Captain Fantastic (Full title: Capt. Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy) is an arcade pinball machine designed by Greg Kmiec and produced by Bally in 1976. A semi-sequel to Bally's earlier Wizard!!, it's named after the chart-topping pop album by Elton John, and features John dressed as the Local Lad from the rock opera movie Tommy. The game's eye-catching artwork, approachable gameplay, and Elton John's popularity made it one of the most produced electromechanical pinball machines ever. Enthusiasts consider it one of the iconic pinballs of the '70s.
In a blatant appeal to Fanservice, the table is festooned with large-busted women all over its backglass and playfield art. Unbeknownst to Bally management, artist Dave Christensen also included several risque bits in the backglass, including a guy flipping off the viewer and a woman enthusiastically grabbing the groin of a man behind her. Bally responded by adding small mirrored stars over the objectionable parts, though they didn't completely obscure the art.
A home version of this pinball was produced, with an entirely different layout, family-friendly art, and shorter legs (to better accommodate children).
Captain Fantastic provides examples of:
- Big-Breast Pride: All the women are shown proudly flaunting themselves before the crowd.
- Bowdlerise: The artwork for the home version is considerably tamer than the original.
- Cap: Early versions of this pinball only had five digit reels to display players' scores; when a player rolled over the score, the message "Over the Top" would light up on the backglass. Later versions have a "100,000" light for each player that remains lit after rolling over the score.
- Celebrity Star: World-famous musician Elton John is the star of the game.
- Character Name and the Noun Phrase: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
- Cool Shades: Elton John is wearing his iconic goggles throughout the game.
- Creator Cameo:
- Tom Nieman, VP of Marketing for Bally Pinball, is depicted in the backglass as the man in the three-piece suit.
- Bally pinball artist Paul Faris is the bearded man wearing the "Brutus" T-shirt.
- Double Entendre: One of the triangle bumpers has a woman with large breasts holding a sign that reads "Feel Them Bumpers".
- Fanservice: It's impossible to find a woman on this pinball who doesn't have large breasts, nipples prominently pressed against her shirt, or both.
- Flipping the Bird: A red-haired man on the backglass is shown flipping off the player.note
- Form-Fitting Wardrobe: All the women's clothing is tight enough to emphasize their lack of bras.
- In Name Only: The home version
◊ has almost nothing in common with the arcade original.◊ - Incendiary Exponent: The pinball machine Elton John is playing on the backglass happens to be on fire... but he's too awesome to care.
- Titled After the Song: In a minor variation, the game was named after Elton John's 1975 album instead of a single song.
- Vapor Wear: None of the women appear to be wearing bras of any sort, as they have nipples visibly pressing against their clothes.
- Visual Pun: One of the triangle bumpers has a woman with large breasts holding a sign that reads "Feel Them Bumpers".
- Waving Signs Around: The backglass depicts a packed audience all waving signs praising Elton John's pinball playing skills.
- World of Buxom: Every single woman in the table's artwork has a hefty chest.
