Rumor Disney 100: Great Moments with Uncle Walt to Replace Mr. Lincoln

Parteecia

Well-Known Member
Oh, is he? Where?
From the [Cabochon] thread, #171. Thank you, @Californian Elitist
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180º

Well-Known Member

Phroobar

Well-Known Member
I'm frankly tired of the Saint Walt narrative that fans cling to like their lives depend on it. We have AAs of other important/inspiring figures from history, a Walt Disney AA isn't going to destroy the space/time continuum. Simply don't patronize the attraction if the mere existence of it brings you to inconsolable tears.
I want to see this AA do something we haven't seen before. I want to see him walking on his own. It isn't impressive anymore to see an AA stand up and sit down. It would still be better than an Iger AA.
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
I want to see this AA do something we haven't seen before. I want to see him walking on his own. It isn't impressive anymore to see an AA stand up and sit down. It would still be better than an Iger AA.

Agreed. It can't just be a show where the curtains part and Walt stands up at his Burbank office desk and talks at us.

But this whole thing is all just so silly. If it even happens, and it's just a Walt robot talking, that theater will be even emptier after its first 30 days than the Lincoln show is now.

I always liked Tony Baxter's idea of moving the Lincoln show to Frontierland. It would be a shorter and tighter experience, where there would be a "whistle stop" tour of Lincoln giving a patriotic speech to the townsfolk from the back of a train car. That proposal was during the Pressler/Harris era (or at least Tony talked about it publicly in that era), but it didn't happen because Disney just doesn't have enough money. :rolleyes:
 

Disney Irish

Premium Member
I want to see this AA do something we haven't seen before. I want to see him walking on his own. It isn't impressive anymore to see an AA stand up and sit down. It would still be better than an Iger AA.
Not specifically for this rumored project, but they've already been working on free roaming bipedal AAs, its called Project Kiwi.

I've posted this before but here is a video that shows it:

 

Phroobar

Well-Known Member
Agreed. It can't just be a show where the curtains part and Walt stands up at his Burbank office desk and talks at us.

But this whole thing is all just so silly. If it even happens, and it's just a Walt robot talking, that theater will be even emptier after its first 30 days than the Lincoln show is now.

I always liked Tony Baxter's idea of moving the Lincoln show to Frontierland. It would be a shorter and tighter experience, where there would be a "whistle stop" tour of Lincoln giving a patriotic speech to the townsfolk from the back of a train car. That proposal was during the Pressler/Harris era (or at least Tony talked about it publicly in that era), but it didn't happen because Disney just doesn't have enough money. :rolleyes:
I remember the original idea was to put the Muppets in the Main Street theater. The problem was the theater wasn't big enough to put Muppetvision in. Too bad Disney killed the Muppets or they could have revisited that idea.
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Why is this tacky but an animatronic Lincoln is not?

I think it's because it looks tacky and weird because we all have a point of reference for how Walt looks and behaves via TV shows. We know what he sounds like, how he looks, what his mannerisms are. It's why the latest President in the Hall of Presidents always seems creepy and just a tad off to us. We have a modern audio-visual point of reference for that person from TV. Even the past Presidents from the modern era look off as they nod during the roll call scene, as we all know what Ford or Clinton looked like on TV and their robot versions are not quite it.

But when President Harrison or Buchanan get their names called and they nod? No one thinks it looks weird cause no one in the audience knows what they actually looked life in real life.

There's no such brain hang-ups for President Lincoln, or any President before about Calvin Coolidge. Those previous men are just portraits or grainy black and white photographs or pencil sketches, so a robot version can fill in the gaps of reality for our brains and not seem off or creepy or unnatural.

It's also why the robots on Pirates of the Caribbean seem okay; they are so cartoonish and outlandish that it works for our brains.

If they tried to make a ride where you drive around a modern Target with random housewives squeezing the Charmin and smelling the Glade candles, it would look really fake and creepy. You can't make modern housewives at Target look cartoony because they are real people in a real setting that we all have a point of reference for. Our brains instinctively and immediately can tell the difference if anything looks off.
 

SuddenStorm

Well-Known Member
I think it's because it looks tacky and weird because we all have a point of reference for how Walt looks and behaves via TV shows. We know what he sounds like, how he looks, what his mannerisms are. It's why the latest President in the Hall of Presidents always seems creepy and just a tad off to us. We have a modern audio-visual point of reference for that person from TV. Even the past Presidents from the modern era look off as they nod during the roll call scene, as we all know what Ford or Clinton looked like on TV and their robot versions are not quite it.

But when President Harrison or Buchanan get their names called and they nod? No one thinks it looks weird cause no one in the audience knows what they actually looked life in real life.

