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EPCOT Figment, well, to be replaced by Figment
- Thread starter Walrus from Paris
- Start date
FigmentsBrightIdeas
Well-Known Member
To be fair on @Zak and Wheezie ’s part, Noel MacNeal, Bear’s performer, has drawn pictures on his page and has stated his favorite Disney ride as the original 83-98 era Journey Into Imagination ride before. So there’s that.
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Zak and Wheezie
Active Member
wait WHAT
I knew about Josh Gad, but not MacNeal!
This was more of a joke but I need to make a specific thread for really goofy stuff like that.
Disgruntled Walt
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
HEY I just realized, Zooboomafoo couldn't have ridden the original JII. That's a real shame.
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
Brer Panther
Well-Known Member
What about Treelo? He could've rode it too.
Zoboo probably would be more happy at Animal Kingdom anyway.
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
I guess I'll wait till the oddness settles..
Zak and Wheezie
Active Member
They need to make a Figment cartoon. Maybe then he'll get more exposure, if it's good at least.
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
Zak and Wheezie
Active Member
Those were just shorts. I mean a fully fledged out TV show.
FigmentsBrightIdeas
Well-Known Member
While I completely agree, I’d hope it’s done after the ride comes back to its former glory or around the same time it does. The whole point should be to demonstrate that ride originated concepts are Infact successful as-is and can lead to expansion to other mediums and such, after the fact. Also, I’d hope it’s not your typical Disney Jr. preschool show w no depth, nuance, or real sincerity in the personalities, writing or direction (looking at you Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
*sigh*), but rather something that’s aimed at ‘all’ ages.. something along the lines of the Disney Afternoon shows & New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Where it’s whimsical, they explore realms of creativity and it’s fun & abstract, there’s some adventure, mystery, etc. and through Dreamfinder and maybe some of the friends and folks they meet on their journeys, Figment learns new things that relate to whatever subject it is they’re exploring in each realm (Art, Literature, Theatre, Science, Technology, Film, etc.) aswell as basic morality and such lessons, kinda like (again) New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers did. Either go back to traditional animation entirely for the show, explore w a Paperman-esque style (a fine mix of Traditional 2D & CG animation) for it.. ‘or’ perhaps do the style used for the Legend of the Three Caballeros show and it’d look/be good.
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I'd want a slightly more zany interpretation but one with heart similar in tone to "Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends". So naturally I'd want Craig Mccracken to head it up.While I completely agree, I’d hope it’s done after the ride comes back to its former glory or around the same time it does. Also, I’d hope it’s not your typical Disney Jr. preschool show w no depth or real sincerity in the writing or direction (looking at you Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
FigmentsBrightIdeas
Well-Known Member
Yeeah, these were specifically made for use in elementary schools and I know from experience of talking w Tony (Baxter) a couple times.. he’s no fan of these shorts. Can’t say I blame him either. Very low production values, extremely low budget animation, the acting from the kids is super corny/over-acted, not to mention, a weird focus on imagining through what you “see, taste, touch, smell, etc.” and it’s like.. really?? That’s not the creative process shown in the original ride. Not to mention, the Oxford dictionary states it’s a process that happens outside the senses. The senses are the audio-visual stimuli portion of gathering input from around you which forms the ideas, which was already demonstrated perfectly (IMO) through Dreamfinder’s dreamcatching machine in the original ride, where he collects ideas from anywhere and then combines them to create new things.. which then he demonstrates by forming Figment in front of us as an example of the end result of creativity. Basically, the whole 5 senses focus isn’t the creativity part, which was the whole heart of that attraction . Why weirdly boil it down to that and frame the imagining & creating part to your 5 senses rather than the wider/bigger picture approach of coming up with ideas, then combining those ideas in a unique way in your mind to come up with something new?… on top of it, Figment was originally not meant to be in a teaching role, that always belonged to Dreamfinder while Figment was learning along with us (the audiences/guests). Anyway, criticism of those educational films aside, I always love hearing Billy Barty’s performance as Figment, no matter what it was for, he always did a fabulous job.. but yeah..
