The original idea behind Disney-MGM Studios was to create a sanitized version of Hollywood in the 1930s/40s. It played into the collective nostalgia during the 1980s that also fueled the new home video rental market and the launch of things like Criterion and Turner Classic Movies. "Hollywood glamour" of the past was looked fondly upon then, and there was media to support this view.
At the same time Disney was building and launching their new park, the company was making several movies that also shared this same aesthetic. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Dick Tracy and The Rocketeer each took place in a fantasy version of Los Angeles in roughly the same era, and not so coincidently, all three were heavily promoted in MGM Studios. Their shared visual language made them a natural fit for each other, much more so than later movies that got major publicity in the form of parades, shows and such.
In my mind, these movies define the park and whenever I watch them today I think of Disney-MGM Studios and the executives in the promotional material for the park talking about how nostalgic the whole thing was, and in particular the Great Movie Ride, which itself included references to movies from the 1930s and 40s. Or the plans to build more rides based on the titles mentioned above.
I think that's why today I have such a disconnect when I see that 6 out of the 9 rides in DHS are based on Toy Story or Star Wars, both previously one-off experiences in a park that both felt more specific in its setting, but more varied in its content. The street facades are still there, but their meaning has been lost because the park itself doesn't have the same strong connective tissue, nor has Disney made any current movies that relate to that setting. For a park that's more about synergy than any other at WDW, that aspect of the experience was ironically stronger when Disney built more original attractions on average.
At the same time Disney was building and launching their new park, the company was making several movies that also shared this same aesthetic. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Dick Tracy and The Rocketeer each took place in a fantasy version of Los Angeles in roughly the same era, and not so coincidently, all three were heavily promoted in MGM Studios. Their shared visual language made them a natural fit for each other, much more so than later movies that got major publicity in the form of parades, shows and such.
In my mind, these movies define the park and whenever I watch them today I think of Disney-MGM Studios and the executives in the promotional material for the park talking about how nostalgic the whole thing was, and in particular the Great Movie Ride, which itself included references to movies from the 1930s and 40s. Or the plans to build more rides based on the titles mentioned above.
I think that's why today I have such a disconnect when I see that 6 out of the 9 rides in DHS are based on Toy Story or Star Wars, both previously one-off experiences in a park that both felt more specific in its setting, but more varied in its content. The street facades are still there, but their meaning has been lost because the park itself doesn't have the same strong connective tissue, nor has Disney made any current movies that relate to that setting. For a park that's more about synergy than any other at WDW, that aspect of the experience was ironically stronger when Disney built more original attractions on average.