There's no such brain hang-ups for President Lincoln, or any President before about Calvin Coolidge. Those previous men are just portraits or grainy black and white photographs or pencil sketches, so a robot version can fill in the gaps of reality for our brains and not seem off or creepy or unnatural.
Lincoln has also transcended mortality- he is a legend in American history and his legacy transcends that of simply being a 'president'. So while we he was a President, it's hard to think that he's a President alongside Trump, Biden, the Bush's, or any other president from the last 30 years.

The Lincoln show is also far more inline with what Disneyland was intended to be- there's very few figures in American history that could be considered representative of the ideals, dreams, and hard facts that have created America like Lincoln. It's also why I think Michael Jackson worked so well in Disneyland with Eo- no other performer in history has come close to touching Jackson's legacy and fame in American pop culture.

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It's also why the robots on Pirates of the Caribbean seem okay; they are so cartoonish and outlandish that it works for our brains.

And why the Geoffrey Bush and Johnny Depp animatronics are so woefully out of place. The other pirates are wonderful Marc Davis designs and Blaine Gibson sculpts- they have exaggerated features that helped to remove the ride from reality and greatly improved the believability of the pirates. Adding Johnny Depp brings the ride that much closer to reality, and when a ride like the Pirates ride gets to close to reality scenes like the Auction scene get far more scrutiny. You can't have a figure of Depp followed by a Wench Auction, especially during the Heard/Depp allegation drama.

And it's also one of the reasons why the new Auction scene is a dud- the new Redd figure doesn't follow the Marc Davis character designs. It'd be like if they added a new doll to it's a small world but ignored Mary Blair's work.
 
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Practical Pig

Well-Known Member
I think it's because it looks tacky and weird because we all have a point of reference for how Walt looks and behaves via TV shows. We know what he sounds like, how he looks, what his mannerisms are. It's why the latest President in the Hall of Presidents always seems creepy and just a tad off to us. We have a modern audio-visual point of reference for that person from TV. Even the past Presidents from the modern era look off as they nod during the roll call scene, as we all know what Ford or Clinton looked like on TV and their robot versions are not quite it.

But when President Harrison or Buchanan get their names called and they nod? No one thinks it looks weird cause no one in the audience knows what they actually looked life in real life.

There's no such brain hang-ups for President Lincoln, or any President before about Calvin Coolidge. Those previous men are just portraits or grainy black and white photographs or pencil sketches, so a robot version can fill in the gaps of reality for our brains and not seem off or creepy or unnatural.

It's also why the robots on Pirates of the Caribbean seem okay; they are so cartoonish and outlandish that it works for our brains.

If they tried to make a ride where you drive around a modern Target with random housewives squeezing the Charmin and smelling the Glade candles, it would look really fake and creepy. You can't make modern housewives at Target look cartoony because they are real people in a real setting that we all have a point of reference for. Our brains instinctively and immediately can tell the difference if anything looks off.
Yep. A Walt animatronic would very likely land firmly in the uncanny valley for all those reasons.
 

_caleb

Well-Known Member
I think it's because it looks tacky and weird because we all have a point of reference for how Walt looks and behaves via TV shows. We know what he sounds like, how he looks, what his mannerisms are. It's why the latest President in the Hall of Presidents always seems creepy and just a tad off to us. We have a modern audio-visual point of reference for that person from TV. Even the past Presidents from the modern era look off as they nod during the roll call scene, as we all know what Ford or Clinton looked like on TV and their robot versions are not quite it.

But when President Harrison or Buchanan get their names called and they nod? No one thinks it looks weird cause no one in the audience knows what they actually looked life in real life.

There's no such brain hang-ups for President Lincoln, or any President before about Calvin Coolidge. Those previous men are just portraits or grainy black and white photographs or pencil sketches, so a robot version can fill in the gaps of reality for our brains and not seem off or creepy or unnatural.

It's also why the robots on Pirates of the Caribbean seem okay; they are so cartoonish and outlandish that it works for our brains.

If they tried to make a ride where you drive around a modern Target with random housewives squeezing the Charmin and smelling the Glade candles, it would look really fake and creepy. You can't make modern housewives at Target look cartoony because they are real people in a real setting that we all have a point of reference for. Our brains instinctively and immediately can tell the difference if anything looks off.
Are you telling me nobody else around here is distressed by that entirely inaccurate depiction of Martin Van Buren’s nose?

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TP2000

Well-Known Member
Are you telling me nobody else around here is distressed by that entirely inaccurate depiction of Martin Van Buren’s nose?

View attachment 693326

That's exactly what I'm telling you.

Comparing those two images, the Van Buren Estate owes WDI a thank you card. They made his robot version seem 15 years younger, a tad buffer, and look almost attractive.

Almost.
 

Brer Oswald

Well-Known Member

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