News Announced: Mary Poppins Attraction in UK Pavilion

[Pixieish]

I'd agree with you but The Incredibles doesn't fit into a particular pre-built land very well which is why I think it's been mostly neglected short of an ill-conceived yet workable dance party. Although The Incredibles 2 will likely see that under-use changed. One could guess that Carousel of Progress was in contention for this very IP overlay but I'd imagine that went over like a lead balloon, thankfully.

I loved that the characters went out and danced with the kids, but some of the music and dances chosen...YIKES.

 

[Pixieish]

My little girl seems to like many of the princesses. I have ideas as to why she likes/relates to specific ones, but I try not to analyze and just let her be a kid...

Wise decision. Adults always mess things up by over-thinking them. Kids only care if a doll has pretty hair or a car goes super fast. Perfect example: Barbie's latest line of PC dolls.

 

[Pixieish]

Thanks everyone <3

I mean, didn't this whole thread start because someone thought a Nessie ride was happening?

This is a list of IPs that a UK ride could be based around (in no order):

1. Mr. Toad
2. Mary Poppins
3. The Sword in the Stone
4. Robin Hood
5. 101 Dalmatians
6. Alice in Wonderland
7. Peter Pan
8. Winnie-the-Pooh
9. the Great Mouse Detective
10. Brave

Now let's break these down by IP.

Mr. Toad

• based off of the Wind in the Willows and 'The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'
• Park presence? Original ride was an opening day attraction at WDW, removed for Winnie the Pooh
• Does it scream "British IP"? Eh, maybe not, since the ride mostly covers driving badly through the English countryside
• Does it sell merch? Maybe? I think it could, but not on like Winnie the Pooh levels

Mary Poppins

• Based off of the Mary Poppins books and films
• Park presence? outside of M&Gs, no presence in parks
• Hugely successful film (original, we'll have to wait and see about the sequel)
• Does it scream "British IP"? I would say yes.
• Does it sell merch? Not sure. Though Mary Poppins dresses could be big sellers.

The Sword in the Stone

• based off of book and film
• Park presence? kids can pull sword from stone with Merlin's assistance at MK
• Does it scream "British IP"? Yes. But it's not exactly a popular film in 2017 (unless Disney remakes it)
• Does it sell merch? I'm going to say no, but I don't know if Disney's ever tried to sell stuff in the parks

Robin Hood

• Mostly based off of 1973 film, but also the legend
• Park presence? "The Friar's Nook" at MK sells food. The characters don't roam Magic Kingdom anymore
• Does it scream "British IP"? Yes. But like Toad, all of the characters are animals in clothes
• Does it sell merch? I'm going to say no

101 Dalmatians

• I'd say a ride would be based off of the original 1961 film (which was also based off of a book), but there's also the 1996 Glenn Close remake, plus sequels to both films (and a short lived cartoon), plus the potential Cruella film with Emma Stone
• Park presence? Outside of the walking tour portion that was featured at MGM, I don't think there really has been much of a dalmatian presence at the parks
• Does it scream "British IP"? Mostly; it's set in England, but I think most people just remember the dogs or Cruella
• Does it sell merch? It most definitely could. Puppies and Cruella outfits galore.

Alice in Wonderland

• Based off of original animated film, or Tim Burton's films, or the books (who am I kidding, it's not going to be based off of the books)
• Park presence? Mad Tea Party, plus character M&Gs and characters in parades (also, does Disney still do tea time with Alice? I did that once as a kid)
• Does it scream "British IP"? The framing device is England, but most of Alice's adventures are in Wonderland surrounded by characters with British accents
• Does it sell merch? Absolutely

Peter Pan

• Based off of original animated film (which was a play-turned-book)
• Park presence? Insanely popular dark ride in MK
• Does it scream "British IP"? Like Alice, the framing device is in London, but the Darlings spend a good chunk of the film in Neverland
• Does it sell merch? How many Tinker Bell items could I find at the Disney Store....

Winnie-the-Pooh

• Books, movies, show, Pooh has it all
• Park presence? MK ride and various M&Gs (I'm pretty sure I've gotten a picture with Tigger on every Disney trip I've taken)
• Does it scream "British IP"? While it takes place in England, if the characters didn't have the accents, I'm not sure you would be able to tell where it was set.
• Does it sell merch? By the truckload.

The Great Mouse Detective

• The film was based off of a set of children's books
• Park presence? Idk if there's even been a M&G
• Does it scream "British IP"? Considering how it's set below 221B Baker Street, and Toby (Sherlock and Watson's dog) is in it, yeah I'd say so
• Does it sell merch? I think that Toby stuffed animals would sell, along with anything with the address '221B Baker Street' (I myself have a lot of BBC Sherlock merch). Outside of that, I'm not so sure.

