UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
My old VHS copy must still include that line, or the soundtrack I had does because I specifically remember that line. Maybe both! They're somewhere at my parents' house.
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EPCOT Reflections of Earth confirmed to be replaced by Harmonious
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
My old VHS copy must still include that line, or the soundtrack I had does because I specifically remember that line. Maybe both! They're somewhere at my parents' house.
Castle Cake Apologist
Well-Known Member
Feedback I've seen across most social media has been overwhelmingly negative. Most of the people that comment on corporate Disney posts are rabid pixie dust addicts, and even they're coming for this disaster.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
It seems Ayn Rand is new Executive Director for Parades and Spectaculars. Tonight she will be unveiling her new creation for the Magic Kingdom, carrying her message that "the magic is YOU!"
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
So I’m assuming I’ll be able to get a nice spot like 5 min out next week? Given the response.
Squishy
Well-Known Member
Imagineering will fill the crowd with androids to make sure it doesn't look empty.
Nope. You are going to be surrounded by a sea of people all outdoing each other with insults about the show.
This is damage control....
Yep,...Disney will intensify this in the days the come. They have their ear on the train tracks, they feel the vibration and they "now" know it's coming FAST. I have to bet that they already had their first internal damage control meetings to get their "social media counter-measures" action plan moving.
Disney will not let this show fail,...no matter how intense the public outcry is.
It has begun!....
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
I hear if you toss a tomato through the donut, you get Genie+ for a day.Nope. You are going to be surrounded by a sea of people all outdoing each other with insults about the show.
"The magic is YOUAnd by YOU, we mean the singular.
What the individual wants
and grabs by the jugular!
So glad to see an Ayn Rand quote in the American Adventure Pavilion. It warms the cockles of my heart... and my heart alone... don't care if it warms anyone else, because I am me.
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DonaldDoleWhip
Well-Known Member
Gotta love the blanket dismissal of criticism already beginning, but Harmonious has some major problems. Most of them involve the soundtrack (which was hyped up as a strength) and pacing.
“Because it’s IP” is no longer driving this conversation.
One particularly egregious Twitter thread argued that if you’re white, you aren’t going to ‘get’ Harmonious, and the show is good because other groups feel seen.
Is it, though?
Two of my favorite segments of the show are the Lion King moments with Zulu intertwined and the Coco segment. I love the multicultural angle they were going for. But incorporating more cultural diversity doesn’t negate the lack of emotional resonance or a unifier throughout.
The unifier doesn’t even need to be English: could be score only (like RoE) or a blend.
I felt ‘seen’ during EF when Tapestry of Nations got its moment to shine. Didn’t make the rest of the show any better.
“Because it’s IP” is no longer driving this conversation.
One particularly egregious Twitter thread argued that if you’re white, you aren’t going to ‘get’ Harmonious, and the show is good because other groups feel seen.
Is it, though?
Two of my favorite segments of the show are the Lion King moments with Zulu intertwined and the Coco segment. I love the multicultural angle they were going for. But incorporating more cultural diversity doesn’t negate the lack of emotional resonance or a unifier throughout.
The unifier doesn’t even need to be English: could be score only (like RoE) or a blend.
I felt ‘seen’ during EF when Tapestry of Nations got its moment to shine. Didn’t make the rest of the show any better.
CJR
Well-Known Member
I'm going to give it time to see if it grows on me, I think. My initial reaction is not great.
I'll be seeing it in person tonight, so that'll be a start.
My initial impressions aren't always my long term feelings. I loved Star Wars Episode VIII in theaters the first time I saw it and quickly changed my mind once I realized what they did. I hated Epcot Forever on night one and ended up enjoying it after its return this year. So there's hope for the show on my end.
That said, even if it grows on me, I expect them to swap it out in a few years. Especially if HEA returns to MK after the 50th, which may not happen if Enchantment is loved. We'll see on that one.
I'll be seeing it in person tonight, so that'll be a start.
My initial impressions aren't always my long term feelings. I loved Star Wars Episode VIII in theaters the first time I saw it and quickly changed my mind once I realized what they did. I hated Epcot Forever on night one and ended up enjoying it after its return this year. So there's hope for the show on my end.
