Blair family protests small world changes

From reimagineering..

http://imagineerebirth.blogspot.com/

Dear Disney Executives,

It has recently been brought to my attention that the Walt Disney Company including WDI has proposed changes to the “It’s a Small World Ride” at the Disneyland Park in Anaheim. As I understand the changes include the addition of the Disney Characters (Mickey, Minnie, Lilo & Stitch, etc.) to the ride in select areas, and the replacement of the “Rainforest” section with Mickey Mouse in a tribute entitled “Up with America”. I also understand that the boats and trough they ride in will be expanded for the safety and comfort of the parks modern day guests.

While I fully understand and support the upgrade to the boats as a necessary safety upgrade, the addition of the Disney Characters and the “Up with America” section I do NOT support as it represents a gross desecration of the ride's original theme and my Mother’s stylized artwork.

The Disney characters of themselves are positive company icons, but they do NOT fit in with the original theme of the ride. They will do nothing except to marginalize the rightful stars of the ride “The Children of the World”. This marginalization will do nothing but infuriate the ride’s international guests and devoted Disney fans.

My Mother and I have always had a strong sense of patriotism for America and I DO support a tribute to America. Disneyland has several venues, which are perfect places for this tribute including “Main Street USA” or “New Orleans Square”; unfortunately the “It’s a Small World” ride is NOT one of them. Once again this will marginalize the children of the world theme and bastardize my Mother’s original art. Furthermore ripping out a rainforest (Imaginary or otherwise) and replacing it with misplaced patriotism is a public relations blunder so big you could run a Monorail through it.

As a former WED employee I am saddened to realize the degradation of the company’s talent and focus and the subsequent decline at the Disneyland Park itself. I cannot believe someone from WDI was paid to come up with such an idiotic plan as this.

As the head of the Blair family I cannot urge you strongly enough to abandon this idiotic plan and instead upgrade the boats and return the ride to it’s original classic form, design and colors. The desecration of Mary’s art is an insult to Mary Blair, her art, and her memory, and to the entire Blair Family itself.

Sincerely,

Kevin L. Blair
Representing;
Kevin Blair, Donovan Blair, Jeanne Chamberlain,
Maggie Richardson, Kevin Allison

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While his wording may be blunt, I certainly sympathize and hope that WDI does abandon this idea.

He makes an excellent point. For them to do such things to IASW is alot like what WDW did with "Under New Management," except it's 1,000 times worse when you consider just how iconic IASW is.

I hope this letter turns enough heads to make them realize what a mistake they are making.

I really don't care.

Disney is the owner of the ride and can [and will] update/amend/adjust it as they see fit. The artist whose artwork was used or their family have no say.

The Blair family has every right to protest the change and Disney has every right to say "STFU, Blair family. We'll do what we want."

Personally, I think adding a "Rah, rah, USA rulez!" section to small world is a horrible idea, but I'm certainly not losing any sleep over it.

MontyMon said:

Disney is the owner of the ride and can [and will] update/amend/adjust it as they see fit. The artist whose artwork was used or their family have no say.

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While this is true, and his wording is a bit harsh, he still makes excellent points :shrug: That doesn't mean they have to listen to him though.
Adding a USA section to the ride would be fine, "Up With America" is just a bit silly, and really, ripping out the rainforest to put in America really is dumb. Just... horrible.

It'll be interesting to see what an "American" side looks like. I look around my office and I see many different cultures and we're all American!

They'll probably make the American dolls the same skin tone and look that Disney uses in all of its Parks advertisements for the past 10 years.

You know the types; brunette, sort of "tan" but not really Hispanic, slim and fit, brown eyes, can't pin down a specific race or ethnicity but just slightly ethnic enough so you know their surname isn't "Swenson" or "McPhee".

Other than the multi-ethnic-inoffensive-panracial dolls that are likely under construction in a Glendale warehouse about now, I'm not sure there's much this letter will accomplish. Not that I don't agree with some of its points, but this person is no longer on the payroll. And even if Mary Blair was still alive and on the Disney payroll, the legal agreement that she worked under to provide artwork and design to Disney meant Disney could do whatever they wanted with it.

Disney could rip out the flume and turn the Small World ride into a giant Disney Vacation Club Sales Center if they wanted to. They could use the original 1964 dolls as paperweights to hold down the DVC sales contracts while the Rainforest Scene was used as a break room for the sales agents, and Disney would still be well within their legal rights to use their property how they see fit.

Doesn't make it right, or nice. But there's nothing anyone can do if Disney wants to do something legal with their own property.

LadyDarling said:

It'll be interesting to see what an "American" side looks like. I look around my office and I see many different cultures and we're all American!

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I'd laugh really hard if the "American" side contains a Wal Mart and a Starbucks. That would make a trip to DL worth the price of admission. :ROFLOL:

A look at some of the dolls from the HKDL version of the ride.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZHZDcgCao8

They look to me as if they will blend very nicely in with whats in IASW right now more so then the kids on the Peace on Earth sign does during IASWH.

It will also be interesting to see if this really does happen we only have one souce so far saying that there being added, the HKDL Ambassador says that HKDL will be the only one to have them. I wonder when the commerical was made though.

ummm also Stitch is a bit to big....?

I don't think they would make such a radical sounding change to a classic ride unless they were confident that the results will be positive. Plus, DL always seems to do a nice job with these sort of updates, unlike WDW, who has a bad habit of screwing things up when they modernize them (ie Enchanted Tiki Room "Under New Management" and Journey into Imagination with Figment).

It will probably just take people 5 to 10 years to get used to the changes, at which time they will stop remembering the way things used to be and just embrace the present. I'm still surprised that there was hardly any uproar over the recent changes to POTC. I was expecting the "traditionalists" to be up in arms over it.

Sounds like a few posters around here wrote that letter... :lookaroun

It's made up of statements of opinion as fact, irrational logic and faulty conclusions. Oh, *I* wouldn't be infuriated to see IASW updated.