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DAK 'Encanto' and 'Indiana Jones'-themed experiences at Animal Kingdom

Timothy_Q

Timothy_Q

Well-Known Member
celluloid said:
Neither does Indiana Jones. care much for animals and nicest he ever was, was to riding elephants. The theme often has him at odds combatting or against those creature of nature as an obstacle. Remember, the dude has a whip and hates snakes.

People want Indy to be likeable, that is why Disney is choosing the IP there. He is the hero of a story. A story that raids temples and has not been too kind to the natural world. So either he changes, meaning character bends and becomes oddly dynamic, that can work but a bit forced to say the least, or the theme of the attraction is irrelevant, which means the theme park's throughline is bent or sacrificed.
Click to expand...
The theme of DAK isn't about humans and animals getting along though
The park is meant to be the relationship between man and nature, both the positive and the negative sides of it

Many of the original DAK attractions touched upon the negative side
Kilimanjaro (poaching), Kali (logging) and ITTBAB (humans' hatred of bugs)

You don't have to turn Indy into an animal lover for him to fit the park
His indifference or carelesness towards nature can be woven into the story of the ride
 
C

celluloid

Well-Known Member
Timothy_Q said:
The theme of DAK isn't about humans and animals getting along though
The park is meant to be the relationship between man and nature, both the positive and the negative sides of it

Many of the original DAK attractions touched upon the negative side
Kilimanjaro (poaching), Kali (logging) and ITTBAB (humans' hatred of bugs)

You don't have to turn Indy into an animal lover for him to fit the park
His indifference or carelesness towards nature can be woven into the story of the ride
Click to expand...

Yes. That right there. Man's relationship with the natural world.

Indy through that lense has the negative side and is not questioned in the source IP with the character being non dynamic.

If you have Indy the guy who hast to learn a lesson, he is not a hero of the ride's IP. Since that is not what is going in, it is just Adventure. Indy's carelessness or selfishness is never questioned nor even seen as that in the property.
So that is the best case so the theme of the park does not change, but the character does.

It can fit, but you bend the character a way that is not known in any of the IP, which mean, you bend the character.
If you don't, you bend the park.
 
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J

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
celluloid said:
This is similar to your example of why Pandora fits in AK where Star Wars doing the same thing with caring for sci fi creatures would be a stretch. There are no conservation themes naturally in Star Wars or its main characters. Neither does Indiana Jones. care much for animals and nicest he ever was, was to riding elephants. The theme often has him at odds combatting or against those creature of nature as an obstacle. Remember, the dude has a whip and hates snakes.
Pandora does.
People want Indy to be likeable, that is why Disney is choosing the IP there. He is the hero of a story. A story that raids temples and has not been too kind to the natural world. So either he changes, meaning character bends and becomes oddly dynamic, that can work but a bit forced to say the least, or the theme of the attraction is irrelevant, which means the theme park's throughline is bent or sacrificed.
And it is not a big deal, but it plays differently.
Click to expand...
Pandora needed to be a deep thematic fit because it was the pervasive basis for an entire land. By contrast, Encanto and IJ will be singular attractions slotted into a larger land formatted the same way as the other village/attraction complexes in the park. Pueblo Esperanza is additional connective tissue for the overarching AK theme to play out beyond "Encantoland" or "Indianaland".

As to your issue with IJ specifically, I get the argument from a franchise standpoint, but based on the other two IJ attractions in the same format that have been built elsewhere, his presence in the ride itself will be so ridiculously minimal that it'll be little more than a cameo. It barely matters what his history with animals is because he'll probably show up for all of five seconds total to hold a door closed and/or dodge a boulder.
 
C

celluloid

Well-Known Member
James Alucobond said:
I get the argument from a franchise standpoint, but based on the other two IJ attractions in the same format that have been built elsewhere, his presence in the ride itself will be so ridiculously minimal that it'll be little more than a cameo. It barely matters what his history with animals is because he'll probably show up for all of five seconds total to hold a door closed and/or dodge a boulder.
Click to expand...

So then those should ask themselves, does your description sound like a character and IP involved with the theme or the park's throughline or IP slapped in that does not fit without bending the IP or the park?
 
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J

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
celluloid said:
So then those should ask themselves, does your description sound like a character involved with the theme or the park's throughline?
Or IP slapped in that does not fit without bending the IP or the park?
Click to expand...
You can feel however you want about IP going everywhere. I'm just saying that his presence in every version of this ride is basically to say a sentence at the start, disappear for the vast duration of the ride, dodge a trap, and then note, "Whew! That was a close one," at the end. The general substance of his character and his history is largely irrelevant to this attraction, assuming it is similarly formatted. There is no reason to assume they have to "change" his character to fit as you suggested when we've seen that he'll probably be largely inactive and minimally present.
 
