Just who IS in those costumes? AND are they coached how to act?

[graphite1326]

Minnie a man?.. I always thought she had great legs, YUK.

 

[unkadug]

There's a difference between being politically incorrect and being completely nonsensical. Characters' friends are hired to, within a ridiculously uncomfortable costume which deliberately hides any distinguishable human features, deliver a performance. They're. Performers. They're playing a role and aiming to make each guest's experience magical.

Chances are that if they got hired in the first placed after audition, they were and continue to be able to deliver a quality performance, along with their fellow employees. That means that you will get the same caliber of performance from the character, whether their "friend" is female or male, whether they identify as a guy or a girl, whether they're a bright pink dinosaur. And that's what matters.

If the point of character interactions was to forge a romantic relationship in some weird two-minute ritual, you could very well plead political incorrectness and everything would be fine. But if a completely platonic interaction with a character who may or may not be a dude beneath the costume is that nervewrecking/disgusting, then there may be bigger problems to deal with than a dedication to political incorrectness.

Also, it's not a crime to think progressively. Or logically. Reveling in stagnation seems not-very-21st-century-at-all.

Very well said. :wave:


Unfortunately, the voice of logic often falls on deaf ears.

 

[timoteo]

I did here from a cast member friend that women do play majority of the costume character because of size, but that there were a number of young male performers with, gymnastics, cirque du sole and ballet training who would play female characters, like minnie. If they could do it, they got the job. A lot of young guys if they are short dancers really have great stamina to play what ever. And when its 90 degrees and you are skipping around as minnie, its strength and stamina to just keep good posture and flow in the movements that counts

 

[nc_disneyfreak]

...............

How? Unless you truly believe you're hugging a 5 foot tall mouse, the illusion has already been spoiled.

then why bother....its called imagination

 

[nc_disneyfreak]

it really isnt that difficult

It's not as if I think about it while I'm there. It's afterwards, when reading a thread like this. Obviously, I've been going to Disney long enough that I know that Minnie could be a guy or Mickey could be a girl. Like I said, when I'm there I suspend belief. It doesn't occur to me. But when thinking about it after the fact, it just takes something away from it. Call it being passive aggressive I suppose.

great comments captain, i dont get whats so hard about it.

 

[MichWolv]

It's not as if I think about it while I'm there. It's afterwards, when reading a thread like this. Obviously, I've been going to Disney long enough that I know that Minnie could be a guy or Mickey could be a girl. Like I said, when I'm there I suspend belief. It doesn't occur to me. But when thinking about it after the fact, it just takes something away from it. Call it being passive aggressive I suppose.

I don't think that it's passive aggressive -- indeed, you don't seem aggressive or angry about it at all.

But I don't understand. Even after the fact, why does it take more away from the fantasy/magic/fun to think "There was a woman inside that Mickey/Pluto/Donald/Buzz costume" than to think "There was a man inside that Mickey/Pluto/Donald/Buzz costume"?

 

[nc_disneyfreak]

I don't think that it's passive aggressive -- indeed, you don't seem aggressive or angry about it at all.

But I don't understand. Even after the fact, why does it take more away from the fantasy/magic/fun to think "There was a woman inside that Mickey/Pluto/Donald/Buzz costume" than to think "There was a man inside that Mickey/Pluto/Donald/Buzz costume"?

hence the word....passive
after the fact....its just a passing thought. Im sure captain doesnt dwell every waking moment to it. Its just kind of odd. When you think mickey, pluto, buzz etc...you just think theres a guy, and its a little strange to think otherwise. Does it matter at the end of the day?...no.

 

[MichWolv]

hence the word....passive
after the fact....its just a passing thought. Im sure captain doesnt dwell every waking moment to it. Its just kind of odd. When you think mickey, pluto, buzz etc...you just think theres a guy, and its a little strange to think otherwise. Does it matter at the end of the day?...no.

Not in the least. It just spoils the illusion for me a little.

But that's why I asked, nc_dis. Cap'n seems to say it DOES matter at the end of the day, at least a little.

 

[MIKETFROMRI]

WHOA..boy doesnt take much to take a thread way off course...when I started this thread all I asked was....who plays the charecters...asking if females played donald etc..I NEVER insinuated it was wrong...I had said I had said hello to Minnie ( saying it as if there WAS a cute "minnie like" girl in side" but was only wondering. GEEEEZ guys calm down!

 

[yensid67]

I can understand that. I just don't understand how the knowledge that the person inside might be a different gender than the character makes it harder to lose yourself in the fantasy.

That is, in order to lose yourself, you have to pretend that there isn't a person in there, so why does the gender of the person you pretend isn't there even matter?

