Soul at Epcot

[Brer Panther]

Pete Docter seems like the kind of guy who really likes EPCOT. I mean, he prevented Figment from getting tossed out again in favor of an Inside Out retheme. Maybe he could help design some original characters for EPCOT pavilions, though I imagine he might be too busy running PIXAR to do that.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

...destroying any credibility of being actually educative by feeding into the myth propagated by the corporate sponsor that oil comes from dinosaurs.

A mistaken belief, yes. But a myth propagated by the corporate sponsor? To what end? To claim that oil is liquid dinosaur would only magnify the unsustainability of oil: eventually you run out of dinosaurs, because there haven't been new dinos since prehistoric man clubbed the last ones to death.


The dinos are in UoE because that was the tradition of similar rides. And because dinosaurs are cool, and because every 11 year old boy knows that Stegosauri fight with Tyrannosauri reges and Disney parks back then were big boys' parks of astronauts and cowboys and pirates and dinosaurs.

The UoE dinos do humble our purists' claims for park purity. By and large, the dinorama served the same purpose as movie IP: a quick shortcut into excitement through deployment of familiar characters and worlds known from tv and picture books and toys. Just an IP not owned by TWDC.

 

[Po'Rich]

Must not have read my post.

Rides don’t need a conflict. Especially at Epcot. The attraction would essentially be close to the same, but the theme would change to purpose and spark, as opposed to the history of communication. And it would essentially be narrated and followed by a couple of characters from the film.

To anyone who has not seen the movie, don't read this post.

I saw your post, and I was going to reply, but I didn't want to give away any of the movie to those who haven't seen it. I can see what you are saying, and I can see Disney doing essentially what you present. However, it could end up just being a shoehorning in an IP just for the sake of an IP. E.g: here is the history of innovation as presented by Joe Gardner and 22.

Also (and more important), purpose and spark are not the same thing. That's the point of the movie. It wasn't about 22 or Joe finding the one thing that set them apart or gave them purpose. Instead, spark is simply the enjoyment of life. So, a ride where Joe and 22 narrate the various purposes of humanity would be cross-message with the movie itself.

 

[MisterPenguin]

It’s a great fan misconception that this is what was said in the ride. Contrary to that, the original script was to travel back to the general era when fossil fuels were formed - an era when dinosaurs happened to populate the earth.

The Ellen version dumbed it down so much as to be ambiguous.

Did it mention, while looking at dinosaurs, that layers of plankton, algae, and bacteria were building up in shallow oceans that would one day become petroleum?

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I've always thought that the America Pavilion could use a jazz band. While Fife & Drum and a capella renditions of American folk songs are very American, so is the one musical style recognized around the world as originated in America [through a sycretistic amalgam of other cultural musical styles], namely, Jazz.

Disney wants to check the diversity and authenticity boxes? Then put a Black jazz combo in the American Garden Theater. Soul gives the perfect opportunity to do so and IPize it at the same time. The Soul of Jazz!

As far as an attraction, such as a ride... I can't think of a way to even do that. Nothing in the film, IMO, lends itself to being a ride. It would be like having a ride based on Freaky Friday.

I’m not advocating for this, but it’s pretty easy to imagine a classic-style Disney dark ride for this film.

You start out in your ride vehicle in the land of the living (with jazz music.) “Something goes wrong” and your sped up vehicle crosses through a blue light framed square into “the other side” (with Trent Reznor music.)

You see some of the (I’m going to forget proper terms) pre-souls and the bigger line-drawing beings in charge. Cool so far.

But uh-oh, Terry is chasing you!

Next scene, those big depressed souls are after you.

Someone convinces Tina Fey to stop the negative self-talk and that she is awesome and ready to go to earth (practical lesson reinforced) and your vehicle takes you down through a hole back to earth. Cue jazz again.

 

[marni1971]

Did it mention, while looking at dinosaurs, that layers of plankton, algae, and bacteria were building up in shallow oceans that would one day become petroleum?

Which version? Ellen?

 

[marni1971]

I’m not advocating for this, but it’s pretty easy to imagine a classic-style Disney dark ride for this film.

You start out in your ride vehicle in the land of the living (with jazz music.) “Something goes wrong” and your sped up vehicle crosses through a blue light framed square into “the other side” (with Trent Reznor music.)

