Photo: Waterworld/City of Tea Tree Gully.
Chlorine cinema … Zootopia screens at the “dive-in” cinema at Waterworld Aquatic Centre in South Australia.
Back in the day, drive-in movies were a thing — watching a feature from your parked car, a box for the sound hooked inside, probably ordering food delivered to your window. There are not too many active drive-ins any more, but in Australia, “dive-ins” (you read that right) are a cherished tradition showing no signs of being mothballed.
Chris Baker writes at the Guardian, “Imagine you’re lying on an inflatable [raft], fingers and toes dangling in warm, rippling water. It’s almost dusk and the early evening calm is shattered by a piercing scream. Suddenly a great white shark appears, mouth agape with enormous, monstrous teeth. Nearby swimmers who were quietly chatting a moment ago are now flailing in terror.
“You’re at Aquamoves pool in Shepparton, central Victoria, watching Jaws while paddling in the pool at their dive-in movie night.
“Dive-ins are a time-honoured tradition in landlocked Australia, where residents can’t easily access what much of the nation takes for granted on a hot summer day: proximity to the coast or an air-conditioned cinema. …For a little more than the price of a regular swim, locals get to watch a movie on a screen next to the pool while they splash, bob or float. …
“Often, as in Shepparton, the film screened has some connection to the sea, water or swimming. Think Penguins of Madagascar, Finding Dory or Moana.
“My first experience of a dive-in was as an adult at Mount Druitt in western Sydney during the January school holidays. I had scheduled an evening catch-up with old friends in the area, and their kids had insisted we go to the local pool. As night fell, Lightyear, an origin myth of the Buzz Lightyear character from the Toy Story franchise, was projected on to a large screen. …
“The kids’ excitement, like mine, was apportioned between the pool and Lightyear, and we applauded wildly with pruny fingers as the credits rolled.
“Dive-ins harness many of the best things about Australian summers: balmy evenings, the relief of a refreshing dip, and the novelty (for children) of being able to stay up later than normal because it’s school holidays. …
“Many Australians who experienced dive-ins as kids carry nostalgic memories into adulthood. Thirty-something Angus Roth grew up in Canberra and was a regular at the Big Splash water park dive-ins in the early 90s. He continued the tradition by taking his two kids to wet screenings. He associates some of his favorite Pixar movies with ‘the smell of chlorine’ and says he ‘loved the free-range nature of the evenings where the usual rules of “sit down and be quiet” didn’t apply.’
“A hint of anarchy pervades the best dive-in experiences. The managers of Aquamoves pool in Shepparton recognized this and showed terrifying genius in programming Jaws to a floating audience in 2019. It was such a hit that swimmers plunged back into shark-infested cinematic waters a year later to see Blake Lively pursued by a great white in The Shallows.
“Bikash Randhawa, the chief operating officer at Village Roadshow Theme Parks, agrees the best dive-in evenings combine fun with a sense of occasion. At the Wet’n’Wild water park in Oxenford in Queensland’s Gold Coast, the park’s ‘giant wave pool transforms into a floating cinema featuring a 45 meter [~148 foot] squared screen.’ …
“Dive-ins are also a much-loved institution at Waterworld Aquatic Centre in Ridgehaven, South Australia. They host one screening in January and another in February, often with a theme. When Barbie screened, kids and grownups donned hot pink bathers and lurid accessories to channel their inner Barbie and Ken, while their ‘Splash for a cure’ dive-in for The Incredibles brought staff and patrons out in spandex and capes to raise funds for the Leukemia Foundation. …
“Dive-in sessions don’t always end when summer nights are over. The University of Newcastle’s Students Association holds a free winter dive-in July at the heated pool at its Callaghan campus as part of its midyear welcome back week. …
“Not to be outdone, Griffith University in Queensland presents its dive-in at the Mount Gravatt campus at the start of the academic year. A giant inflatable screen commands pride of place; popcorn, fairy floss and snow cones are on the house, and students are encouraged to come in costume. …. Psychology student Abbie Chen says “watching a Hunger Games movie in a floating inflatable doughnut was fun and pretty surreal, and the silliness of the evening brings people together”.
“For Jen Curtis, a farmer who lives in Victoria’s central highlands wine country, a movie at the local pool brings respite from the summer heat and is a welcome distraction from physical labor. But more importantly, she says: ‘It’s about connection, making our own fun, and looking after each other.’ ”
More at the Guardian, here. Np paywall. Fun pictures.
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