I have seen DSNY Newscast's video on how Splash Mountain should have been replaced not with something related to "The Princess and the Frog", but finally with Western River. You can watch the video here:
The video argues, as others have, that Splash Mountain and "The Princess and the Frog" both make mince of the "westward expansion" concept that goes from New England (Liberty Square) all the way to the Southwest (Frontierland). "Song of the South" and "The Princess and the Frog" are both set in the Deep South (Georgia and Louisiana, respectively) and thus not geographically appropriate. The video then tosses out some ideas for other IP-based properties instead, including "Pocahontas" and "Brother Bear", only to nix these without skipping a beat for the same reason: that these are no more geographically correct than "Song of the South" or "The Princess and the Frog" ("Pocahontas" is set in Virginia and "Brother Bear" in Alaska somewhere).
As such, the video proposed doing something that WDW hadn't done in a long, long time: namely, do something NOT related to any preexisting IP, so that they wouldn't have to worry about being geographically correct. Thus, a new version of that legend of abandoned theme park concepts, Western River Expedition, was proposed as a more suitable replacement. The video provides more information if you are interested. But I digress.
I actually would argue against Western River and let that sleeping dog lie for one simple reason: this and Splash Mountain are sadly alike in one unfortunate way: being politically incorrect. The original Western River contained Native Americans done as cartoonishly stereotyped as in something like "Peter Pan". Had it been built as Marc Davis had envisioned it, it would have surely persisted into the present day and put the ride in a tough spot. Even in the 1970s, the plight of Native Americans was being brought to light and we as a society have become more sensitive to them.
The ride would have had similar, if not identical, problems to Splash Mountain if it had been built. Remember, movies like "Peter Pan" have been pulled from kids' accounts on Disney Plus, while adding annoying "warning" labels about "negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures" to those same movies on regular accounts that you must sit through before you can watch the movie.
Disney would have to deal with the Indian problem in Western River, just as it has to deal with the problems of Splash Mountain's connection to "Song of the South". What are your thoughts?
The video argues, as others have, that Splash Mountain and "The Princess and the Frog" both make mince of the "westward expansion" concept that goes from New England (Liberty Square) all the way to the Southwest (Frontierland). "Song of the South" and "The Princess and the Frog" are both set in the Deep South (Georgia and Louisiana, respectively) and thus not geographically appropriate. The video then tosses out some ideas for other IP-based properties instead, including "Pocahontas" and "Brother Bear", only to nix these without skipping a beat for the same reason: that these are no more geographically correct than "Song of the South" or "The Princess and the Frog" ("Pocahontas" is set in Virginia and "Brother Bear" in Alaska somewhere).
As such, the video proposed doing something that WDW hadn't done in a long, long time: namely, do something NOT related to any preexisting IP, so that they wouldn't have to worry about being geographically correct. Thus, a new version of that legend of abandoned theme park concepts, Western River Expedition, was proposed as a more suitable replacement. The video provides more information if you are interested. But I digress.
I actually would argue against Western River and let that sleeping dog lie for one simple reason: this and Splash Mountain are sadly alike in one unfortunate way: being politically incorrect. The original Western River contained Native Americans done as cartoonishly stereotyped as in something like "Peter Pan". Had it been built as Marc Davis had envisioned it, it would have surely persisted into the present day and put the ride in a tough spot. Even in the 1970s, the plight of Native Americans was being brought to light and we as a society have become more sensitive to them.
The ride would have had similar, if not identical, problems to Splash Mountain if it had been built. Remember, movies like "Peter Pan" have been pulled from kids' accounts on Disney Plus, while adding annoying "warning" labels about "negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures" to those same movies on regular accounts that you must sit through before you can watch the movie.
Disney would have to deal with the Indian problem in Western River, just as it has to deal with the problems of Splash Mountain's connection to "Song of the South". What are your thoughts?
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