Splash Mountain re-theme announced

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thomas998

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lebeau said:
Do you think so? Do you think Disney's going to make a lot of money off of the messaging?

It's possible Tiana toys will sell more than Br'er Rabbit dolls, but I don't see "virtue" as a big profit-generator.
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Tiana toys didn't sell that well when the movie was new, I distinctly remember the local Walmart had tons of the Princess and the Frog stuff on the clearance isles, I doubt a ride is going to do much to move more merchandise.
 
lebeau

lebeau

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Dutch Inn '76 said:
Correct. What's wrong with that?

Eddie Van Halen took baroque etudes and played them on guitar. EVH cashed that check.

William Faulkner did practically the same thing as Joel C. Harris, but Faulkner is celebrated. His black characters, like Dilsey in The Sound and the Fury, are not unlike Uncle Remus: the conscience of the story. Uncle Remus and Dilsey are the only truly "whole" people in either world. They are good, while everyone else is flawed - especially the whites (in Faulkner).
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Nothing is wrong with that. I was responding to a few people bemoaning the idea that Splash Mountain was based on African American folklore which will no longer be represented. That's not exactly accurate. The folklore was appropriated by a white author who added the controversial storyteller character of Uncle Remus. Then the books were adapted by another white guy, Walt Disney, who sought out the advice of the NAACP before releasing his movie and chose to ignore it when he didn't like what they said.

So nuance.
 
Father Robinson

Father Robinson

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_caleb said:
Why is Disney spending so much money to change the theme of a beloved ride solely in response to a twenty thousand signature petition?
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I've said it before, I'll say it again, bad press. If you think the timing and circumstances of this aren't the most coincidental things, perhaps ever in the history of the parks, then there's no use debating it further.
 
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orlandogal22

Well-Known Member
_caleb said:
a. Just because you didn't know doesn't mean it isn't true or that it wasn't hurtful to other guests. Now that you know, you've got to decide whether you care.

b. The parks "evolve" in response to consumer demand. They aren't supposed to present a realistic "snapshot" of an era, but an idealized version of a time/place. It's the "ideal" that changes in society, and Disney's model is to try to change with it in oder to stay relevant. (They're not always successful in this, of course!)

c. The issues being solved are Disney's standing with its audience (and emerging audiences). Changing Splash Mountain is a very good solution to this problem because it further distances the company from Song of the South and also gives attention to a film that is popular with a good portion of the audience that was offended by the old theme's association to the film.
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Counterpoint again -

a. But couldn't we say that about virtually anything? Couldn't virtually anything be hurtful to the "right" person? Are we all to live in a bubble world?

b. I believe we're splitting hairs here with semantics - snapshot versus idealized version. However, you cannot change / evolve Frontierland without completely doing away with Frontierland itself. Frontierland, itself, is designed to be stuck in time.

c. I'd wager to say your average American and average domestic / international theme park goer never was offended by the film because they never saw the film, nor even realized it was connected to SM.
 
Parker in NYC

Parker in NYC

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thomas998 said:
Tiana toys didn't sell that well when the movie was new, I distinctly remember the local Walmart had tons of the Princess and the Frog stuff on the clearance isles, I doubt a ride is going to do much to move more merchandise.
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wdccduckman.blogspot.com

Disney's The Princess and the Frog Merchandise in High Demand Weeks before Film's Debut!

GLENDALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Weeks before the theatrical release of Disney’s upcoming animated feature The Princess and the Frog , th...
wdccduckman.blogspot.com wdccduckman.blogspot.com
 
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thomas998

Well-Known Member
Kate F said:
Can we all just agree that the good things about Splash Mountain far outweigh the bad?
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No, No, No, No, No... didn't you get the last woke memo? The new woke mandate is throw out the baby with the bathwater. There will simply be no redeeming part of anything that has anything that might even hint at being negative. If the person that finds the cure to the corona virus happened to have a relative 3 generations ago and twice removed that had a slave, then the world must never use that cure because it might be seen as condoning slavery.
 
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Kate F

Kate F

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thomas998 said:
No, No, No, No, No... didn't you get the last woke memo? The new woke mandate is throw out the baby with the bathwater. There will simply be not redeeming part of anything that has anything that might even hint at being negative. If the person that finds the cure to the corona virus happened to have a relative 3 generations ago and twice removed that had a slave or then the world must never use that cure because it might be seen as condoning slavery.
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This would be funny if it weren’t actually happening.
 
lebeau

lebeau

Well-Known Member
orlandogal22 said:
But I would argue we're not - in 2020 - building rides out of "them" in a present-day sense. The ride was originally conceived by Baxter in the very early 80s and wasn't opened until '89. 30-40 years ago in totality.

Again, I would argue that the average parkgoer - I include international here as well - is unaware of the origin of the source material, nor would they ever care (for better or for worse) of the origin of the source material as they progress throughout their life, nor would they immediately disassociate themselves with riding the ride as based on a movie from the 1940s as the ride's source material.

Furthermore, as I referenced, removing it will not solve, nor heal anything. Anti-SM / SotS folks will just move on to their next target. That's the reality of this situation, whether or not it's deemed wholly appropriate or laudatory to remove or not.
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I'd wager more people are familiar with the troubled history of the source material than you realize.

I was talking with a reader on my blog last year about Disney and Song of the South. The reader indicated that all traces of the movie were obliterated by Disney in the eighties aside from bootleg stuff. He was shocked to discover that there was a theme park attraction based on the movie in several locations worldwide and Song of the South merchandise available for purchase on the Disney Store website.
 
Father Robinson

Father Robinson

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RoysCabin said:
Not quite sure what you're saying; the Declaration of Independence was a non-governing document and more of a statement of what was already apparent: that the war was not going to result in reconciliation between the two sides, and American victory would mean separation. Jefferson's prose in it is iconic in its usage of John Locke's natural rights principles and applying them to the current circumstances in 1776, but the dye was already cast, and the effort and work on the Declaration was the work of the entire Continental Congress and the specific committee (Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Sherman, Livingston), not just Jefferson himself.

EDIT: And to parrot what some others are saying, I agree that there's basically a near-zero chance that Disney made this alteration because of a change.org petition. No company Disney's size pays attention to those outside of the most extreme circumstances. This was likely a long-time in the making internal decision, but the announcement likely got bumped up a little sooner given current circumstances. To think it's more than that is really grasping at conspiracy theory-laden straws.
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Good God, I meant at the time it was created. 😪
 
Lirael

Lirael

Well-Known Member
Ultimately, the issue is that Splash Mountain put its foot in its mouth since it was built. The IP it used in its creation was neither beloved or sought after and already deemed controversial when it was made. The original IP thus did not generate more interest or merchandise for the ride at all.

But rather than not go with that theme or retheme it soon to something with less issue (and more profitable), Disney let Splash mountain simmer with that IP for so very long that said theme became seen as historical to guests. So now although the vast majority is still not avid about the IP itself (the movie and books it was based on), a lot of people have "imprinted" on that theme to the point that its removal evokes complaints. Meanwhile keeping the theme also brooks complaints... so Disney placed itself in a pickle with no easy, money making, way out.

All they had to do was create Splash Mountain not based on any IP (just like the other attractions right next to it) or pick an IP that had less issue (or even more love).
 
Disney Analyst

Disney Analyst

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