That said, even if it grows on me, I expect them to swap it out in a few years. Especially if HEA returns to MK after the 50th, which may not happen if Enchantment is loved. We'll see on that one.
Epcot82Guy
Well-Known Member
I agree. As a definite "non-IP" person, I was totally ready to lose the battle because they had an actually great use of Disney's wonderful song catalogue.
A story about how music brings us together and/or how music inspires us (individually - and then together), as much as I hate to admit it, would be a really solid show in line with Epcot. This wasn't that show.
There are so many story arcs that could be woven here. It's amazing they threw that idea for this soulless execution.
A story about how music brings us together and/or how music inspires us (individually - and then together), as much as I hate to admit it, would be a really solid show in line with Epcot. This wasn't that show.
There are so many story arcs that could be woven here. It's amazing they threw that idea for this soulless execution.
Mac Tonight
Well-Known Member
That seems less and less like an actual person's thoughts and more like answers on a test you'd give a sixth grader.
1. What elements of the show Harmonious best helped add shareholder value to the company?
2. What positive feelings did you experience while leaving Epcot after the show?
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
The story isn’t actually the complicated or missing in a sense, I just think the IP focus clouds people, on top of the transitions and lack of narrative thread.
The flow of the show:
The flow of the show:
- Show opening is an overture of Disney chants / gathering moments:
Narrator sets up what the show is about:
“All around us, the world is alive, with music, voices calling out in search of one another. We find each other in song.”
- Segues into the start of a journey
How Far I’ll Go / I Can Go The Distance (this is the one section that makes a bit less sense to me, but I believe it’s to setup the idea of starting a journey)
Compass appears on centre barge and we:
- Segue into a world showcase / tour of voices, language, and culture through various Disney IP/ Songs.
Ending with Dig a Little Deeper, which I think implies we all need to dig deep to see that we are all united as humans, brought together with song.
- Ends with Someday, Narrator gives the show the closing thought:
"You raise your voice, and it's enough to life the human spirit. Set the song inside you soaring and the whole wide world will hear it."
The actual songs used aren't designed to represent the pavilions, or a specific story, but a broader theme of unity through music and culture.
Clearly this does not resonate or work for many on these boards, but it works for me for the most part. But I do have a few tweaks I would make, most certainly.
Epcot82Guy
Well-Known Member
While I appreciate your view on it (and think that is the attempt) - it's a story being written around the songs. It's not using the songs to tell the story. And I would argue it's trying to tell way too many stories, based on the narrative above.
It's exactly the same issue happening with the Neighborhoods in my opinion. They have things they want to use instead of starting with a story and using the tech, songs, etc. to tell it. Ironically, it's what happens in the Shorts and Marketing Dept. vs. those who make masterpieces like Pixar films. Obviously it's a personal thing, but finding stories and tie ins is literally what I love about Disney Parks. (The story is what I loved about IROE so much - and I was one of the few who figured it out right away.) This tries way too hard for little result IMHO.
It's exactly the same issue happening with the Neighborhoods in my opinion. They have things they want to use instead of starting with a story and using the tech, songs, etc. to tell it. Ironically, it's what happens in the Shorts and Marketing Dept. vs. those who make masterpieces like Pixar films. Obviously it's a personal thing, but finding stories and tie ins is literally what I love about Disney Parks. (The story is what I loved about IROE so much - and I was one of the few who figured it out right away.) This tries way too hard for little result IMHO.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
You put this into better words than I had.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
Indeed. Basically nothing that Steve Davidson describes comes across in the show.
Was he responsible for this one? If he was, it reinforces my feeling that he put together some good shows but after a while everything began to feel repetitive. I don't believe Davidson was responsible for Happily Ever After, and I think that's one of the best nighttime spectaculars they've put together recently.
Magenta Panther
Well-Known Member
Happily Ever After is outstanding. I think it's the BEST spectacular they've ever done.
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
Okay so three acts:
Gather
Celebrate
Unite
Gather
Celebrate
Unite