Ok, this is all very interesting and amusing. I want to believe all of this more than anyone, and certainly hope that even half of the characters listed here come out more often. But, there are a few issues I have to list out.
Now none of these are necessarily deal-breakers, but they do cause me to pause when considering this rumor. I'm not trying to shoot this down, only discuss and analyze, which is the point of these boards, so no flames please.
Ok, here goes the analysis:
1) Many of the characters listed do not currently exist in costume form, or haven't been out in so long that they probably need a facelift.
Included in this group is: Figaro, Ludwig, Humphrey, Ranger, Mr. Lopart, Pumbaa, Pete, etc. Not saying these couldn't be in the works, it just seems unlikely to have so many new friends appear all at once. If so, the costuming department must be working overtime!
2) If this was a bona fide list from the Character department, I think they would have gotten the names of the Characters correct. It's Fifer Pig, not Piper Pig. Mrs. Incredible is not allowed to be called Elastigirl in the parks. Pumbaa has two "a"s and Aladdin has two "d"s. Baloo wouldn't be called Baloo the Bear, just Baloo. It's Mr. Walrus, not Walrus.
3) Some of the grouping seems just odd. Why is Figaro in the Mickey and Friends section? Sure, die hard fans know that he was in a few cartoons with Minnie, but to 95% of the people, he is from Pinocchio. And why is Mr. Walrus in the Villains section? Most people don't really see him as a villain, even though it can be argued that he was. Sounds more like a fan creation than an official broad-appeal creation.
4) Some characters who are currently out at WDW with decent regularity are not listed. Such as: Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum, Suzy, Perla, Frozone, Meeko, King Louie, Foulfellow, Gideon, Stanley, Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, Marie, Mushu, Chicken Little, Abby, T Rex, Roxie etc. Is this new book concept really trying to say that Huey Dewey and Louie are going to be easier to find than Meeko?!?!? There are too many current characters missing for me to buy in to all of the new (although admittedly very cool) ones listed.
5) Why is Mayor Weaver included in the list? The majority of people will be trying to figure out what movie he's from.
6) Echoing an earlier comment, why just Drizella? It's like listing only 5 of the dwarfs. I don't buy the Anastasia argument - if they were listed together, it would be just fine. And I know for a fact that Entertainment currently will not send out just one of the step-sisters...if one is absent, they cut the other one, since they must appear together. So it makes no sense to only have one listed in this book.
7) I also don't buy the Lady Tremaine is too scary arguement. Scarier than Jafar or the Big Bad Wolf? I don't think so.
8) Why Big Al and not any of the other Country Bears? He's traditionally been the hardest of the four to find, not the easiest.
9) Why Kronk without Kuzco? Strange to not have the star of the movie/show.
10) Regarding the comment about Sorcerer Mickey signing in the Special Meetings section, and not the Mickey page: What about Safari Mickey at DAK? Or Dreams Mickey at MGM? Or Mexico Donald? I have a tough time believing that the general public would be ok with Mickey not signing on his page because he's at DAK and not MK.
Ok, like I said, I'd love to be proven wrong on all of these comments. It would be great to see Humphrey and the Ranger out in the parks. I'd love to get a picture with Pete or Gaston. But as of now, I'm taking it with a few pounds of salt. And I'll happily eat a few pounds of crow in a few months if this all turns out to be true!:lol:
