Goo Goo Dolls Starring in First-Ever AR Christmas Movie Musical

This holiday season is full of surprises.

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Buffalo's Goo Goo Dolls are starring in what's called the first-even augmented-reality movie musical. It comes out this weekend, and as you might expect -- it's Christmas themed.

WNYPapers.com describes the movie like this:

"[The] Goo Goo Dolls travel through past, present and future searching for the lost “Spirit of Christmas”; from wintery city street scenes, subways and taxis, to a 1940s speakeasy and the classic set of “The Ed Sullivan Show” (and beyond). As the band travels between settings, fans will follow along for an intimate and festive musical experience, unlike anything they’ve ever seen.

Throughout, they treat fans to classic holiday standards as well as their new holiday music, and discover that, although people are separated by current events, they remain unified by the true nature of the holiday."

So what is augmented reality? It's the same kind of technology that makes it look like you're dancing with a hotdog on Snapchat, or trying out the "see it in my room" feature on Amazon.

This is the second time the band is working with FanTracks, the company producing the movie, and the use of AR definitely solves a lot of social distancing issues.

Director Barry Summers describes the AR like this:

“We built all these scenes from the live footage we captured of the Goo Goo Dolls along with special guest performers in October, and then using augmented reality, layered in the environments, animation and more to create something really special that the world has not seen before.
The band’s performance is outstanding, and ‘It’s Christmas All Over’ is sure to become an instant holiday classic.”

Also part of the movie, the Goo Goo Dolls urge fans to "Give A Little Bit." They are auctioning off two autographed guitars and a virtual VIP experience to to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.