You see some of the (I’m going to forget proper terms) pre-souls and the bigger line-drawing beings in charge. Cool so far.

But uh-oh, Terry is chasing you!

Next scene, those big depressed souls are after you.

Someone convinces Tina Fey to stop the negative self-talk and that she is awesome and ready to go to earth (practical lesson reinforced) and your vehicle takes you down through a hole back to earth. Cue jazz again.

Sounds ideal. For Fantasyland.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Sounds ideal. For Fantasyland.

I don’t care where, and it was just off the top of my head and not thoroughly planned out (obviously) but the only point was to rebut the statement that this film didn’t lend itself to a ride/attraction at all.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Which version? Ellen?

Well I know Ellen's didn't. I went napped on that ride often enough. Did the original mention petroleum comes from microscopic organic sea sediment?

 

[marni1971]

Well I know Ellen's didn't. I went napped on that ride often enough. Did the original mention petroleum comes from microscopic organic sea sediment?

Not that I recall.

 

[HongKongFooy]

like Mystic Manor in HKDL & Sindbad in TDS. Those were very much large successes & produced recently

I appreciate what you're saying and *TO ME* Sindbad is very successful----a top 7 on property---but I'm afraid that in the context of Tokyo Disney parks it flops. Flops terribly.
Inexplicably Japanese guests as a whole (95%+ of parkgoers) don't dig on it..........it has been known to see walks ons while the rest of Disney Sea sees an hour or much longer waits.

It was so unpopular that OLC had to add in the Chandu tiger character which helped for a while to draw more guests but is still not a big hit.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Coming soon: Apple Dumpling Gang mine train on TSI..

 

[britain]

I found Soul to be mushy in terms of rules and systems, something that Inside Out was much better at. I don’t want to see Soul and it’s melancholy look on existence infiltrate Epcot.

 

[Marden]

As someone who identifies as dead inside, I'd appreciate TWDC not appropriating our culture more than they already have.

 

[networkpro]

I found Soul to be mushy in terms of rules and systems, something that Inside Out was much better at. I don’t want to see Soul and it’s melancholy look on existence infiltrate Epcot.

IMHO Inside Out was a movie about the inner turmoil of a developing psyche edging towards schizophrenia, while Soul was more esoteric focusing on what it takes to make a meaningful happier life.

 

[Magicart87]

IMHO Inside Out was a movie about the inner turmoil of a developing psyche edging towards schizophrenia, while Soul was more esoteric focusing on what it takes to make a meaningful happier life.

pretty colors!

 

[Michael T]

Random IP at EPCOT? Sounds like it fits to me.

 

[NickMaio]

If anything, they should be in DHS.

Because Disney, Hollywood and Studios.

Is Dis ever going to change the name of this park.
DHS makes little sense.

 

[WondersOfLife]

To anyone who has not seen the movie, don't read this post.

I saw your post, and I was going to reply, but I didn't want to give away any of the movie to those who haven't seen it. I can see what you are saying, and I can see Disney doing essentially what you present. However, it could end up just being a shoehorning in an IP just for the sake of an IP. E.g: here is the history of innovation as presented by Joe Gardner and 22.

Also (and more important), purpose and spark are not the same thing. That's the point of the movie. It wasn't about 22 or Joe finding the one thing that set them apart or gave them purpose. Instead, spark is simply the enjoyment of life. So, a ride where Joe and 22 narrate the various purposes of humanity would be cross-message with the movie itself.

I’m very aware of the message of the movie. You’re way too nit picky on what I’m saying. Also I didnt give the movie away in my post. Also it doesn’t have to be 22. Or even Joe.

 

[cookiee_munster]

If you haven’t watched Pixar’s “Soul” film yet... I highly recommend doing so!

Personally, the film gives me just as strong Epcot vibes as Inside Out. Beautiful movie. Wonderful message. Anybody think there’s ever a chance of this film making it over to the park?

I watched it last night and was absolutely blown away by it. everything, the visuals, the soundtrack just the general imaginitive way the pre-life world was created.

I wouldn't myself want to see a Soul based attraction at Epcot, but what i did think was the pixar team have enough imagination to really takeover the imagination pavillion and create a truly unique attraction without the need to stuff any kind of exisitng Pixar characters/story into it and maybe still being able to keep figment in it, with maybe a little pixaresque makeover.