There’s more than just a full-length advert going on in this show as we bring you this Madame Tussaud’s: The Full Wax review.
Being immortalised in wax is when you know you’ve made it as Merlin attraction Madame Tussauds has its own ITV documentary diving into just small segments of the companies 200-year old history.
One of the most loved visitor attractions in the UK Madame Tussauds welcomes millions of visitors a year and has stretched 23 attractions over 12 different countries across the globe.
A place where you can get up close and personal with your favourite stars immortalised in wax.
For the first time in its history the business opened its doors to ITV viewers so we can see what mysterious work occurs behind the scenes.
This documentary was filmed across a year at Madame Tussauds London and Blackpool locations. Here we dive into new little Mix and DanTDM figures and learn about the rise and fall of fame.
Madame Tussauds has to stay relevant to current trends, who’s hot and who’s hot and one staff member went a little bit too much into detail about how poor Justin Hawkins from The Darkness just isn’t relevant anymore.
I beg to differ, that man is a saint.
Missed our video with The Darkness? Click Here
He then went onto discuss the various changes that happen at the attraction over the years and we get a glimpse of the design process.
Such knowledge as using real human hair that takes 5 weeks to complete and using celebrities real-life clothes that have been donated to Madame Tussauds (not always) is another little gem of knowledge I didn’t otherwise know.
The show contains such celebrity cameos as Olly Murs, Mo Salah and Craig Revel Horwood who had to come into the studio to re-work their figures to keep them more modern and relevant as they age.
I suppose it’s a testament to the pair of them who have stayed at Madame Tussauds long enough to age gracefully and still remain relevant with other celebrities being condemned to ‘retirement’ as a staff member referred to it.
With such a long history, the famous London attraction is a treasure trove of original artefacts – from the original guillotine that beheaded Marie Antoinette, to Dr Crippen’s glasses, to Elton John’s jumpsuit. And looking to the future, we get an insight into how this iconic institution is reinventing itself, using advanced data analytics to work out which celebrities will stay the course and are worth investing in… to keep us coming back for more.
There is also a major piece of news for fans of the attraction as the London based venue is looking to revive the infamous Chamber of Horrors section that was closed to the public in 2016.
Not only is it coming back but the attraction is looking into creating photo-realistic masks that actors can wear and mix amongst the wax works for a very immersive experience.
Whilst for me Madame Tussauds is a pricey attraction (much cheaper with a Merlin Annual Pass) it’s certainly one that everyone must do.
Interactive elements mixed with insane levels of detail in the figures make Madame Tussauds a fun and enjoyable experience albeit the stereotypical tourist trap that will have you hook line and sinker.
Whilst at times Madame Tussauds: The Full Wax does feel like a tug of war between the filmmakers and the PR department who want a glorified promo this show still has some saving graces.
It gives us just enough look behind the scenes to whet our appetite and it also does a nice job of including various celebs and new additions to urge even a frequent visitor (god bless that annual pass) to re-visit when new additions arrive.
What we actually learn about Madame Tussauds is few and far between. Almost non-existent in fact and that’s where the show fails in its execution.
What could have been education, what is titled as educational and what viewers were hoping would be educational is nothing but a visual press release that reads the following:
*BRAND NEW DanTDM Figure Now at Blackpool Madame Tussauds
*We use real human hair in our models
*Chamber of Horrors COMING SOON
With a whole year of filming under their belt you know that the cutting room floor probably holds the best cut of this documentary. Sadly, other powers have intervened and we’re left with this rather soulless fluff piece.
Missed our Madame Tussauds Blackpool VLOG, hit the blue link and check it out!
Our Rating
Summary
You just know the tug of war between the PR department and the filmmakers was a tough one but sadly the PR department won as this year long shoot, hard work, graft and most likely stellar behind the scenes footage has been left to rot as this glorified press release made the final cut as we don’t really get behind the scenes, more bobbling along the surface as this entire documentary piece just melts away in relevance and entertainment value.
