DAK “Zootopia” is being created for the Tree of Life theater

[WorldExplorer]

If Lion King left in some kind of full park theming cleanse I wouldn't really shed a tear...

I forget it's there, actually.

 

[Purduevian]

Zootopia is 100% about animals. It's in the name, "Zoo".

My favorite animal movie has got to be Zoolander!

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

The Lion King has animals that can talk but walk and live like real animals, which is different from humanoid animals that walk and live like humans.

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, for example, wouldn't fit in DAK anymore than the Zootopia attraction does. "But they're technically animals!" is the only, and I mean only relation Zootopia has to DAK. (MMRR doesn't really fit on Hollywood Blvd either, but I digress).

And yes, to re-iterate, walkaround / meet & greet "Fab 5 and crew" characters, Mickey and the gang, etc, act as ambassadors for WDW and are not "canon" to the park or themed lands they might appear in. Like, if Mickey appears in Harambe, he isn't canonically a Harambe resident. He's visiting like we are.

I know some are going to try and paint this as being pedantic but it isn't. Little differences like this are part of the unique identity and purpose which each park is supposed to have. The parks were originally good because previously you had people at the helm who did think about this stuff and considered it when making their decisions. The more they ignore little things like this, the more the four parks lose their purpose and identity and become just four random assortments of Disney+ tie-ins.

Lion King quite literally has two characters that “dress in drag and do the hula” which is explicitly mentioned in the AK show as well.

It’s also quite literally hamlet but with lions. A very human story. Lions don’t have social hierarchy’s either that prioritizes a male lion? There is no “Lion king”. There is certainly no “respecting the most powerful lion as a pride as ALL animals”

The animals in lion king live much closer to humans with a society. There is no trusted “monkey shaman”, no bird servants, no nothing. They are quite literally just humans in an animals SETTING that occasionally but rarely eat other animals as we never see this on screen.

Ironically this SETTING was never brought over

The Lion King has animals that can talk but walk and live like real animals, which is different from humanoid animals that walk and live like humans.

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, for example, wouldn't fit in DAK anymore than the Zootopia attraction does. "But they're technically animals!" is the only, and I mean only relation Zootopia has to DAK. (MMRR doesn't really fit on Hollywood Blvd either, but I digress).

And yes, to re-iterate, walkaround / meet & greet "Fab 5 and crew" characters, Mickey and the gang, etc, act as ambassadors for WDW and are not "canon" to the park or themed lands they might appear in. Like, if Mickey appears in Harambe, he isn't canonically a Harambe resident. He's visiting like we are.

I know some are going to try and paint this as being pedantic but it isn't. Little differences like this are part of the unique identity and purpose which each park is supposed to have. The parks were originally good because previously you had people at the helm who did think about this stuff and considered it when making their decisions. The more they ignore little things like this, the more the four parks lose their purpose and identity and become just four random assortments of Disney+ tie-ins.

Lion King quite literally has two characters that “dress in drag and do the hula” which is explicitly mentioned in the AK show as well.

It’s also quite literally hamlet but with lions. A very human story. Lions don’t have social hierarchy’s either that prioritizes a male lion? There is no “Lion king”. There is certainly no “respecting the most powerful lion as a pride as ALL animals”

The animals in lion king live much closer to humans with a society. There is no trusted “monkey shaman”, no bird servants, no nothing. They are quite literally just humans in an animals SETTING that occasionally but rarely eat other animals as we never see this on screen.
Ironically this SETTING was never brought over

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

If Lion King left in some kind of full park theming cleanse I wouldn't really shed a tear...

I forget it's there, actually.

I would. Imo it’s a great show and one of Disneys best. I go to it everytime I’m in AK

 

[lazyboy97o]

My favorite animal movie has got to be Zoolander!

Ant literacy is the greatest concern among the world’s leading entomologists.

 

[DavidDL]

Hyperbole much??

Not one bit.

Outdoor queue downgrade? Check.

Lazy re-write of the Tree of Life's story and queue props? Check.

