DHS ReDo (August 2014)

[JLipnick]

The harsh reality is that Disneys target demographic of 8 year olds have never seen most of the scenes the ride contains, and the harsh reality is many of the parents wont have either, hell the only reason I know some of the scenes is my grandparents watched the movies on TV when I was a kid. So Ive no difficulty believing Disney would consider axing a labour intensive ride.

Agreed. While my wife and I love the GMR, our kids have no idea what it is about until the end when they see Star Wars on the screen. perhaps they can remove a couple of scenes and swap them out with some newer "classics" such as Star wars, Indiana Jones, ET, etc. that would give both younger and no so younger fans a little something...

 

[FrankLapidus]

No, it's about riding through scenes of great classic movies. In that respect, recent movies that become classics should be added, such as Avatar, but that's not necessary since it's getting a whole land dedicated to it.

Since when is Avatar a "classic" in any case?

The ride could do with a freshen up. Preferably with some actual classics. I'd be very disappointed to see it go altogether but it wouldn't surprise me either.

 

[twebber55]

i ve never seen people so bitter towards a movie until i joined this board LOL

 

[71jason]

Agreed. While my wife and I love the GMR, our kids have no idea what it is about until the end when they see Star Wars on the screen. perhaps they can remove a couple of scenes and swap them out with some newer "classics" such as Star wars, Indiana Jones, ET, etc. that would give both younger and no so younger fans a little something...

The problem is anticipating which movies will be "classics" in 15 years. When Avatar came out, a lot of people assumed it would; now I'm not so sure. Ditto Titanic.

The easiest way to avoid this is stick to Disney classics. They own the rights, the properties have proven evergreen more than any other I can think of, and guests would eat it up.

 

[erasure fan1]

The harsh reality is that Disneys target demographic of 8 year olds have never seen most of the scenes the ride contains, and the harsh reality is many of the parents wont have either, hell the only reason I know some of the scenes is my grandparents watched the movies on TV when I was a kid. So Ive no difficulty believing Disney would consider axing a labour intensive ride.

I agree, but just because they have no idea about the movie, doesn't mean they don't/wont enjoy the ride. I had never seen most of the old movies in the ride either when I was young but loved the ride anyway and so do my kids now. You are right, it wouldn't be all that surprising if Disney axed it but that would be extremely shortsighted.

Like others have said, update some of the scenes while keeping some of the history. If Disney is worried that kids don't care about the movies in the ride... here's a thought, put some movies in that they DO care about.

 

[Gomer]

The problem is anticipating which movies will be "classics" in 15 years. When Avatar came out, a lot of people assumed it would; now I'm not so sure. Ditto Titanic.

The easiest way to avoid this is stick to Disney classics. They own the rights, the properties have proven evergreen more than any other I can think of, and guests would eat it up.

I always felt like GMR was supposed to cater to a more adult audience though. The classics there, although acceptable to children, are more the arena of adults. They are a little darker and a little more mature. Even Oz, Mary Poppins, and Fantasia which may have more child friendly qualities are more (or at least equally)aimed at adults as children.

Disney’s full-fledged classics mostly skew to children for the most part with adults being a secondary target demographic. Disney’s classics that were more adult focused such as Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, Sleeping Beauty, and Fantasia have mostly fallen out of the public eye. So, if we mean to retain that mature classic Hollywood feeling, I’d argue that the existing classics like Singin in the Rain and Casablanca have more cultural relevance today than their Disney counterparts would.

Now, if you intend to go to a completely Disney Movie ride and allow a more whimsical and child friendly feel, then I think Disney movies would work wonderfully. But, I would miss the more mature classics they offer now.

I’ve said it before here, but I’ll say it again. You don’t need to know the movies prior to riding to enjoy it as the ride itself makes you want to watch the movies. It worked for me when I was younger and I thought I knew everything about what movies were good and why old movies were boring. If you had let me design the ride at age 15 it would be filled with “classics” like Resevoir Dogs and Independence Day. But I matured, grew out of it, and GMR helped me to that point. And I see it doing the same with my kids as the have started to watch and love Oz, Poppins, and Singin in the Rain even though they are “old”. Someday, if it is allowed to remain I will use it to make them watch Casablanca just as I did for the first time in my later teens only to discover it was one of my favorite movies (But, it’s a black and white Romance, how could it possibly be good???).