IF YOU TRULY LOOSE YOURSELF IN THE FANTASY OF THE PARKS AND MEETING THE CHARACTERS, THEN IT DOENS'T MATTER WHAT GENDER IS IN THE COSTUME BECAUSE IF YOU TRULY ARE IMMERSED IN THE FANTASY, THEN THOSE 'CHARACTERS' ARE REAL !:wave:

 

[JIMINYCR]

WHOA..boy doesnt take much to take a thread way off course...when I started this thread all I asked was....who plays the charecters...asking if females played donald etc..I NEVER insinuated it was wrong...I had said I had said hello to Minnie ( saying it as if there WAS a cute "minnie like" girl in side" but was only wondering. GEEEEZ guys calm down!

Reminds me of when I was a kid, my mother would scold me - "Look at what you started." And I would sheepishly say " What? I didn't do anything" :ROFLOL:
No one has any control over how the thread is going to move and the shape it will take, except for maybe the moderators.

 

[MichWolv]

WHOA..boy doesnt take much to take a thread way off course...when I started this thread all I asked was....who plays the charecters...asking if females played donald etc..I NEVER insinuated it was wrong...I had said I had said hello to Minnie ( saying it as if there WAS a cute "minnie like" girl in side" but was only wondering. GEEEEZ guys calm down!

You asked a good question, and it set off lots of discussion -- some of it exactly where you would have expected it to go, and some of it not at all where you expected it to go. Welcome to the internet!

And just to clarify, most of those who said they didn't like to think about the inahabitor of the costume possibility being of the oppopiste gender did not say they thought there was anything WRONG with it, just that it felt a little odd and/or they preferred not to think about it.

 

[Thomas morrow]

Wait those are peolpe in costumes http://nooooooooooooooo.com/

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

When I worked at the Cdn Pavilion I was dating Tigger - he was in the UK pavilion and we shared a break trailer.

Because of his height (and his great performance skill) he sometimes also played Captain Hook, Goofy and Jafar...I could pick him out of a lineup of Tiggers (if that were possible, given that there is only one Tigger) :lookaroun

But when he played the other characters he would always fool me. I had a day off in the parks with one of my guy friends (his friend, too) and thought Captain Hook was being a little pushier than usual - he pointed at my friend and gave him a big thumbs down, looked at the two of us together and shook his head then grabbed my hand, waved goodbye to my friend and whisked me off :lol:

Tigger was quite the romantic though - when the double decker bus would pass by Canada taking the characters to their meet & greet Tigger would jump off the back of the bus with either some candy or a flower or something for me...give me a "kiss" on the hand and run back to the bus.

Kids would stare in awe and say, "You know Tigger!?" and I would say, "Boy do I EVER know Tigger"

 

[HalloweenNut]

We've always been up front with our daughter about the fact that there are people inside the characters - we don't dwell on it but at the same time we don't make it this big secret. In no way does it spoil the magic for her. At our local theme park she is absolutely thrilled to see them and can't wait to run up and give them a hug! For disney she's looking forward to each and every character meet (except princesses - she's not big into them, except Mulan because she can do kung fu!) and has drawn pictures for them and wants their autographs. She knows they are just costumes but doesn't seem to give it a moments thought. Even at our town's christmas parade she'll want to hug all the marching characters - it won't matter if they are in the most threadbare, dime store costumes - she loves them all.

 

[captainkidd]

But that's why I asked, nc_dis. Cap'n seems to say it DOES matter at the end of the day, at least a little.

Honestly, not really. In the context of thinking about it as I read through this thread, maybe. But honestly, the people questioning me seem a whole lot more concerned than I am about it.:shrug:

 

[blm07]

Are people really that bothered by the comment about Minnie? We've always seen Minnie as a female, and being the most famous Disney female, it would be a bit awkward knowing there is a guy in the costume. Get over it.

and now argue pointlessly about that for many pages to come

 

[Ravenclawdia]

Are people really that bothered by the comment about Minnie? We've always seen Minnie as a female, and being the most famous Disney female, it would be a bit awkward knowing there is a guy in the costume. Get over it.

and now argue pointlessly about that for many pages to come

Why is it a bit awkward? That's all we're looking for. An explanation and the discussion to follow. All there's been so far is "I'm uncomfortable with it!" but nobody answering the "Why?" question with anything more than OMG POLITICALLY CORRECT PEOPLE ARE OPPRESSING ME HELP.

 

[Tigger1988]

Why is it a bit awkward? That's all we're looking for. An explanation and the discussion to follow. All there's been so far is "I'm uncomfortable with it!" but nobody answering the "Why?" question with anything more than OMG POLITICALLY CORRECT PEOPLE ARE OPPRESSING ME HELP.

Bingo. Just answer the question.

 

[blm07]

Why is it a bit awkward? That's all we're looking for. An explanation and the discussion to follow. All there's been so far is "I'm uncomfortable with it!" but nobody answering the "Why?" question with anything more than OMG POLITICALLY CORRECT PEOPLE ARE OPPRESSING ME HELP.

Because it's supposed to be a cute girl acting girly, and yet there is a guy under there, LIKE OMG totally gag me with the PC spoon!