Lack of an explanation for why we're wearing or need "Carrot Vision" glasses? Check.

Most in-theatre effects either boarded up or removed entirely? Check.

Flash the Sloth is slow? No way! I mean; Check.

Polar Bear bodyguards in Tundatown? Check.

Nick and Judy are off on another investigation? Check.

Character advertisement/trailer for Zootopia 2 (In Theatres Novemeber 26th, kids!) that is literally spat all over the audience? Check.

Big donut in Little Rodentia with associated characters? Check.

Bellwether and co. attempting to undermine the peace again? Check.

Gazelle performance? Check.

"Naked", hippie animals? Check.

Learning absolutely nothing about the animal kingdom, the associated biomes or literally anything at all? Definitely check!

-and if you believe otherwise, then the nicest thing I can say is that I am happy that you are happy with much of the slop Disney continues to regurgitate up for ya. Enjoy!

 

[WondersOfLife]

 

[JohnD]

Can we clarify Disney animated animals that talk in AK? Animals in the wild, such as in Lion King, Finding Nemo, Jungle Book, It's Tough to be a Bug, etc.), are fine. Humans that ARE animals that live as humans are not (Zootopia, Robin Hood). I hope I have cleared things up.

 

[DavidDL]

Can we clarify Disney animated animals that talk in AK? Animals in the wild, such as in Lion King, Finding Nemo, Jungle Book, It's Tough to be a Bug, etc.), are fine. Humans that ARE animals that live as humans are not (Zootopia, Robin Hood). I hope I have cleared things up.

The characters in Zootopia are just animals to make the story accessible to families/children. The struggles they face, the story being told, all of that is very much a "human" story with animals just tossed on top of it to make it "fun".

It's exactly why Joe Rhode feels it doesn't belong in Animal Kingdom. Could they have made Zootopia work in a way that honors the identity or "mission statement" of the park? Absolutely! Did they? Absolutely not! The same thing happened to our Tower of Terror out here in California just before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hit theatres.

Which reminds me: go watch Zootopia 2! In theatres soon!

 

[JohnD]

Well, yes. There were pitchforks at the announcement of Pandora and how it doesn't fit, but they both made it fit enough AND made a good land, a great attraction, and an okay attraction out of it.

Here, they not only didn't make any earnest attempt to make it fit with the park, but they also made the execution of the attraction borderline brainrot slop. At the end of the day I would still definitely prefer attractions that don't really fit but are good over attractions that don't really fit but also suck.

Pandora is about an ecosystem on another planet in Earth's near-future. So the themes still resonate.

 

[JohnD]

The characters in Zootopia are just animals to make the story accessible to families/children. The struggles they face, the story being told, all of that is very much a "human" story with animals just tossed on top of it to make it "fun".

It's exactly why Joe Rhode feels it doesn't belong in Animal Kingdom. Could they have made Zootopia work in a way that honors the identity or "mission statement" of the park? Absolutely! Did they? Absolutely not! The same thing happened to our Tower of Terror out here in California just before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hit theatres.

Which reminds me: go watch Zootopia 2! In theatres soon!

I like the IP. My problem is with it in AK. It doesn't fit. They live as humans. It no more fits than Robin Hood. Just because Robin Hood is a fox doesn't mean he belongs in AK.

 

[DavidDL]

I like the IP. My problem is with it in AK. It doesn't fit. They live as humans. It no more fits than Robin Hood. Just because Robin Hood is a fox doesn't mean he belongs in AK.

I agree. Though I do believe they could have made the IP work, if they had just used the characters from it to do something unique to Animal Kingdom that celebrates the park's themes (Ya know, like a certain bug show that used to be around). It would have been a win for everyone.

Instead, we got the laziest thing imaginable.

 

[JohnD]

I agree. Though I do believe they could have made the IP work, if they had just used the characters from it to do something unique to Animal Kingdom that celebrates the park's themes (Ya know, like a certain bug show that used to be around). It would have been a win for everyone.