Brave

• 2012 Pixar film set in Scotland
• Park presence? M&G at MK, plus a parade float
• Does it scream "British IP"? Definitely set in Scotland.
• Does it sell merch? I'm not sure- can anyone give an answer on this one?

I've been biting my tongue every time someone says the older IPs aren't popular...both my boys ADORE Sword in the Stone and Robin Hood. In fact, the older movies are by far more popular with my younger son than the new movies. The new movies get a bunch of watches right after we get them, but that's because of novelty. A week later, he's back to wanting Cinderella, Snow, Robin, Wart, and YES - Mr. Toad (by far his most beloved).

 

[Pixieish]

Absolutely. I'm from Scotland so I may be a little biased, but I think Merida is also a fantastic role model as a Princess too. Bold, feisty, not your average smiling Disney Princess! I know there are others you could say the same for, but I really enjoyed the film.

Don't forget, basically scared of NOTHING! That's my favorite thing about her.

 

[Pixieish]

Okay I'll bite. I really like 'Robin Hood'; it's one of the VHS tapes that I'd borrow from my cousins all the time as a little kid (before receiving my own tape), would watch over and over, and then proceed to get scared by parts of the 'Walt Disney and You' promo at the end (which I'm attaching, because I can't be the only one who remembers this thing).

I know it reused animation, but I loved the story and the songs. I still whistle 'Whistle Stop', and sing 'Oo-de-lally' and 'Love' (my sister has actually said that if she gets married, she wants it to be her first dance). I honestly prefer 'Robin Hood' to 'Big Hero 6' and 'Tangled'.

However, it's been 44 years since the movie came out, and compared to its contemporaries (Jungle Book, Aristocats, and Winnie the Pooh), it's been shuffled to the back of Disney's mind. And that's okay. With all of their properties, not all of the films are going to make it in a theme park. Outside of M&Gs (and a short lived AK show), Jungle Book and Aristocats are barely given their due. In fact, if you look at a list of Disney's animated features from 1961-1988 (beginning with 101 Dalmatians and ending with Oliver & Company), Pooh is the clear winner for theme park presence.

.... I had a point when I started this....

Oh, Robin Hood is better than most people remember, but the chances of it having a major role in a Disney theme park are probably slim to none.

I ADORE Robin Hood!

 

[Pixieish]

But that is my exact point! Mother and daughter do not learn to see eye to eye- the mother has to change her mindset so she can allow her daughter to live the life she wants (even if it ruins her kingdom). Yes, arranged marriage has a stigma to it in our modern times, but in Medieval Scotland, the setting of the movie, arranged marriages were common place. Again, not saying that Merida cannot fight against it but it's not as if she comes up with a better solution- she just does what she wants to do. She literally does not change in any way besides telling her mother she loves her. At the end of the movie she rides off in to the sunset she gets to act exactly how she wants to- not marrying anyone, not doing anything to help her kingdom. Just plain old selfish. The mother has the character arc, the mother is the one who changes for the "better" and views her daughter as an individual. But what exactly is the lesson here? Kids- do not listen to your parents, be defiant, and everything will work out fine in the end. Parents, do not force your children to take responsibility and act selfless or you could be turned into....a bear?

Sorry to go off topic here, but Brave would be a poor choice for this area on so many levels.

You forget...at one point she was going to go along with what her mother said, and then mom changed her mind (when she was the bear at the side of the great hall...she motioned to Merida with her hands to change what she was saying.

 

[Pixieish]

I haven't been to the UK in 11 years (that fragment just made me feel both old and homesick for UK travel), but are there any castles situated near towns? Because that's the only way I think they could thematically include Brave.

White Tower of London?

 

[Pixieish]

Well I mean, it's been done already by Disney and the results while crappy certainly don't look like carny-trash. It could be done well. Gotta think outside the box bro. Just because it's a carny ride doesn't mean it would be carny-themed. Look what they were able to achieve with a Whip ride.

I despise that part of the Dino area. It's so cheesy looking it's not even funny.

 

[Pixieish]

Until they come to the realization that the park has been long dead, they will be happier. The view of the company has shifted to exploiting their IPs and not developing original ideas. That is why I am sad.. There will never be another haunted mansion, or pirates of the caribbean.

Only as long as current management is in charge...we can always hope...

 

[Pixieish]

LOL are you serious?

Maleficent is arguably the most popular Disney villain of all time.
The cake-baking and dress-making scene of the 3 fairies is one of the most beloved scenes in classic Disney
Prince Phillip is the childhood crush of many different generations of kids.
And the movie itself is to this day often considered to have the most beautiful art direction in any Disney animation

But sure, you can keep arguing that Brave is popular because of that episode of Sofia the First

Sleeping Beauty literally brought classical and modern art together in the backgrounds and style the characters were drawn in. It was, and still is, incredibly beautiful.

