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News Remy's Ratatouille Adventure coming to Epcot
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
DonaldDoleWhip
Well-Known Member
The ironic thing is I probably speak more French than most on the other side of this conversation. Just trying to have empathy for others who may want to learn something from what they heard.
(In retrospect, speaking French is very Karen. Now where’s the manager?)
DisneyDodo
Well-Known Member
If Disney were building Rat from scratch for WDW, there is 0 chance half would be in French. They're doing this for no reason other than that it's the easiest/cheapest route for them. They may try to pass it off as an attempt to make the ride more authentic or educational, but that is certainly not the motivation. The vast majority of guests riding this will not understand half the dialog, and nobody is learning a single word of French from it. Throwing in some well-known French words like "bonjour" can make it feel more authentically French. Repeating every line in two different languages OTOH is not productive unless you are dealing with a multilingual audience. To be clear, I'm not concerned that people won't know what's going on, given that the English more-or-less mirrors the French. The downside here is that in an attraction that is only X minutes long, X/2 minutes will be somewhat "wasted" (not completely, but not used to their maximum potential).
It's not the biggest deal, and I still look forward to riding, but I definitely see it as a negative.
It's not the biggest deal, and I still look forward to riding, but I definitely see it as a negative.
DonaldDoleWhip
Well-Known Member
Exactly. There’s a clear difference between the “Luca” strategy (sprinkling in a few words for emotion, emphasis, and charm, which the movie did to great effect), and a near 50-50 split.
Again, doesn’t bother me, as I understand most of it! Plus the visual context certainly helps, and nobody’s truly in the dark for very long. Still, in Epcot of all parks, it wouldn’t take much at all to satisfy those whose curiosity is piqued. Not doing so will always be lazy.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
But it's a little like creating an English language phrasebook for non-English speakers going on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride: it wouldn't really help language acquisition or cross-cultural literacy as the attraction isn't designed for that. It may help non-English speakers understand the ride a little better, but that is completely unnecessary here because Ratatouille was designed so that English and French speakers could understand it simultaneously.
Not to mention that the whole attraction relies on people looking at screens wearing 3D glasses. Handing out sheets or booklets with phrases used in the ride for people to read risks them doing just that through the attraction and missing the whole experience.
DonaldDoleWhip
Well-Known Member
The solution I’m envisioning would be phrases people can look up either before or after riding (e.g. a simple extension of either MDE or Play Disney Parks).
Would hate for people to be buried in their phones or a phrase book during the attraction, completely agreed there.
Come to think of it, this feels like something Disney should be doing anyway for each pavilion in World Showcase. Just some basic phrases or greetings - I imagine many would love it! Would certainly be more interesting and engaging than Dumbo trivia or making a light flicker in the Peter Pan queue.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
That would actually be a great addition to World Showcase. Particularly once they get all the cultural representatives back.
I could, for example, imagine having a little booth or table where people could try out some phrases and responses and each country and get stamps in a passport or something that way. As you say, far better that most of the interactive stuff they've come up with the apps and they can still use the apps to provide phrases, responses, pronunciation, etc. Maybe even do some kind of promotion with some kind of language app or learning service.
I am completely on board with you on this!
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
Whenever I took my kids to Kidcot stops (back when the Cultural Exchange staffed them), they’d learn a few phrases in the language. We stopped by every country on Christmas Day 2019 and it was a wonderful experience.
DonaldDoleWhip
Well-Known Member
Thank you - I promise I’m not trying to be a total Karen or protest the use of another language in the parks!
On the contrary, it would be so very Epcot to support guests who have that initial spark to learn more, rather than shrug and say, “you’re on your own, have you tried Google Translate?”
Shouldn’t be limited to the kids, either - plenty of adults missed their chance to learn another language (or it’s been decades since their last Spanish class), and I can’t imagine this would go unappreciated.
I like the idea so much, I may even suggest it at Guest Relations when I’m next in the park. Don’t expect anything to happen from there, but frankly it seems like a no-brainer to me.
TikibirdLand
Well-Known Member
had to FORCE my kids to take Spanish in HS. You'd thought I punished them! I so wished I learned it when I was in school. But, learning BASIC counted as a language so I got out of my language requirement!
SpoiledBlueMilk
Well-Known Member
I know enough French to fill the back of a matchbox but I enjoyed the ride at DLP. People need to relax.
DonaldDoleWhip
Well-Known Member
Good for you (and your kids) - they’ll be that much better off even for having a basic exposure! (And not that kind of BASIC haha)
My experience was different - I started with Italian in middle school because the teacher made it so engaging (have no Italian ancestry at all, just loved learning it), then added French in high school because my grandparents lived in France at the time and I really wanted exposure to both.
Not that it helps me now, but I remain incredibly proud of my perfect score on the AP French exam; also still impresses people when I pronounce “pot de crème” correctly.
Not only that, but to this day I still watch things in French and Italian (WandaVision is even more romantic when Visione is speaking italiano!), and it’s a dimension of my life I’m eager to maintain, despite the challenges.
To think Ratatouille could be the springboard that inspires someone to learn French. Now that’s cool, IMO.
DonaldDoleWhip
Well-Known Member
This is a discussion forum where people care deeply about everything from trash can design to gradient of the pavement.
Don’t think there’s a single topic that warrants saying others need to relax, simply because it’s a non-factor to you.
ImperfectPixie
Well-Known Member
But, but, but...telling people things they care about aren't important is COOL! /s
SpoiledBlueMilk
Well-Known Member
Not trying to tell people not to care. Just trying to say that riding an attraction in the France pavilion that includes French shouldn't be a concern. Just roll with it. Anyway, wouldn't having it translated 100% in English break the theming?
DonaldDoleWhip
Well-Known Member
See my post on the Emile vs. Remy mentality - to me, this isn’t a matter of not being able to follow along. Obviously we all can, as the plot is as basic as it gets.
Rather, it’s going the extra mile (something Disney used to do by default, see Indiana Jones in 1995) and providing an optional resource for those inspired to learn more, using one of those nifty apps that already provides beyond-pointless trivia and interactivity.
To those who don’t care, of course you aren’t missing anything! That’s clearly not everyone, though.
castlecake2.0
Well-Known Member
I still don’t get why no one cares about the majority of Canada’s theme song being in French?
James Alucobond
Well-Known Member
I often agree with what you have to say, but this seems the most minute of all minutiae to nitpick. Even multilingual children’s shows have started to move this direction, where it’s more about understanding the sentiment of supporting phrases in another language rather than repeating what was already said verbatim in English or providing some sort of written guide. I think we can all agree that there would be differences had this been built in WDW first, but I also don’t see a problem with presenting it as-is given the context.
DonaldDoleWhip
Well-Known Member
You're allowed to feel that way. Clearly you're not alone. Neither am I, given more than one user has expressed disappointment with the dialogue situation.
I'm not even disappointed myself; I find the French charming! It was clearly the cheapest, easiest solution, but I personally like it.
However, I absolutely think Epcot in the 80s and 90s would have extended an olive branch to those who'd like to understand further, on their own time. "Who cares, you can google it" (which most curious individuals still won't do; they'll immediately move onto their next Genie booking or snack stop) is a sad reflection of where we are.
A song in another language is one thing, and there's a decent precedent of that. Reminds me of all the childrens' wishes added to ToN when it became the Tapestry of Dreams, as well as what we're getting with Harmonious. Then of course there's IASW! Music is more universal, even when you don't understand it.
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SpoiledBlueMilk
Well-Known Member
....because it's Canada?