Instead, we got the laziest thing imaginable.

I agree there. And am also glad they didn't give in to create a Zootopia land. You want to have to walk underneath the Tree of Life to see this show. Like Tiana, it may be a one and done for me.

 

[DavidDL]

... Like Tiana, it may be a one and done for me.

Thanks to the magic of the internet, it'll be a "never" for me. I am very glad I saw this in advance online instead of wasting even a minute of my time on it during a future park visit. It would have actually ruined my park day.

 

[flynnibus]

Pandora is about an ecosystem on another planet in Earth's near-future. So the themes still resonate.

Pandora is a sci-fi story made up to expand upon an existing parable story.

I think they spent so much effort on money on the landscapes that most people think it 'fits' because it's so nature oriented in what they built.. vs actually considering the actual eco-system narrative in the avatar universe.

 

[DonniePeverley]

Once again ....utterly ridiculous. Just take the Zootopia land from Disney Shanghai, all the plans, testing, imagineering has all be done. Replicate it that in Orlando.

The savings costs would be astronomical compared to the income.

But nah, let's be ridiculous.

 

[JohnD]

Once again ....utterly ridiculous. Just take the Zootopia land from Disney Shanghai, all the plans, testing, imagineering has all be done. Replicate it that in Orlando.

The savings costs would be astronomical compared to the income.

But nah, let's be ridiculous.

Put it in HS or MK, not AK. Not against the IP. Just it being in AK. I can live with a 3D movie underneath the Tree of Life that you have to make an effort to get to.

 

[Biff215]

Creating a quality attraction that guests enjoy is what’s most important. Putting aside hardcore fans like us, no one else will care otherwise.

Case in point: Pandora and Cosmic Rewind. Neither really fit but the attractions are good so most don’t care.

Only time will tell but Zootopia could fail miserably here…and it didn’t need to.

 

[mattpeto]

Well, yes. There were pitchforks at the announcement of Pandora and how it doesn't fit, but they both made it fit enough AND made a good land, a great attraction, and an okay attraction out of it.

Here, they not only didn't make any earnest attempt to make it fit with the park, but they also made the execution of the attraction borderline brainrot slop. At the end of the day I would still definitely prefer attractions that don't really fit but are good over attractions that don't really fit but also suck.

I agree with this. I also think it's relevant to compare what it replaced, which was space heavily underutlized.

See this is what I have been trying to say.

I think Zootopia absolutely could work, but for some reason whoever decided on story did not honour the parks thesis. That’s my problem.

But they could change out the story in a few years and fix it.

I didn't see the show yet, but it sounds like they missed the mark.

Per WDE guidelines from when AK opened, Mickey and friends:

1. Live at the Magic Kingdom
2. Vacation at Epcot Center
3. Work at Disney-MGM Studios
4. Explore Animal Kingdom

It's great guidelines for 1998, but doesn't mean it can't evolve either. (and heck, the 1998 guidelines sound cool)

My favorite animal movie has got to be Zoolander!

Can we clarify Disney animated animals that talk in AK? Animals in the wild, such as in Lion King, Finding Nemo, Jungle Book, It's Tough to be a Bug, etc.), are fine. Humans that ARE animals that live as humans are not (Zootopia, Robin Hood). I hope I have cleared things up.

Again I don't disagree, but it's too nitpicky to me. It's still a movie all about animals. The park is still called Animal Kingdom. A clever connection to Animal Kingdom could have been established. Obviously Zootopia: Hot Pursuit, would have blasphemous at Animal Kingdom, so I hope they better integrate Encanto and Indiana Jones Maya Temple Escape.

Pandora is a sci-fi story made up to expand upon an existing parable story.

I think they spent so much effort on money on the landscapes that most people think it 'fits' because it's so nature oriented in what they built.. vs actually considering the actual eco-system narrative in the avatar universe.

They made it fit. Looks like they missed the mark with Zootopia.

 

[flynnibus]

They made it fit.

It fits like zootopia fitting because the cast is made up of animals...

Looks only