 

[Pixieish]

Without even looking it up- Queen Elinor, King Fergus, Lords Macintosh, MacGuffin, and Dingwall, Young Macintosh, Young MacGuffin, and Wee Dingwall, Mordu the Demon Bear, Angus the Horse. I want to say the 3 little brothers are named Haggis, Hamish, and Hubert.

Fergus was hilarious...as were the verbal jabs thrown between Macintosh, MacGuffin and Dingwall.

 

[Pixieish]

Following up on my earlier post about Brave vs. Alice, this is one of the weirdest elements of the modern Disney. Hollywood is IP driven. That's just the way it is. And Disney is going to be motivated to add IPs to their parks. That's not necessarily bad, if the attractions are thematically appropriate (they often aren't) and succeed on their own merits (they often don't).

What is incredibly strange about Disney is the way they seem to value their IPs. Mouse house execs seem to feel all IPs are equal, regardless of box office, cultural footprint, or future prospects. This manifests in a lot of ways. Firstly, Disney owns three of the four most valuable IP packages in the world - SW, Marvel, and Disney animation - but doesn't seem to grasp their value. As soon as Disney got SW, they should have started construction on the related land, and should currently be building the fourth or fifth related attraction. Disneyland should be full of actual Marvel attractions (not thin overlays). Each of the major classic Disney toons should have an attraction or at least be in consideration for one. Frozen, a true cultural phenomenon, should be in line for a land, not another lousy overlay.

Instead, Disney pushes shaky IPs that don't seem likely to build their brand. we have Avatar. We are getting a Tron ride (which is just absurd given the history of the series and the likelihood of future installments). We seem likely to get a Brave ride. WDW cannot stop adding Toy Story content but has nothing related to Monsters, Incredibles (which has a sequel due out next year), or Cars. Wreck-It Ralph is getting another movie but no attraction. GMR got scrapped for a ride based on versions of the Disney stars that will be obsolete in well under a decade.

What is so vexing about Disney's obsession with IPs in the parks is not that it exists but that they are so bad at handling it. Exec thinking seems to stop at "IP equals ride" and go no deeper in evaluating the IP or considering how its inclusion in a park will advance corporate goals. It's kind of mind boggling.

Iger needs to do for the parks what he did for Marvel - put someone in charge who loves them more than life itself and who has been dreaming of that job their entire lives. THAT is why the Marvel films are so awesome.

 

[Pixieish]

Kung Fu Panda is better than Brave. Zootopia is better than Brave. Big Hero 6 is better than Brave. Just about all of the Golden Age Disney animated films are better than Brave, needless to say, really. Spirited Away is better than Brave. Kiki's Delivery Service is better than Brave (and has a much better heroine). Kubo and the Two Strings is better than Brave. Etc., etc., etc. With the exception of Cars, and only because Cars sucks worse, just about any major quality animated film from any studio is better than Brave IMO.

Sorry - Kung Fu Panda is better the FIRST time you watch it. After that, it goes downhill very quickly. (My boys watch movies over and over and over...I rate movies based on how many times I can see/listen to them and be subjected to the DVD menu audio without wanting to shoot myself in the head.

 

[Pixieish]

Well, that is very disappointing. I thought the rest of the world had finally realized that they were wrong and I was right that Pocahontas was actually a great movie.

I live in Pilgrim country...I really dislike Pocahontas even though Native American culture fascinates me (to the point that I lived in a tee pee for six months in my late teens and did some studying up). It was too drawn out and boring and the songs...

 

[Pixieish]

The strange thing with Pixar, though, is their dive into sequels. Inside Out proves that they can still make an incredible original animated feature, but it seems that almost all they're doing at the moment is reliving their glory days.

Think about it though...it takes far less time to create a sequel than it does to create a brand new, never seen before full cast of animated characters and backdrop.

 

[Pixieish]

I'm still not sure why we are thinking in terms of anything as major as a dark ride - hints earlier in the thread seemed to point heavily to a flat.

I also don't think Brave (if it is Brave) fits a dark ride - back in the day, Imagineers tried to develop a Robin Hood dark ride and realized it was all rock walls and forests, with none of the required variety of setting. Brave falls into the same exact trap.

So... my bet would be a Luigi's style flat ride. I'd suggest its far enough from the other LPS rides to qualify as a different system. If it is Brave, which just seems so bonkers with the current Scottish political situation... why would WDW do that?

Don't forget the chase through the castle with the brothers pretending to be a bear...lots of shadows and fire-light.

