Splash Mountain re-theme announced

[J_Carioca]

Neither did Maelstrom. But, it kinda sorta did.

Yes. Maelstrom is effectively dead.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

This is total insanity. There is NOTHING wrong with Splash Mountain.

Also, how can anyone justify the ride remaining as it is in Tokyo? Is it not racist in Japan, too?

many things: TDR is not owned by Disney, and racism culture is obviously very different over there (they definitely turn more of a blind eye towards it)

 

[The_Jobu]

Because we're *not* Communists?

Statistically speaking, at least one of you is...

 

[milordsloth]

Wait, I can't go back in the thread because I'm lazy. What's happening to HoP?!

One of the attractions on the list of potential changes...

 

[RoysCabin]

Walt Disney himself testified before the HUAC committee against former members of his staff. So I assume you will now lead the protest against the place that bares his name? https://alphahistory.com/coldwar/walt-disney-testifies-huac-1947/

I'm well aware, and I found Walt doing so despicable. His bitterness towards his animators after their strike in the 1940s is well documented and, frankly, a negative mark on his life's story.

Doesn't particularly mean that me "boycotting Disney" would have any impact whatsoever on their bottom line, considering they're a media empire today with very little attachment to what the company was under Walt. Plus, as I said before, I'm a history teacher; I see no reason not to take in the entirety of a person's history, and while Walt's actions before HUAC were grotesque, I don't personally feel the need to disown any and every work the man was ever involved in.

In fact, you'll find that's the case with most historical figures. George Washington's fake teeth were, in part, made out of the teeth of his slaves. That's grotesque to me. George Washington also turned down an opportunity to be crowned lifelong king of America, which was a positive thing. Both facts can be true. I can understand why some people would rather not see statues up glorifying the man due to his history as a slaveholder, but that does not mean any considerable number of people are looking to disown Washington entirely. Human beings are complex creatures, and our reactions to one another are often complex, as well. C'est la vie.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

There's no way PatF isn't itself considered problematic in the future. It was made by a mostly white creative team, turns it black, female lead into a plush toy for most of its run time and glosses over the racial tensions of 1920s New Orleans. 10+ years after its release, it looks even more like the token of Disney's animated "classics" (which SotS was once advertised as) due to the continued lack of black leading characters in Disney's animation product. At least Black Panther had a black director.

To say nothing of all the criticisms leveled against in back in 2009. Everything from the dislike that Naveen wasn't black, but instead a made up ethnicity, to people complaining that it referenced Voodoo at all etc.

 

[BigDlover]

Funny how it wasn’t a problem until two weeks ago. I don’t recall anybody in the past 20 years say it was a problem. Even in this 2009 thread discussing this same exact thing...

Princess and the Frog & Splash Mountain

I just got home from watching the Princess and the Frog and I was wondering if anyone else had this strange connection. As I watched the movie, I could see disney turning Splash Mountain into a P&TF movie tie in. Not that this is something that I would want, but all during the Bayou scenes...

forums.wdwmagic.com

Funny how Disney said it was a problem so it doesn't matter what anyone on here says. It's happening.

 

[TangledUpInKnots]

My all-time ride being destroyed. Cool.

Exactly how I feel. I just feel like my childhood of riding with my dad over and over again has been ripped away from me and now I have memories of taking my little girl and it's her favorite ride. I'm not ashamed to say, I cried about it. It doesn't feel anything like a zip a dee doh day today

 

[Yert3]

The media certainly banged that drum until people believed it.

I’ve seen people on these boards call out IASW because they equate cartoon versions of “historical cultural diversity” with “racism.” “It’s so racist because they’re dressed in historical stereotypes no one wears anymore!” All right, let’s put all the kids in the same clothes. Which ones do you approve? Twenty-first century American versions? Hypocrites.

I wonder what these people would say if you showed them that people from the very same countires represented in IaSW were at the opening dressed in these “offensive costumes” willingly to represent their cultures. Their heads might explode.

 

[Beacon Joe]

Of what?

https://religiondispatches.org/bad-magic-voodoo-according-to-disney/

Black Savagery and "Voodoo" Horror at Universal Studio's <em>Bayou of Blood</em>

If scholars and adherents of Vodou are to be believed, consistent portrayals of 'voodoo' practitioners as barbaric, violent and most of all as African-American, not only influences public perception of our religion, but perception of African-Americans.

www.huffpost.com

You see how this works? We need to start the campaign to cancel the Princess and the Frog ride now.

 

[BigDlover]

I have no choice. Unfortunately you can't say the same for the radicals that demanded SM changed. Why don't you tell them deal with it?!

They don't need to be told anything, they were validated.

 

[BigDlover]

Because social media is the most powerful force on the planet now and if something controversial on there applies to big companies, you can be darn sure they'll address it. If not for social media, we'd be riding SM and singing Zippady Do Dah for a long long time.

Social media represents how people think and feel. Before social media there wasn't such a public way to express that. Enough people expressed how they felt - Disney listened.

 

[J_Carioca]

This is total insanity. There is NOTHING wrong with Splash Mountain.

Also, how can anyone justify the ride remaining as it is in Tokyo? Is it not racist in Japan, too?

YES!!!! I was just about to write this. If the connection to Song of the South is so problematic in the US, why is it okay to leave SM as is in other parts of the world? The fact that they are not announcing changes in Tokyo really shows that the announcement is much more about appearing to be culturally sensitive than truly thinking that the theming is a problem. (That said, I'm very happy there are no plans to change it in TDL and I will save up to get my Disney fix there from now on. I can't go to a Disney park and not ride SM.)

 

[Incomudro]

Yes. It's racist.

Song of the South - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Sorry, you are wrong.

 

[Bob Harlem]

Social media represents how people think and feel. Before social media there wasn't such a public way to express that. Enough people expressed how they felt - Disney listened.

It just amplifies loudmouths while most are too busy to pay attention. (I'm not excluding me in this either)

 

[Incomudro]

You realize sharecroppers were still essentially slaves... right? They were not free.

So?

 

[BigDlover]

Some of you realize that the ride itself isn’t going anywhere, right?

You gotta laugh at people crying about a ride in general, much less one when only the music and some of the scenery are changing

 

[Baloo62]

I'm well aware, and I found Walt doing so despicable. His bitterness towards his animators after their strike in the 1940s is well documented and, frankly, a negative mark on his life's story.

Doesn't particularly mean that me "boycotting Disney" would have any impact whatsoever on their bottom line, considering they're a media empire today with very little attachment to what the company was under Walt. Plus, as I said before, I'm a history teacher; I see no reason not to take in the entirety of a person's history, and while Walt's actions before HUAC were grotesque, I don't personally feel the need to disown any and every work the man was ever involved in.

In fact, you'll find that's the case with most historical figures. George Washington's fake teeth were, in part, made out of the teeth of his slaves. That's grotesque to me. George Washington also turned down an opportunity to be crowned lifelong king of America, which was a positive thing. Both facts can be true. I can understand why some people would rather not see statues up glorifying the man due to his history as a slaveholder, but that does not mean any considerable number of people are looking to disown Washington entirely. Human beings are complex creatures, and our reactions to one another are often complex, as well. C'est la vie.

I appreciate, and respect, the civility of your articulate response. I am a teacher as well.

 

[~msminniemouse~]

When will it end!!!! We need to stop giving in. This our history and if people don't like it don't ride it!!! Move on, get a job and leave history the way it is. Without the history, you wouldn't even be here!!!! I'm done!! Walt Disney will never be the same and it hasn't been for sometime. I hate change. You know the saying: If it's not broken, don't fix it!!

 

[Kate F]

Some people just like crushing dreams.