The rush to put modern movies in seems a little short sighted. In 89, only two of those franchises were current in Alien and Indiana Jones, and those were nearing their demise. But, it did just fine. The overabundance of access to current movies has shifted a bit too much focus away from the vetted classics in the current era resulting in the cyclical and redundant nature of most modern movies. Exposure to some real classics would be good thing in my opinion.

 

[FrankLapidus]

The conflicting thing about GMR for me is that, as much as I think it needs to be freshened up, I don't really want it to lose anything. Mary Poppins and Indiana Jones are fine, I think Alien is iconic enough of a film in its genre to warrant a place and The Wizard of Oz is timeless.

Sometimes I think the gangster segment could be replaced with something like The Godfather, a more recent and timeless film in that genre, but then I think people should know about James Cagney and his place in cinematic history. You could make an argument for getting rid of the musical segment right at the beginning but then that's cutting out an important era in cinematic history. Then there's deciding which more recent films would deserve a place.

Its a balancing act and one that will obviously be entirely redundant if the powers-that-be are planning on wielding the axe.

 

[Mike S]

The only scene in GMR that I think should be replaced is Tarzan. I hardly hear anyone talking about those movies as classics and it just doesn't fit IMO. They could replace it with Star Wars or another pick I would like, the original Planet of the Apes. All the other scenes would remain intact and receive an update possibly with new AA's.

 

[PeterAlt]

Since when is Avatar a "classic" in any case?

The ride could do with a freshen up. Preferably with some actual classics. I'd be very disappointed to see it go altogether but it wouldn't surprise me either.

The ride is perfect as is. A classic could be defined as subject to the test of time and whether or not the motion picture still resonates with the public. I would say all the films the GMR represents resonated when the ride first opened and continue to resonate to this day.

Avatar is still too young to say if it will be a classic or not, but the film hasn't stopped resonating since it was released. If this continues, it will be a classic. From the looks of it, I think it will continue to resonate with audiences and is on its way to becoming a classic in much the same regard as Wizard of Oz has. I'm sure there were people who thought Oz wasn't so great during the immediate years after its release... After all, you have a man in a lion costume and other absurdities. Whether you think Avatar is classic material or not, it will become a classic or not become a classic without consulting you first.

That said, Titanic has already become a classic. Maybe the scene when they are floating in the fridged water and the ensuing aftermath could be added...

 

[PeterAlt]

Please don't use those two words in the same sentence. Avatar and Classics.

Read what I just wrote in reply to Frank.

 

[FrankLapidus]

The ride is perfect as is. A classic could be defined as subject to the test of time and whether or not the motion picture still resonates with the public. I would say all the films the GMR represents resonated when the ride first opened and continue to resonate to this day.

Avatar is still too young to say if it will be a classic or not, but the film hasn't stopped resonating since it was released. If this continues, it will be a classic. From the looks of it, I think it will continue to resonate with audiences and is on its way to becoming a classic in much the same regard as Wizard of Oz has. I'm sure there were people who thought Oz wasn't so great during the immediate years after its release... After all, you have a man in a lion costume and other absurdities. Whether you think Avatar is classic material or not, it will become a classic or not become a classic without consulting you first.

That said, Titanic has already become a classic. Maybe the scene when they are floating in the fridged water and the ensuing aftermath could be added...

Safe to say I disagree with you, as usual.

Avatar is not a classic, personally I think comparing it to The Wizard of Oz is ludicrous.

As for the man in a lion costume, you are aware it was made in the 1930's aren't you? Back then they didn't have the luxury of CGI and flashy special-effects to make up for a lackluster and derivative storyline.

And consulting me before a film becomes a classic...what are you talking about?

 

[lazyboy97o]

Safe to say I disagree with you, as usual.

Avatar is not a classic, personally I think comparing it to The Wizard of Oz is ludicrous.

As for the man in a lion costume, you are aware it was made in the 1930's aren't you? Back then they didn't have the luxury of CGI and flashy special-effects to make up for a lackluster and derivative storyline.

And consulting me before a film becomes a classic...what are you talking about?

Even if made today, I cannot see why the lion costume would be discarded by a competent filmmaker. We're supposed to be able to recognize the actors in their dual roles.