 

[Pixieish]

Oh shut up with the "you must be a male if you hate Merida". This reminds me of the accusations of sexism when people didn't like the new Ghostbusters movie. This is not a gendered issue whatsoever, men are pressured or forced into life choices same as women by their parents. There's a great movie called the Dead Poets Society that involves a college kid who commits suicide because his emotionally abusive father won't let him be a stage actor and wants him to be a doctor instead (enrolling him in military academy when he tries to resist). Are you really going to say a negative opinion of Merida is invalid coming from men due to some sort of gender role nonsense?

Additionally. there are plenty of Disney female characters who have the "I don't want to follow the path my parents chose for me" character trait. It's one of the most common motivations in Disney's repertoire. Mulan is an excellent example of how to do this correctly. Judy Hopps from Zootopia is another. It goes even further back to Jasmine as well. All of these still manage to be likable and strong characters. I'll also mention an excellent non-Disney example in Eowyn from Lord of the Rings.

Merida however expresses this desire in a manner a sociopath would. She feeds her mom something a random old woman gives her hoping it would change Elinor's mind, but her mom appears to be dying when she eats it. Even during the even while Elinor appears to be choking and dying, Merida doesn't even care whatsoever and continues to accost her mom about changing her mind DURING THIS FIT WHERE HER MOM IS CLEARLY IN HORRIBLE PAIN. It is her attitude that I find detestable, not her desire to make her own choices. I wanted a tough heroine like Mulan, Judy Hopps or Eowyn. I got a brat.

Ummm...sorry, but I think you're scrambling up the sequence of events. Elinor eats the cake, says it tastes "gamey", and puts it down. Merida takes her upstairs because she is "out of sorts" and belching. The part you're thinking of is where she actually turns into a bear, and that had to be overblown so as to make viewers' attention shift between the two characters - otherwise Merida would have been the sole focus.

 

[Pixieish]

Teenagers sometimes are selfish and unlikable. That's why they go on the quest to become mature and unselfish.

I didn't care for Brave simply because it wasn't the movie it sort of advertised it to be. I know that's marketing's fault, not the movie's. And a few of the gags fell flat or something. The editing was... I don't know. It just wasn't the razor sharp AND emotionally triumphant film I came to expect from Pixar. I think by naming it "Brave" I was expecting a thorough meditation on what bravery really means. Like as deep and explorative as 'Belonging' is to Toy Story or 'Family' in Incredibles. I don't quite see why this movie is named 'Brave' other than, sure, the heroine needs to be brave in some of these situations. Would have been better with its original title: The Bear and the Bow

Having said all that, it's still really good. And now that I've shaken all hopes of traditional British literature being represented at the UK pavilion, I'm sure I'll be happy with the addition of a Brave ride. Man, they are finally adding more RIDES to World Showcase!

Brave - she wasn't afraid to climb whatever-the-name-of-the-thing-was waterfall, she's brave enough to be her own tomboy-ish self and sings to the beat of her own drum. Brave enough to stand up to her parents in an age where that just wasn't done...EVER.

 

[Pixieish]

There is a vast difference between being self centered (which could have been interesting had the story been better written and the character been an actual badass) and acting like a sociopath after possibly poisoning your mom and seeing her in pain.


She learns no such thing, nor should she have to compromise on her forced marriage. She has every right to rebel against her parents. It is her mother who should be compromising on the marriage. And she does eventually, Elinor is the one with an actual arc and a much better lead character than Merida.

Merida has little to no actual arc, just an abrupt shift from an unempathetic jerk who ignores her mom being in pain and danger, to an apologetic daughter quite suddenly in the last five minutes. This was in the climax scene after her mother fully transforms into a bear mentally, only there is where her character changes. It happens quite abruptly and without appropriate gradual progression in the story.

Ummm...in the great hall, she silences all the fighting men and is about to tell them all that she's going to do as her parents' asked. Her mother (still a bear) signals her to stop and then feeds her what to say - that they should follow their hearts.

Also, Merida is a PERFECT teenaged girl. Snappy, whiney, bratty, rebellious...and yes, she's brave enough to be herself no matter what anyone else thinks.

 

[DisneyDodo]

Think about it though...it takes far less time to create a sequel than it does to create a brand new, never seen before full cast of animated characters and backdrop.

Very true. The decreased time (and, therefore, cost) combined with the fact that sequels of popular movies are just about guaranteed to have a solid turnout, it's hard to fault Pixar for creating so many sequels. However, it seems that Pixar is starting to move away from the sequel game, at least for the near future. Other than The Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4, all of the Pixar movies set to come out in the next 5ish years are expected to be originals, including Coco and at least 4 other films whose titles have yet to be disclosed.