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FigmentsBrightIdeas
Well-Known Member
Respectfully, I disagree.. while Figment could be very expressive & sometimes exaggerated in the way he’s animated depending on the situation he’s put in and what the purpose of the scene is.. he generally wasn’t much of a “zany” character, in the sense of like Looney Tunes per say, He’s more like the Winnie the Pooh characters is that they’re very charming, innocent, and sincere, they can be put in really funny situations, but those characters aren’t “zany” in personality. Another example to use is “Wart”/Arthur in Sword in the Stone. Figment’s more of that type of character in the original ride. As most of us know (I’d certainly hope so atleast). The goal should be to portray him as he was (a traditional, classic Disney character). To capture that classic Disney feel present in the OG ride, not detour from that. Figment as he’s portrayed in the 02-current ride is out of character. He’s been changed from an enthusiastic, curious observer (one who wants to interact & learn about everything around him to discover his creative abilities, all guided & encouraged by Dreamfinder) to being a mischief maker/“interference” in a Honey I Shrunk-themed institute testing our 5 senses while constantly being scolded by Dr. Channing who clearly has little to no concept of what creativity is. Again, practically has nothing to do w the original ride or anything presented in it. Best comparison I can make is if they changed It’s a Small World to an Up themed ride.. where, they did that because in their mind “See, Carl & Ellie traveled around the world together, so it fits the theme.” and it’s like.. no, you’ve missed the point of the orignal theme”.. people complain, “hey, bring back the children around the world/it’s a small world”. And what do they do? Instead of restoring it back, they just shoehorn the Small World children into it, now characterized as characters that cause trouble & mischief along the journey until the very end that mimics the original finale for a few seconds, to poke fun at the fan complaints against the IP retheme, and they’re like.. “see, we fixed it! It’s what the fans wanted”… yeeeah, right. And what do you think, newcomers who’ve never experienced the original It’s a Small World are going to think of the experience after experiencing that? Yeah, certainly not the same impression you’d get after experiencing the original in comparison. They’re just baffled/confused.. and fans of the original are upset/annoyed cause they got rid of something that never needed to be taken out or changed that drastically.. and yeah, that’s basically Figment and the Journey Into Imagination pavilion’s situation atm…
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Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
Can't imagine how he would have been if that Dreamfinders series that was to be on Disney Channel happened..
FigmentsBrightIdeas
Well-Known Member
Well, I can tell you from seeing production video footage of this series and reading the script, Tony I think would’ve really enjoyed it, aswell as the rest of the audience. The characters are true to form and it’s far superior to most of the kids shows made now. Seemed it was going to be executed similarly to something along the lines of Fraggle Rock w elements of Captain Kangaroo in it, Very high production values and good writing/direction and acting, and the kids in the show being written w genuine sincerity, nuance & depth like (as mentioned) Our Gang/The Little Rascals (which as a side note, inspired the Peanuts characters.)Can't imagine how he would have been if that Dreamfinders series that was to be on Disney Channel happened..
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FigmentsBrightIdeas
Well-Known Member
From the Disney Channel launch special:
Script/Screenplay of the pilot episode “Just in Time”: https://archive.org/details/DREAMFINDER
Script/Screenplay of the pilot episode “Just in Time”: https://archive.org/details/DREAMFINDER
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FigmentsBrightIdeas
Well-Known Member
But.. for whatever strange reason.. despite a show like Welcome to Pooh Corner being made. Supposedly it was dropped either during production or after a pilot episode was filmed, as Eisner deemed it “too complex” technically… such a shame.
Brer Panther
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't call Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends "zany but with heart". That show was incredibly mean-spirited and kind of cynical. I think a better example of a show that's "zany but with heart" would be Wander Over Yonder.