News Flights of Wonder closing and replaced by 'UP! A Great Bird Adventure'

[MisterPenguin]

Every part of the show that's not featuring a bird can be cut down and tightened.

 

[Casper Gutman]

The old show was pretty bad, but this...

No more giant foam heads in stage shows - Disney should have have higher production values then that. I’m looking straight at YOU, BatB. Why not use screenz and some variation on Turtle Talk tech?

Really, this show doesn’t need Guano Joe, or Doug (who is generally great), or any plot. Just show us the birds. Look at Uni’s Animal Actors, for which I have a ridiculous amount of fondness. No plot, just dogs. And a few cats and birds. And a pig.

Actually, an AK show featuring dogs would probably get me to start visiting a lot more frequently.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Every part of the show that's not featuring a bird can be cut down and tightened.

Simple! Remove the UP Characters and Bring Back Guano Joe.....Done...

 

[ABQ]

I don’t think this is quite ready for prime time yet. Cast previews this morning and they are being told no photography of any kind as the show is still in development,

Yet Blog Mickey was able to film and post the entire thing. AK needs to up their ability to prohibit filming if they won't even let cast take a still shot.

 

[Rteetz]

Yet Blog Mickey was able to film and post the entire thing. AK needs to up their ability to prohibit filming if they won't even let cast take a still shot.

They weren’t the only ones who filmed it. I would guess they allowed such at first and now after seeing some of the reaction and feedback they are saying no filming now due to changes still being made.

 

[ABQ]

They weren’t the only ones who filmed it. I would guess they allowed such at first and now after seeing some of the reaction and feedback they are saying no filming now due to changes still being made.

Oh I'm sure they weren't alone, it was just that their video was linked earlier in this thread, so I singled it out.

 

[larryz]

Yet Blog Mickey was able to film and post the entire thing. AK needs to up their ability to prohibit filming if they won't even let cast take a still shot.

They weren’t the only ones who filmed it. I would guess they allowed such at first and now after seeing some of the reaction and feedback they are saying no filming now due to changes still being made.

Yeah, they won't be making that mistake again...

 

[RSoxNo1]

I wonder how typical it is to make adjustments from findings during previews? I would imagine you have previous partly to work out all the kinks.

I remember seeing Enchanted Tales with Belle during previews and a lot of the timing was off. Those are the types of things that get refined during these previews. So much of comedy is timing so hopefully this goes a little better. Having said that it seems like they took three scripts and three ideas and combined them into one without any thought for each other.

The story is derived from India with a Rivers of Light vibe
The comedy is derived from Up
The educational component is taken from the previous Flights of Wonder show and really standard bird show protocol.

Flights of Wonder was much tighter.

 

[RSoxNo1]

You didn't cringe at Guano Joe?

No, Guano Joe had good comedic timing and fit the show. Yes, it was over the top, but it fit.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Meh. I never cared much for the "story" of the show but I love the bird parts. I expect the same will be true with the new version.

The good thing is they are seemingly working on evolving the bird acts. Miles the Hornbill who previously would catch grapes has a new routine that they clearly haven't perfected yet.

Over the years they swap acts in and out from show to show and it appears that aspect will continue.

 

[RSoxNo1]

The story wasn't great per say, but the pacing was so much better. Plus, it is easier for a real person to interact with the birds than the foam heads. I think that made his inclusion feel more natural, unlike the UP characters.

Exactly. Dugg and Russell have pre-recorded lines and can't "react". When you have something as unpredictable as live animals, you need to be able to adapt. Guano Joe could do that, and the two regular Guano Joe actors were long time Disney improv guys.

 

[discos]

This new show could really be tightened up but what this made me question when watching is why Russell was never designed to be in the Mickey and Donald height range.

 

[cjkeating]

I am pretty sure some original skepticism surrounding this show was that foam head characters would not be able to improv around timing/unpredictability... many months later it looks like we predicted the future Disney failed to see.

 

[drew81]

I feel bad for the birds. They're performing in a show with an influx of IP that wasn't needed.

Who wrote this script? It needs some work. Badly.

 

[nicb88]

Does Frasier Crane still make an appearance?

 

[ford91exploder]

You didn't cringe at Guano Joe?

Everyone cringed with Guano Joe/Jane

 

[RSoxNo1]

Does Frasier Crane still make an appearance?

Yes.

Everyone cringed with Guano Joe/Jane

I don't think so. PG rated theme park comedy isn't easy, and I think Guano Joe as a dimwitted character was well executed. He also helped steer the show.

 

[ford91exploder]

Yes.

I don't think so. PG rated theme park comedy isn't easy, and I think Guano Joe as a dimwitted character was well executed. He also helped steer the show.

The point I was trying to make was Guano Joe/Jane/Dave was totally unnecessary for the show, The birds for me were the star of the show and I found the dimwitted antics annoying at best.

Yes PG comedy is hard and Guano's improv was pretty good given the constraints, but at least for me it took a lot of the 'magic' out of the show.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

Do they still do the thing with the dollar bill?

 

[Magic Feather]

This honestly felt like the unnecessary combination of three shows: Rivers if Light, the UP show that should anchor a new South America, and the Bird Show that should have replaced Flights of Wonder.