Is the Great Movie Ride next?

[Gomer]

I don't necessarily disagree. But I think Raiders and Alien still manage to represent the "modern era". Replacing an older film with one from the 21st century would throw off the ride's balance. If you wanted to update a scene with something new, you should probably replace Alien or Raiders.

But what are your candidates for modern movies?

Pirates of the Caribbean? Disney owns it which is a plus. But it's already based on a theme park attraction.
The Dark Knight? I feel like super hero movies are an under-represented genre in the ride. But I doubt Six Flags would let Disney use Batman for cheap and I doubt Disney wants to pay for the privilege of promoting a rival super hero
Avengers? Can't use Marvel
Guardians of the Galaxy? Not sure if they can be used. Might as well use Star Wars. How well will that hold up in 10 years? 20?
Star Wars? In theory, we're getting a whole Star Wars land in the same park. No need to shove it in here.
Lord of the Rings? Would probably cost a fortune. Tolkien specifically forbade Disney from ever touching his novels. I imagine his estate could be bought off, but it would cost a pretty penny. More likely Universal scoops up the rights than Disney.
Anything else? It's hard to tell which "modern" movies will be considered timeless. Disney rolled the dice on Alien and Raiders and they got lucky. Those movies have held up. But how many movies from the last ten-twenty years are likely to hold up as well? Then you have to pick an iconic scene that can be used for a crowd-pleasing display. You don't just want to have a couple of characters sitting or standing around reciting dialogue ala the Casablanca scene.

You want something dynamic. And something Disney can get the rights to for cheap. Something that will stand the test of time and not be redundant. And something that fits the Disney brand reasonably well (ie no Pulp Fiction unfortunately). Good luck finding something that meets those criteria!

I’m not in favor of putting new movies in GMR, but I was intrigued by your challenge.

My submission:
The Matrix: At 15 years old, it is in the same realm as Alien and Raiders were in 89. It has plenty of iconic scenes to pull from. It has somewhat stood the test of time (lessened by underperforming sequels admittedly, but the original is still well liked and remembered)

Unforgiven: Academy award winner. Big movie star. Could drop right into the existing western scene. The final showdown in the bar could work as an iconic scene.

Shawshank Redemption: Every guy who doesn’t watch tons of movies favorite movie. Well known. Well loved.

(I hate myself for this one): Titanic. Not a fan myself. But you can already imagine the exact scene they’d do. Everyone knows it.

 

[Launchpad McQuack]

Titanic would actually be a great inclusion. It was once the highest grossing movie of all time, only to be beaten by another movie by the same director (who WDW now has a working relationship with). I can actually think of several scenes that would work... the "flying" scene at the front of the ship, the grand staircase, and, of course, the ship sinking.

 

[Gomer]

I am in no way against Alien or Raiders being there, as I think both are classic/great movies. I just point out that they hadn't aged like the other films in the ride before being included. Both films worked out great, though. However, if there was a refurb, and either or both films stayed, I would hope for an update. I feel like they should have the tech to do a better action-based scene for Indiana Jones scene.

I'm honestly not sure which movies would be good additions/replacements for the ride. As commonly stated, Lord of the Rings would be the best option, but there is the BIG issue of rights. Also, if you get the rights to LOTR, it would be much better as it's own attraction/land.

For the horror scene, maybe something like Night of the Living Dead? Honestly, anything is better than the representation horror gets in there now.

Other than that, there are two movies from the 80s that I think could both offer fantastic scenes, but would never make it in there... The Goonies and The Princess Bride. I know those are both stretching it, and I would never expect either, but if this was my own personal GMR, those would be in there.

Goonies isn't a bad call actually. The pirate ship set is iconic enough. Does universal have any exclusive rights to Amblin releases?

I love princess bride, but I'm not sure there is an easily identifiable scene that all audiences would know.

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

I don't feel like reading through 15 pages right now, so apologies if this has been said already.

While updating GMR would be great, aren't we forgetting how much money it would cost Disney to secure the rights to more recent "classics" like LOTR and Titanic? I think if GMR does get an update, it will most definitely be "Disney-fied."

 

[ryan1]

Matrix is Warner Bros. The sequels also hurt the "value" of the original a lot in the general public's mind.

