lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
How is calling out the lie of “subtlety” not picking? They’re not subtle. If you like it why not admit that it does change the focus of the scenes and ride?
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Rumor Disney Characters Being Added to IASW
- Thread starter SteamboatJoe
- Start date
Spash007
Well-Known Member
I honestly disagree about them not being subtle. Sure those pictures have them in your face, but that’s all because how the photo is framed. It’s hard not to notice Moana when she’s the only thing in the photo. Watching a video of the ride shows the characters are mixed, some are in the front and some are interspersed. Some have set pieces like Frozen, others don’t.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
The ones that are interspersed are part of the game of “hide and seek” that Disney initially advertised and then denied. That is not subtle as they still command attention and focus. That is a major change because you’re now supposed to be looking for the characters in each scene.
BoarderPhreak
Well-Known Member
I'm not a fan of shoehorning IP in for the sake of it... But I don't think this would be a bad thing necessarily. IASW could use a little excitement. Provided that the characters match the theme, country, etc. Throwing Baymax or Vampirina in there would not work. Of course, that also means that only a few characters actually meet the criteria. Sure, Olaf fits in with say, Norway. Or Mufasa in Africa. But where would you put Mickey? Stick with the few that actually work, and make them as "hidden characters" to discover. That is, don't go overboard.
There's the rub. Disney doesn't exactly excel at "understated".
BoarderPhreak
Well-Known Member
Well, to be fair - they put The Three Caballeros in Mexico and Olaf in Norway in Epcot. So they got it half right at least.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
Mickey, Minnie and Cinderella Castle are in the load area at Tokyo.
EDIT: there are TWO Cinderella Castles in the ride. 1 at load that looks like the park icon, and 1 in France based on the 1950 movie.
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Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
I guess anything that isn't a 30' Moana doll screeching "How Far I'll Go" is subtle.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
So how do you insert them then without being "subtle"? Apparently, if you recognize them, they're over the top. If you don't, they're "subtle". Then why bother inserting them? Again, just say you don't want the characters. By your logic, spinning generic dolls is "subtle" but the hippo and the giant sun isn't. So that means they're not supposed to be there. Too distracting, you understand.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
Mickey? In the final scene, of course where everyone comes together.
BoarderPhreak
Well-Known Member
Okay, Mickey was a bad example. The beginning and/or end could make sense... But like I said; shoehorning. Stick with characters that have an identifiable/natural country.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
They don't have sun or hippos in other countries?
The iconography in the ride is based on real culture, architecture and animals. That's the substance of the ride that gets undermined by adding cartoon characters invented in the USA, mostly in the last 30 years.
Olaf is not native to anything but computer screens in Glendale.
One shouldn't be arguing for the so-called original integrity of a ride that substitutes animals for people and their cultures that they don't know how to accurately and fairly represent. The cartooning of IaSW was from the very beginning.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
There is no point to adding them if they are not noticeable, if they are subtle. That’s the lie, that the additions are subtle and do not change the nature of the ride. Disney originally advertised the Hong Kong Disneyland attraction not as a ride about “all that we share” but a game of hide and seek with Disney characters. The uproar over the changes at Disneyland by the public, including the Blair family and the now head of Pixar Animation, caused Disney to remove that description and start claiming that the changes are not to create a game of hide and seek, are not noticeable and are part of what Walt wanted.
No Name
Well-Known Member
On a separate note, I always wondered why the girls dancing are only on the one side of the Taj Mahal. Is there a cultural reason I’m unaware of? Was the company saving space all along for future Indian Disney princesses?
I have no doubt that if the Children of the World were members of the wdwmagic forums they’d be knocking each others’ heads off.
Castle Cake Apologist
Well-Known Member
Am I crazy? I'm pretty sure there's human dolls in the Africa area. Maybe I'm wrong.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
There are several, including the winking Cleopatra doll. Each continent (or room) in the ride has a mix of animals and human dolls.
But the discussion of whether or not Small World is culturally insensitive is best done in the Politics forum, outside of the thread, so let's leave it at that.
Spash007
Well-Known Member
I believe, and I may be wrong, but there is no representation of central/southern African (such as tribes). I believe that's the reference - it would be like putting in China, but leaving out India.
Not sure really why this got so heated, as I thought it was a good point raised in this forum. It went along with the discussion regarding when refurbs were done on the other IASW's, other issues were fixed beyond adding IPs. With new technology, and a greater understanding of the global community, this seems to be a good time to fix any shortcomings of the ride - technological and cultural.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
I’m on record as saying not wanting IP characters at all is a valid argument. Arguing over the size of those characters is just silly.
I don’t care one way or the other. IP characters might be nice plussing. If they do get added, who decides whether “subtle” or “not subtle”. It’s ridiculous. They’re added. If you want it classic IASW just say so. I’m fine either way.
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