No I don’t think you can completely future proof an attraction. But WDW was aware of the source material when Splash was built and they should have been smarter and considered alternatives. Protests happened when the movie was released many years before SM was built. I was speaking more to making sure the source material is “clean” and maintains the concept of the current ride since it is great and will remain great for many generations.
I'm offended by your ridiculously weak hyperbole.
But can't you see- they are future-proofing by changing in light of new sensibilities. We're not going back to a world where "it was a product of its time" is an acceptable rationale for insensitivity like what's found in Song of the South.
This is what I meant by "winning people over." There is a scenario where the people who are upset by the loss of the Brer characters might still consider the rethemed attraction to be good/enjoyable/worthwhile. If they're able to pull this off (as you mention in your post), it would unite the fans?
Not a bad idea, just not the direction they're going with.
I would agree with this if the government was forcing Disney to make these changes. But by all accounts, this is a Disney-initiated campaign borne of internal discussion and reflection. There is no indication that Disney is changing based on a number (large or small) of people who have been offended- only that they consider the current theme to be something that might make some people (people Disney wants to include) feel less welcome.
Pleasing everyone is an impossibility. When a company takes actions that even implicitly condemn their product and arguably fans of or employees associated with their product, I believe there needs to be absolute certainty that said product is causing more harm than good. Otherwise, you could ironically end up alienating more customers than can potentially be gained.
Literally, it’s not. But generally, it is. Who isn’t pleased with Main Street USA?
You think Disney is doing all this without being certain? Huh. Seems to me they’d have considered how many fans these kinds of changes might alienate before doing this sort of thing.
This sounds like something I imagine Roy saying said to Walt.
Richard Schickel
The Disney Version!
Well, Main Street USA has been rumored to be converted into Mickey Ave. or something like it under the guise of Disney’s self-proclaimed inclusivity push, so I guess it’s possible there are at least a few people internally that have a problem with it.
I am very familiar familiar with their work on the Star Wars franchise and while I personally haven’t taken any major issue with their output, they objectively did manage to alienate a fair amount of the Star Wars fandom with the sequel trilogy. Sure, TRoS still made over a billion, but it was still a pretty big drop off from the over 2 billion TFA made.
While Walt and Roy’s relationship certainly had it’s ups and downs, their yin and yang dynamic was integral to the success of their overall careers.
This whole debate really stems from the fact that Song of the South, due to its status as the "banned" Disney movie, is an easy target.
They also recognised the problematic nature of the source material, which is why they took such great pains to leave out anything offensive. It probably wasn't the wisest move to base an attraction on a film that had already been regarded as controversial for over four decades.
That's not completely what I meant by future proofing. I think we generally agree on the subject bc I did say they should be aware of the subject matter. Attractions should be designed for all to enjoy and not be a band aid or a quick twitch reaction to the current PR situation. It may simply be a matter of bad timing by WDW but they made the announcement and tried to kill two birds with one stone. The petition was to retheme Splash. Not replace it with the wrong attraction. Future proofing is not simply eliminating sensitivities. The attractions also have to hit all of the checkmarks, and most importantly, fit the theme of the parks (especially the one being replaced).
You will not win the Splash crowd back with the current plan no matter how good the replacement. On the flip side, I would not be happy with PATF replacing a ride that has been "under consideration for quite some time" and not even included with every other princesses in the park. Lose-lose for me.
Definitely a bummer and I never expected them to do the right thing. They are taking the easy road and least costly option which is a disservice to both attractions and WDW fans.
Government has nothing to do with this nor should they. This is about PR, inclusion and doing what is right/satisfying your customer base. I was just making a general statement based on my opinion - I am very down the middle and prefer not choosing a side. WDW's lack of action and sudden reaction to the petition is perceived as a band aid otherwise Splash would have been rethemed years ago when the issue was originally identified. Not kicking the can down the road and "accelerating" the issue after the poop hit the fan. And not only did they pass it off for years, but they are taking the easy and least costly approach which tells me they didn't think about this nearly as much as we are. It is leading to poor decision making and once again replacing rather than expanding. This is a great opportunity to create 2 inclusive attractions and appeal to all fans.
Disney was sufficiently aware of the film’s baggage to change the tar-baby scene and remove any reference to the human characters. It was locked away in the vault around the same time that Splash Mountain opened. Again, bad planning given what they already knew.
On this specific issue:
On this specific issue:
Although Song of the South proved a financial success every time it was reissued (1956, 1972, 1980 and 1986), it has not been reissued as often as most Disney films, which were re-released about every seven years. On February 25, 1970, Variety reported that the Disney studio had put the film "permanently on the shelf as offensive to Negroes and present concepts of race." In 1972, however, the studio stated that the picture had never been shelved and would be re-released due to the large numbers of requests from the public.
Song of the South
Uncle Remus draws upon his tales of Brer Rabbit to help little Johnny deal his confusion over his parents' separation as well as his new life on the plantation. The tales: The Briar Patch, The Tar Baby and Brer Rabbit's Laughing place.www.tcm.com
I know they changed their minds two years later: I included that detail in the quotation I provided. You didn’t comment on the rest, however.