Why change a young Eastwood for a old Eastwood? You are basically just swapping the AA for an older looking one. Why spend the money to do that?

Shawshank............maybe but its going to be one scene Andy in the rain getting poop washed off. Not the best scene for a ride, just my opinion.

That scene in Titanic is in every wax museum in the world already.



I personally think the horror area is fantastic and is the best the could have done to represent the glory days of monster and early horror movies of the 30's and 40's without using any of Universal's properties. The skeletons are creepy and timeless. I said in an earlier post, page 5 and page 9, how I would update the ride while keeping it basically the same.

Bond, I think is the biggest mistake they made not including it from the get go.

 

[Gomer]

Matrix is Warner Bros. The sequels also hurt the "value" of the original a lot in the general public's mind.

Why change a young Eastwood for a old Eastwood? You are basically just swapping the AA for an older looking one. Why spend the money to do that?

Shawshank............maybe but its going to be one scene Andy in the rain getting poop washed off. Not the best scene for a ride, just my opinion.

That scene in Titanic is in every wax museum in the world already.



I personally think the horror area is fantastic and is the best the could have done to represent the glory days of monster and early horror movies of the 30's and 40's without using any of Universal's properties. The skeletons are creepy and timeless. I said in an earlier post, page 5 and page 9, how I would update the ride while keeping it basically the same.

Bond, I think is the biggest mistake they made not including it from the get go.

Just to reiterate, not in favor of any that I posted. Just trying to find movies that fit his criteria.

I’m firmly in the camp, that GMR helps expose people to movies they might not otherwise see.

I’ve told this story before but I’ll recap the short version here.

GMR got me to watch Casablanca. Now one of my favorites of all time.
GMR got my 4 year old to watch Oz. Not only is it now his favorite, but it has helped him adapt to watching more older and B&W movies. These things may not have happened if GMR was only made up of newer more popular movies.

 

[AEfx]

Tarzan - What is everyone's objection to Tarzan? The Tarzan movies were huge. They are practically a subgenre in and of themselves. When I was a kid, you could watch hours and hours of old Tarzan movies on TV on just about any Sunday afternoon. I don't consider Tarzan essential cinema. But I disagree that "just about anything would be better". Most of the suggestions I have seen would be decidedly worse.

As you said, it's largely the execution - it's really the weakest scene in the ride (Footlight aside), it takes up a lot of space, and could be better utilized. The Maureen O'Sullivan AA is the only interesting thing about it. If you chunked out Tarzan and most of the Horror scene, there would be a good deal of space to work with.

As to what films to include - that's pretty much nothing folks will come to a consensus on, as there are so many valid choices it would be impossible and mostly to do with taste. But I'd love to see some updates of the ride - particularly a new AA of Sigourney, to start.

I have to agree that I never saw the Theatre exterior as the park icon, nor do I think it was meant to be in the beginning. I remember the Earfel Tower being the thing that was plastered on everything back in the day (and actually, we bought something last week that had the other park icons on it, and it had the Earfel Tower instead of the hat). I hope the Theatre exterior stays if the ride ever gets a refurb, but I never saw it as the "face" of the park.

There is a lot more merchandise in general with the theater than the tower. The tower very early on was symbolic as it stood for a couple years as they were working on the park and could be seen when driving by as a "billboard", but once the park actually opened it really was the theater prominently on merchandise, particularly since the tower had such a de-centralized location.

 

[Stupido]

Titanic would actually be a great inclusion. It was once the highest grossing movie of all time, only to be beaten by another movie by the same director (who WDW now has a working relationship with). I can actually think of several scenes that would work... the "flying" scene at the front of the ship, the grand staircase, and, of course, the ship sinking.

^This.

Plus imagine how immersive they could make this if they really tried. If TGM is all about taking a tour "into" the movies, this could easily be the most transformative. Do the sinking scene, and blast the air conditioning and make the riders feel how cold the Atlantic ocean can be. Kind of like in the old Test Track, except make the feature work. It'd be such an easy way it make the guests feel like they're there. In general, TGM would benefit from a lot more sensory effects. Think about what scents they could bring into the scenes. Like making the mob scene smell like an old fishing wharf or what not. This summer I went to The London Dungeon and I was blown away by all of the sensory theming they excelled at. The smallest things can make a huge difference on this ride.

 

[Gomer]

jack painting rose scene?

