The cartoon versions of Shamu the Killer Whale and his crew used to have a big show at Sea World in Orlando, Florida. "Undersea Fantasy" was performed in the Fantasy Theatre, utilizing animation, puppetry and live actors.
The musical show featured three of Shamu's established friends: Arthur C. Turtle, O.P. Otter and Sir Winston Walrus. They were costumed actors with moving mouths. I'm not sure how they pulled this off, but it was nicely done. The set was a giant coral reef (the reef itself had blinking eyes) filled with animated sea life, including eels and polyps. I'm not sure if these were puppets, animatronics, or a mix of both. There was a huge video screen behind the actors that displayed movie and animated sequences.
This was geared toward young children, and I do remember some older audience members getting up and leaving during the show. Unlike most of Sea World's shows, this one was indoors and had air conditioning. Being in Orlando, it seems like this had the potential to be one of the most popular attractions at Sea World. I'm not sure when this closed.
The "Undersea Fantasy" photos and this park map, featuring the animated Shamu and his friends, are from my visit to Sea World in 1987. My, how the park has changed!
UPDATE 1/10/25:
Arthur C. Turtle and O.P. Otter entered back into the spotlight as show characters at Sea World San Diego in 2024 when Sesame Street Bay of Play was transformed into a new area called SeaWorld Rescue Jr.
In 2025, SeaWorld San Antonio will also open a SeaWorld Rescue Jr. section that replaces Sesame Street Bay of Play. It seems likely that Arthur and O.P. will also meet up with visitors at the Texas park.
This will make SeaWorld Orlando both the last SeaWorld to get a Sesame Street area (Florida finally got a Sesame Street in 2019), and the last SeaWorld to have a Sesame Street area. Sesame Street can also still be found at Busch Gardens in Florida, Busch Gardens in Virginia, Sesame Place in Pennsylvania, and Sesame Place in California.
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