C

celluloid

Well-Known Member
James Alucobond said:
You can feel however you want about IP going everywhere. I'm just saying that his presence in every version of this ride is basically to say a sentence at the start, disappear for the vast duration of the ride, dodge a trap, and then note, "Whew! That was a close one," at the end. The general substance of his character and his history is largely irrelevant to this attraction, assuming it is similarly formatted. There is no reason to assume they have to "change" his character to fit as you suggested when we've seen that he'll probably be largely inactive and minimally present.
Click to expand...

They don't have to change the character, it means they just plop the same formula and the IP it is based on is not a fit for the park.

So if the character does not feature details in the ride that alter him to fit the theme, and the IP does not fit the theme...
That means the park was bent to get IP in.

The character is the title and main character, and arguably THE IP of the film. He is a serial adventure story character.
If your best argument is his presence is largely irrelevant, then the park took the hit.

IP can be chosen to put in very well be it reference or main concept of a major attraction. It is not mutually exclusive.
"The IP is only there minimally" is not really a strong argument to say it is done well in fitting.

That just proves the point.
 
J

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
You said just a few posts ago that they would have to bend IJ's character. My only point was that they will not because his character barely shows up and does not do anything in the context of other versions of the ride that would inherently contradict content more appropriate for AK, which could easily be threaded throughout the entire temple portion of the ride during which he has always been absent. I am not saying that I'm confident they will succeed in having content that fits in well during that section of the ride, but it would not require any alteration to his character to achieve that end.
 
The Leader of the Club

The Leader of the Club

Well-Known Member
The way to make Indy work in Animal Kingdom is keeping the plot similar to Skull Island at IOA. People come to a sacred place with impure intentions, despite warnings from the natives, and find themselves at odds with their surroundings. When hope seems lost a fantastical force appears to rescue them, leaving them with a profound sense of reverence for the land.
 
D

DisneyHead123

Well-Known Member
celluloid said:
If you have Indy the guy who hast to learn a lesson, he is not a hero of the ride's IP. Since that is not what is going in, it is just Adventure. Indy's carelessness or selfishness is never questioned nor even seen as that in the property.
Click to expand...

I think Indy always had a tinge of anti-hero about him. It was supposed to be charming and lovable but he was never a hero in the style of, say, Clark Kent, who really has to save the day in the end. It’s not uncommon for Indy get his a** kinda handed to him and to barely make it out alive, sometimes sans treasure or whatever he was looking for. I don’t see a metaphorical beatdown by the power of nature being at all of out character. It would be weird if it ended with Indy going “Golly gee guys, now I’ll recycle!!”, of course, but if a gruff and peeved Indy barely walks away? Still conveys the same point about messing with nature.
 
TheMaxRebo

TheMaxRebo

Well-Known Member
Timothy_Q said:
The theme of DAK isn't about humans and animals getting along though
The park is meant to be the relationship between man and nature, both the positive and the negative sides of it

Many of the original DAK attractions touched upon the negative side
Kilimanjaro (poaching), Kali (logging) and ITTBAB (humans' hatred of bugs)

You don't have to turn Indy into an animal lover for him to fit the park
His indifference or carelesness towards nature can be woven into the story of the ride
Click to expand...

Could definitely be something where Indy is in search of something and when he finds/takes it it awakens a Mayan God and elements of nature turn on him until he is able to put it back and "learns a lesson"
 
C

celluloid

Well-Known Member
DisneyHead123 said:
I think Indy always had a tinge of anti-hero about him. It was supposed to be charming and lovable but he was never a hero in the style of, say, Clark Kent, who really has to save the day in the end. It’s not uncommon for Indy get his a** kinda handed to him and to barely make it out alive, sometimes sans treasure or whatever he was looking for. I don’t see a metaphorical beatdown by the power of nature being at all of out character. It would be weird if it ended with Indy going “Golly gee guys, now I’ll recycle!!”, of course, but if a gruff and peeved Indy barely walks away? Still conveys the same point about messing with nature.
Click to expand...
Yep. That would be great, but that is not just minimal holding a door or hanging ingredients from rope with boulder. That would involve more.
 
D

DisneyHead123

Well-Known Member
celluloid said:
Yep. That would be great, but that is not just minimal holding a door or hanging ingredients from rope with boulder. That would involve more.
Click to expand...

I guess we’ll have to see when the ride opens… I’m keeping an open mind until then. To my mind the thematic debate over Indy is pretty minor compared to some of what was rumored earlier, like Zootopia, so on the whole I’m relieved. I think both Indy and Encanto being indoor rides is a good thing too. If something doesn’t work out theme wise, the exterior of the buildings should still work really well.
 

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