Exactly. Right after the party scene from Eyes Wide Shut, but before the interrogation scene from Basic Instinct.

 

[Launchpad McQuack]

Exactly. Right after the party scene from Eyes Wide Shut, but before the interrogation scene from Basic Instinct.

You forgot the final scene in front of the mirror in Boogie Nights.

 

[dumboflyer]

Lord of the Rings? Would probably cost a fortune. Tolkien specifically forbade Disney from ever touching his novels. I imagine his estate could be bought off, but it would cost a pretty penny. More likely Universal scoops up the rights than Disney.

Right that it might cost something, but most of the rest of that is myth. True that Tolkien disliked how Disney handled fairytales. However, Tolkien sold the film rights to his books before his death, they are owned by a private company. Disney subsidiary Miramax actually had the production rights to Lord of the Rings but apparently questioned the scope of the project and allowed Peter Jackson to take it to New Line.

The owner of the film rights is Middle-earth Enterprises. Who knows how willing they would be to adapt the films to theme parks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-earth_Enterprises

 

[misterID]

Exactly. Right after the party scene from Eyes Wide Shut, but before the interrogation scene from Basic Instinct.

While you're at it, lets just rip out the Bugsby Berkley/Gene Kelly scene and replace it with a Showgirls scene. It''s a perfect transition to Mary Poppins.

 

[Gomer]

While you're at it, lets just rip out the Bugsby Berkley/Gene Kelly scene and replace it with a Showgirls scene. It''s a perfect transition to Mary Poppins.

From Busby Berkley to Elizabeth Berkley. I like it!

 

[DisUniversal]

While you're at it, lets just rip out the Bugsby Berkley/Gene Kelly scene and replace it with a Showgirls scene. It''s a perfect transition to Mary Poppins.

The lap dance scene would be awesome. Maybe they can fit Deep Throat in there somewhere too.

 

[misterID]

This would be the greatest refurb in the history of refurbs. At least we'd stop hearing all the complaining about the Alien scene being too scary for people's kids. And instead of a cowboy or gangster hijacking the car, ala Grand Theft Auto, we get Jules Winfield and Vincent Vegas taking over and narrating the scenes. Boom, perfection.

 

[Bairstow]

This would be the greatest refurb in the history of refurbs. At least we'd stop hearing all the complaining about the Alien scene being too scary for people's kids. And instead of a cowboy or gangster hijacking the car, ala Grand Theft Auto, we get Jules Winfield and Vincent Vegas taking over and narrating the scenes. Boom, perfection.

That gives me an idea...

 

[lebeau]

Right that it might cost something, but most of the rest of that is myth. True that Tolkien disliked how Disney handled fairytales. However, Tolkien sold the film rights to his books before his death, they are owned by a private company. Disney subsidiary Miramax actually had the production rights to Lord of the Rings but apparently questioned the scope of the project and allowed Peter Jackson to take it to New Line.

The owner of the film rights is Middle-earth Enterprises. Who knows how willing they would be to adapt the films to theme parks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-earth_Enterprises

But does owning the film rights also give them theme park rights? As we can see from Marvel, the two are not necessarily the same.

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ]

Wrong area to armchair imagineer but I would be pretty happy to have a Walt Disney tribute ride.

Similar in aspect to GMR but with scenes exploring the life of Walt, the birth of Mickey Mouse, the magic of the early animated shorts and his movies and the creation of Walt Disney World and his ever-lasting influences. Do it up Mystic Manor style and you've got a solid attraction in the heart of a park still inspired by the magic of animation.

 

[Bairstow]

But does owning the film rights also give them theme park rights? As we can see from Marvel, the two are not necessarily the same.

You are correct. The Tolkien Estate retains the theme park rights and some of its members, Christopher especially, are adamantly opposed to any such project.

 

[Nick Wilde]

Wrong area to armchair imagineer but I would be pretty happy to have a Walt Disney tribute ride.

Similar in aspect to GMR but with scenes exploring the life of Walt, the birth of Mickey Mouse, the magic of the early animated shorts and his movies and the creation of Walt Disney World and his ever-lasting influences. Do it up Mystic Manor style and you've got a solid attraction in the heart of a park still inspired by the magic of animation.

So your'e basically saying move One Man's Dream to GMR?