’s systems, Flynn discovered that the MCP and its second, Sark, had enslaved the other programs. Rather than fulfilling their original purposes, they forced these programs to participate in deadly games. Eventually, Flynn escaped from these games when he drove his light cycle out of bounds. Flynn also discovered that he could use his programming knowledge to manipulate portions of the mainframe.
After disguising himself as one of Sark’s soldiers, Flynn set out to locate Tron. Meanwhile, Tron journeyed to the I/O tower to communicate with his programmer, Alan. With necessary information on how to destroy the MCP, Tron, Flynn, and Yori boarded a sailboat to reach the MCP’s core. While Sark intercepted their ship, taking Flynn and Yori captive, Tron escaped. Thus, Flynn had the opportunity to combine his programming skills with Tron to take out the MCP. With the MCP disabled, Flynn returned to the real world and publicly proved that Dillinger stole his work.
The Tron Arcade Game (1982)
While the movie failed to gain traction in a packed box-office season, Tron gained massive popularity in the video games scene. Even though video games inspired the games that the movie featured, they in turn inspired a brand-new arcade game. So, Bally Midway set out to recreate these games for their arcade unit.
During the development of the game, Midway considered two different projects. One imagined a first-person game that utilized vector graphics. The second used Midway’s existing technology to create five mini-games. Since the mini-games were more feasible, Midway decided to follow that path. Unfortunately, one of the mini-games never made it to the finished product.
In the end, the arcade featured four mini-games that advanced through twelve levels as the players scored points. Keeping with the theme of the movie, these levels featured names that harkened to programming languages, such as RPG and PASCAL.
The first of these mini-games, the I/O Tower, asked players to guide Tron through a gauntlet of Grid Bugs. Next, the MCP Cone mini-game tasked players to break through the rotating shield that protected the MCP. As the light cycle sequence was one of the most memorable parts of the movie, Midway made certain that one of their mini-games brought the sequence to life. So, they crafted the third, light cycle game, as a variant of the popular Snake game. Players guided Tron’s blue cycle through the arena as they trapped the yellow enemy units. The final game, battle tanks, asked players to use Tron’s red tank to destroy the enemy’s blue tanks. While each of these tanks took three hits to destroy, they could avoid death by warping via a diamond in the center of the map.
The Reception
Even though large hits like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial overshadowed the movie, the arcade cabinet became a massive hit. It earned the title of “Coin-Operated Game of the Year” from Electronic Games, a magazine that covered the newest and greatest games. By the end of 1982, the New York Times reported that Midway sold around eight hundred units to arcades across the country. USgamer later reported that the arcade generated more than thirty million dollars of revenue.
The popularity of this unit led to a sequel from Midway, the Discs of Tron. It also helped form a cult following that kept the legacy of Tron alive. Even though fans still loved the movie, they had to wait decades before they would see another video game or movie with the Tron name.
Tron: Legacy (2010)
After years of silence, Tron returned to entertain audiences as a brand-new video game in 2003. Tron 2.0 teased the idea of a sequel to the classic film. While it rocked the boat, it failed to live up to the legacy of the movie. Luckily, the game proved that the children that grew up with Tron were open to the idea of a new iteration that would continue the story. Moreover, the fan base had stirred in 1999, when rumors swirled of a Tron sequel from Pixar.
Feeling that the time was right, Sean Bailey teamed up with Jeffery Silver and Steven Lisberger to produce the next film that continued the Tron story. This time, they turned to Joseph Kosinski to direct the sequel. They then found two writers who adored the original movie: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis. Thus, they set out to craft a film that paid homage to the original while taking audiences in new directions.
As they developed the story, they decided to consider the impact that Flynn left on the Tron universe. The programmer had helped restore peace to ENCOM’s mainframe. Since the original movie left him in charge of the company, they decided to set up as a legendary figure in the world. The production staff also decided that they had to bring back the largest spectacles from the original, the light cycles and disc games.
As the team began to dream up two versions of Kevin Flynn, one real and the other a digital shadow of his original digitized self, Jeff Bridges openly agreed to play both characters. So, he supplied input to help the writing team develop the older version of his character.
The Plot
Despite his success as the new CEO of Encom, Kevin Flynn mysteriously vanished in 1989, leaving his family behind. As his son, Sam Flynn, grew up without his father, he became a primary shareholder for the company. With little respect for the company, Sam released the company’s propriety operating system online for free, resulting in trespassing charges.
After his ally, Alan Bradley, bailed him out from jail, Sam learned about a mysterious pager message from his father’s old arcade. As Sam investigated the arcade, he found a hidden basement where a laser digitized him into a digital world, the Grid.
After his injuries from the Grid’s games proved that Sam was a user, Rinzler brought the boy to the Grid’s corrupt ruler, Clu. Even though Clu resembled Kevin as he was in the eighties, the program held no qualms about nearly killing Sam in a light cycle game. Luckily, Flynn’s apprentice, Quorra, rescued Sam and brought him to his father.
Apparently, Kevin had tried to create a “perfect” computer system when Clu betrayed both him and Tron. Since Clu’s betrayal, the portal that allowed travel between the real and digital worlds had been closed. Now that Sam had fallen for Clu’s plot, the program planned to use Flynn’s identity disc to travel to the human world.
As Sam planned to gain passage through the portal, he dealt with a program named Zuse, who betrayed him and stole his disc. As they attempted to regain the disc, Kevin realized that Clu had reprogrammed Tron into Rinzler. To defeat Clu, Kevin decided to reintegrate with the program, destroying both at the same time. Thus, Sam gained the chance to return to the real world where he agreed to take control of ENCOM.
The unknown future for Tron
In the years following Tron: Legacy’s release, multiple projects have arisen to continue the story. For years, various names have been tied to a project to produce a third Tron movie. However, the project has yet to fully form. Still, Jared Leto remains interested and tied to the project.
Meanwhile, a television series popped up for a brief time. Tron: Uprising debuted on Disney XD in 2012. The series ran for nineteen episodes before its cancelation. For a time, Disney considered creating a live-action series for Disney+; however, the project lost traction and is currently shelved.
So, it is unknown when audiences will next see Tron on either the small or large screen. Even though the series has been silent for years, Tron fans continue to love the series. Thanks to their support, the character has popped up in many cross-promotional projects, such as Kingdom Hearts and Fortnight. Thus, it is only a matter of time before Tron resurfaces.
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Made in collaboration with:
Chris Ingledue
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Bio: I am the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab pop Culture and Toy Shop. My vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day, I work in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year. I scour the internet, like when we had the Sears Catalog of yesteryear, for the next great treasure. Then, I await the arrival of the postman as if he were Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their own versions of Christmas. Every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!