 

[Bocabear]

Aside from the Alien sequence, there is nothing of the horror genre represented, and again, so much of what we consider horror has it's roots in the classic horror films of the 40s and 50s. Does Universal own all of the rights to every classic horror or thriller movie ever made up to Alien? Perhaps the Alien sequence or the Tarzan sequence could be replaced with a classic gothic horror film... And Dear God please update the film montage at the end... it is jumpy. poorly edited and incredibly dated. Is Beverly Hills Cop considered a true classic film? What if they used the screens, and some image mapping projections to make some of the scenes larger than life... explode out of the screens all around us... Give it an exciting and magical finale...not just a bunch of mismatched classic film clips mixed with 1980s Disney movie franchises.....they can do better...

 

[FrankLapidus]

Aside from the Alien sequence, there is nothing of the horror genre represented, and again, so much of what we consider horror has it's roots in the classic horror films of the 40s and 50s. Does Universal own all of the rights to every classic horror or thriller movie ever made up to Alien? Perhaps the Alien sequence or the Tarzan sequence could be replaced with a classic gothic horror film...

There is that tomb that seems to represent all of the monsters/horror films of the 20's and 30's. If memory serves its right before the Tarzan scene so there would be a lot of space there with which to do something.

 

[monothingie]

The ride is perfect as is. A classic could be defined as subject to the test of time and whether or not the motion picture still resonates with the public. I would say all the films the GMR represents resonated when the ride first opened and continue to resonate to this day.

Avatar is still too young to say if it will be a classic or not, but the film hasn't stopped resonating since it was released. If this continues, it will be a classic. From the looks of it, I think it will continue to resonate with audiences and is on its way to becoming a classic in much the same regard as Wizard of Oz has. I'm sure there were people who thought Oz wasn't so great during the immediate years after its release... After all, you have a man in a lion costume and other absurdities. Whether you think Avatar is classic material or not, it will become a classic or not become a classic without consulting you first.

That said, Titanic has already become a classic. Maybe the scene when they are floating in the fridged water and the ensuing aftermath could be added...

This will be the last I'll say because this is horribly off topic, but you're confusing what "classic" means. Classic cinema does not equate to massive special effects overload with minimal story and plot. Much for the same reason why anything Michael Bay or Transformers related will ever be considered anything close to a classic.

 

[Bocabear]

There is that tomb that seems to represent all of the monsters/horror films of the 20's and 30's. If memory serves its right before the Tarzan scene so there would be a lot of space there with which to do something.

I think the tomb is part of the Indiana Jones sequence...not really a standalone kind of horror portion...though with the narration they kind of play it off that way...

 

[lazyboy97o]

I think the tomb is part of the Indiana Jones sequence...not really a standalone kind of horror portion...though with the narration they kind of play it off that way...

The tomb with all of the skeletons. They talk about them being from the 1930s, trying to avoid that all of the notable names and films are Universal properties.

 

[marni1971]

Something's resonating...

 

[sshindel]

Avatar is still too young to say if it will be a classic or not, but the film hasn't stopped resonating since it was released. If this continues, it will be a classic. From the looks of it, I think it will continue to resonate with audiences and is on its way to becoming a classic in much the same regard as Wizard of Oz has. I'm sure there were people who thought Oz wasn't so great during the immediate years after its release... After all, you have a man in a lion costume and other absurdities. Whether you think Avatar is classic material or not, it will become a classic or not become a classic without consulting you first.

While I still support the (idea of, depending on the implementation) Avatar expansion, I'll just say that the only references to Avatar The Movie in probably 3 years, aside from the discussions on the WDW expansion on here, is in an article entitled "14 movies you thought were good, but were actually quite bad".
Aside from that, I've not heard or seen a single person talk about it after the original theatrical run ended. Yes, once the sequels are added, it may connect with people more as a small piece of a larger puzzle, but as of right now, it's basically dropped out of pop culture lexicon. Movies like Shaun of the Dead, Cabin in the Woods, Attack the Block, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe cannon, are recent movies that remain in pop culture. Avatar is not.

 

[Gomer]

While I still support the (idea of, depending on the implementation) Avatar expansion, I'll just say that the only references to Avatar The Movie in probably 3 years, aside from the discussions on the WDW expansion on here, is in an article entitled "14 movies you thought were good, but were actually quite bad".
Aside from that, I've not heard or seen a single person talk about it after the original theatrical run ended. Yes, once the sequels are added, it may connect with people more as a small piece of a larger puzzle, but as of right now, it's basically dropped out of pop culture lexicon. Movies like Shaun of the Dead, Cabin in the Woods, Attack the Block, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe cannon, are recent movies that remain in pop culture. Avatar is not.

Can we get a Cabin in the Woods elevator scene in the GMR? That should get people their horror fixes.