SPACEY CAMP

Disney loomed large at the 44th annual World Science Fiction Convention held in Atlanta over Labor Day weekend--previewing both the Michael Jackson “Captain Eo” shortie and “Star Tours,” a new attraction being designed by George Lucas and the Walt Disney Co. to open next January.

The 3-D, 17-minute “Captain Eo” (to premiere at Disneyland and Disney World September 19), executive produced by Lucas and directed by Francis Coppola, has Jackson as a starship captain with a crew of lovable misfits. They crash-land on an evil planet ruled by sinister queen Anjelica Huston. Jackson and crew bring new life and beauty to the depressed planet--through his singing and dancing, natch. Disneyland will stay open an unprecedented 60 continuous hours for eager viewers.

So what’s “Star Tours”? Hard to tell from a slide show of Industrial Light and Magic production paintings, but the scenario has R-2 D-2 and C3P0 as galactic tour guides based on the moon of Endor. From what we saw, the two robots will be physically present in a Disneyland theater, leading a filmed “tour” of imagined galactic scenic spots.