Splash Mountain re-theme announced

[comics101]

The "Magical Negro" is a racist trope created by white people:

Magical Negro - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It’s also nowhere to be found in Splash Mountain. If the “Magical Negro” trope were featured in the attraction, I’d be the first to demand the ride be changed.

 

[BigDlover]

Except no one is being offended, so...

If Splash Mountain were really so offensive and racist, why is it that up until this very moment, nobody on these forums ever thought to bring up the issue? Why aren’t there threads and posts about how offended people were after having ridden Splash Mountain?

This really isn’t all that hard, people.

Disney certainly seems to disagree with you

 

[NomeKing88]

I’ll miss the OG Splash Mountain, but I understand why they want to make this change. Splash Mountain is a really expensive attraction to maintain. Normal parks have difficulties maintaining basic water rides, so I can imagine a water ride with numerous mechanical moving parts, ride vehicles, AND a large cast of animatronics would be difficult to keep up with. So you can bet they’ll be simplifying Effects and the amount of animatronics with this retheme.

As for the change in IP, it certainly would work at Disneyland. Their Splash Mountain is right next to New Orleans Square so that is actually a good thematic fit. But at Magic Kingdom? The ride is out of place as it is; it ruins the natural “East to West” progression of that part of the park (The Haunted Mansion’s New England architecture to the Wild West butes of Big Thunder Mountain). If they rethemed the nearby Frontierland buildings to look more like New Orleans it might work but I highly doubt they’d go that far.

 

[WDW Pro]

Yep. And the Spanish brought slaves to Florida in the 1500s - about 100 years before slaves were brought to the British colonies.

That's correct, but Florida was largely inhospitable until air conditioning. That's why slavery thrived as an industry only in the most northern parts of Florida.

 

[N2dru]

And now his contribution gets erased altogether. Yes, the irony.

No it doesn't...your argument is weak at best. A theme park attraction retheme does not invalidate nor erase his accomplishments.

 

[Captain Neo]

Hattie McDaniel.

ah just checked wikipeida. I was half right. He was the first AA male to win the award:

"On March 20, 1948, Baskett received an Honorary Academy Award for his performance as Uncle Remus.[5] Actress Ingrid Bergman and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Jean Hersholt presented him with the gold statuette "for his able and heart-warming characterization of Uncle Remus, friend and story teller to the children of the world in Walt Disney's Song of the South." He was the first African-American male actor to win an Academy Award. "

 

[champdisney]

Because there is literally zero evidence, and quite a bit testimony otherwise, to support your insinuation.

Zero evidence or not, it was extremely distasteful and you literally just said that the Song of the South is more offensive than his tweets because you condemned it for being racist. Let me remind you once again that not everyone thinks like you do.

And if you can prove to me that Song of the South and Splash Mountain is a work of racism, please chime me in because no matter what. Nothing is worse than someone making jokes out of pedophilia. Get out of here with that nonsense.

 

[tirian]

Yeah given an honorary Oscar for a movie he wasn't allowed to attend the premiere for and had to accept the award in the dining room/hall he wasn't allowed to eat in with his costars because of rules at the time. So yeah the irony.

And how does this affect Splash Mt?

 

[alias8703]

127 pages of mostly people complaining about the removal of a long known problematic and racist IP in 12 hours... sheesh. This is America.

 

[No Name]

Then Splash Mountain is the offensive grandmother in this case

Congratulations on not following the analogy. Song of the South is the offensive grandmother. Splash Mountain is the innocent grandchild.

 

[Brer Oswald]

It’s really disappointing that this is the case. It worries the heck out of me when I see any of my favorite attractions endangered. I remember back when IASW and HM were rumored to close by a clickbait site a few years back in the springtime, and I nearly had a panic attack. Now that may be the case if Disney takes this to another level. It’s horrible, and thinking about the good memories I had on those attractions, just makes me feel saddened and stressed now.

Mansion is without a doubt safe. It’s the cancel mob’s favourite attraction, and they would throw a hissy fit 10 times the magnitude that Splash fans are throwing right now if Disney announced a replacement.

That being said, by their logic, Mansion does have a problematic scene in the stretching room. It trivializes suicide as a joke, and it also features a noose (which is apparently now racist? I get the connection, and it’s very gruesome, but hanging isn’t exclusive to race, and it’s still used as a form of death penalty [which I’m adamantly against]).

