Michelangelo's David is there on a glowing orange orb, as is the Mona Lisa taking a selfie. Albert Einstein peers out into the dark, while James Dean smirks and the Avengers stand ready to do battle.
The figures are carved into real pumpkins that are artfully arranged by the thousands — hanging from trees, on the ground and up on pedestals — along a quarter-mile trail at the Minnesota Zoo.
The gourds will be glimmering, lit from within by LED lights, every night through Halloween as part of the zoo's new Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular.
As the more than 5,000 carved pumpkins begin to mold or end up as squirrel food, event organizers will pull them from the path, toss them in the compost and replace them with new ones. They expect to go through more than 20,000 before the month's end.
During a preview night Wednesday, visitors gasped at carvings. Parents pointed and identified figures for their kids. The program's theme is "A Walk in Time," and it's part history lesson, part art exhibit and part spooky light show. The giant carved pumpkins show different figures throughout time, from the age of the dinosaurs to present-day pop culture, with music to match.
"Omigod, is that beautiful," said one visitor, checking out a rendition of the Titanic on the side of a pumpkin.
Kids' voices rose the loudest in front of pumpkins decorated with dinosaurs, with shouts of "This is awesome!"
This is the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular's first appearance in Minnesota.