Polyester (film) - Odorama

Odorama

Odors, especially Francine's particularly keen sense of smell, play an important role in the film. To highlight this, Waters designed Odorama, a "scratch-and-sniff" gimmick inspired by the work of William Castle and the 1960 film Scent of Mystery, which featured a device called Smell-O-Vision. Special cards with spots numbered 1 through 10 were distributed to audience members before the show, in the manner of 3D glasses. When a number flashed on the screen, viewers were to scratch and sniff the appropriate spot. Smells included the scent of flowers, pizza, glue, gas, grass, and feces. For the first DVD release of the film the smell of glue was changed due to, as Waters states, "political correctness". The gimmick was advertised with the tag "It'll blow your nose!"

After being prompted to scratch and sniff the bouquet of flowers, a quick swap was made substituting old ratty sneakers, resulting in a joke on the audience.

The ten smells were, 1. Roses, 2. Flatulence, 3. Model Airplane Glue, 4. Pizza, 5. Gasoline, 6. Skunk, 7. Natural Gas, 8. New Car Smell, 9. Dirty Shoes, and 10. Air Freshener.

A video release omits the numbers flashing onscreen as well as the opening introduction explaining Odorama. This version, created by Lorimar-Telepictures, was shown on cable TV in the United States.

In 1999 the Independent Film Channel released reproduction Odorama cards for John Waters film festivals.

In the commentary track on the film's 2004 DVD release, Waters expressed his delight at having the film's audiences actually "pay to smell shit".

Producers of Rugrats Go Wild (Paramount) used the Odorama name and logo in 2000, somewhat upsetting Waters when he learned that New Line Cinema had let the copyright lapse.

The 2011 film Spy Kids: All the Time in the World uses a scratch & sniff card now called "Aromascope", which is advertised as providing the 4th dimension in its "4D" format.

The film was rescreened by Midnight Movies at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2011. The Odorama cards were recreated by The Aroma Company to allow viewers to interact with the film as originally intended.