This could get a quick scene redo like Pirates. But as someone who considers ending their life almost on the daily, I’ve never gone on Mansion and been inspired to hang myself immediately after. My days at Disney are what take me away from my horrible thoughts, and I feel very much at home when I’m there. At least, I did.

 

[tirian]

It’s also nowhere to be found in Splash Mountain. If the “Magical Negro” trope were featured in the attraction, I’d be the first to demand the ride be changed.

Same here. But I’m also a realist who hates generalizations. I don’t really fit into the crowd on any fan forum.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

The word has definitely taken on a new meaning in recent times. It’s supposed to refer to discrimination on a race based on the belief that one’s race is superior. Now it encompasses anything that might hurt one’s feelings regarding the background, regardless on if the intent was based on a superiority complex or not.

The whole reference to people of different skin colour as “race” is idiotic. We are all of the human race. But I digress.

It hasn't taken on any new meaning. People found it offensive when it was released and they do today.
Here try this, go to a store tomorrow and just say in a clear loud voice(try your'e best with mask) the words " Uncle Remus". Try it in different crowds and see how it goes. I can tell you saying "Uncle Leo" will be much easier to do.

 

[BigDlover]

Zero evidence or not, it was extremely distasteful and you literally just said that the Song of the South is more offensive than his tweets because you condemned it for being racist. Let me remind you once again that not everyone thinks like you do.

And if you can prove to me that Song of the South and Splash Mountain is a work of racism, please chime me in because no matter what. Nothing is worse than someone making jokes out of pedophilia. Get out of here with that nonsense.

How about Disney deciding to re-theme it?

 

[Homemade Imagineering]

Mansion is without a doubt safe. It’s the cancel mob’s favourite attraction, and they would throw a hissy fit 10 times the magnitude that Splash fans are throwing right now if Disney announced a replacement.

That being said, by their logic, Mansion does have a problematic scene in the stretching room. It trivializes suicide as a joke, and it also features a noose (which is apparently now racist? I get the connection, and it’s very gruesome, but hanging isn’t exclusive to race, and it’s still used as a form of death penalty [which I’m adamantly against]).

This could get a quick scene redo like Pirates. But as someone who considers ending their life almost on the daily, I’ve never gone on Mansion and been inspired to hang myself immediately after. My days at Disney are what take me away from my horrible thoughts, and I feel very much at home when I’m there. At least, I did.

I’m so sorry to hear that. Please don‘t hurt yourself, there is so much to look forward to in life, no matter how dull things may be.

 

[Captain Neo]

What's even more aggravating is they can just retheme it to a book series called Catfish bend with minimal changes and save all those amazing animatronics. Disney has had the rights to that book series since the late 70s and were planning an animated movie. There even is a reference to catfish bend in the Disneyland attraction (not sure about the Florida one)

They talk about it at 12:11 in this video:

 

[orlandogal22]

That's correct, but Florida was largely inhospitable until air conditioning. That's why slavery thrived as an industry only in the most northern parts of Florida.

True. South Florida was swamp.

 

[comics101]

Disney certainly seems to disagree with you

Do they? Or does Disney management believe that they know better than the average guest? My guess is the latter is true.

Again, just a bunch of elite white men telling the dumb masses that spend thousands of dollars on vacation what is and isn’t offensive/racist.

Edit: removal of the term “over-educated”

 

[CAlvares]

Except no one is being offended, so...

If Splash Mountain were really so offensive and racist, why is it that up until this very moment, nobody on these forums ever thought to bring up the issue? Why aren’t there threads and posts about how offended people were after having ridden Splash Mountain?

This really isn’t all that hard, people.

Correction: There’s plenty of previous posts on these forums regarding the origins of the ride and how problematic it is.
If you look up this subject on google and even on this very thread, you will see why the ride is offensive to some people.

Just because YOU are not personally offended by it, doesn’t mean no one else is.

 

[BlakeW39]

Another Black fan of Disney and Splash Mountain here but I have to respectfully disagree. There is benefit in this by becoming more positively inclusive. Splash Mountain is based on a movie that has been controversial and problematic since its premiere. James Baskett wasn't even allowed to attend the premiere in Atlanta due to segregation. This is bigger than just the PaTF fanbase.

There's no question that Song of the South was highly problematic. Actually I have the DVD and recognize the racism that it represents. But this isn't Song of the South. It's Splash Mountain, i.e. a Disney Parks ride that has no racial implications at all and purposely distances itself from the 1940s film.