News Tiana's Bayou Adventure - latest details and construction progress

[TrainsOfDisney]

Everything they have told us about this ride so far is about their painstaking steps to celebrate New Orleans culture.

Examples please?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I did do some digging into this as I was curious. There was the New Orleans Renaissance going on in the 1920s and then more broadly in the first half of the 20th century there was the Southern Modern movement which did create art that feels similar to that - though I will say most examples I found that seemed similar were more from the 1930s and 40s

For example, this is from 1941

View attachment 760536


So it feels more inspired by what was starting to go on in that time, but not yet typical (which feels similar to the rest of the cenpts for the ride which are a bit ahead of their time/not common but also not totally outlandish)

I think the bright, saturated colors and inclusion of actual Disney characters (Louis) is adding to the anachronistic feel.

Using earthier tones, as in the example above, and having animals drawn in another style would go a long way.

Not having a hard edge at the top and bottom would also make it look more like it was hand painted and less like a decal.

 

[CinematicFusion]

All Disney has to do is make it 10 times better then the All Time classic splash mountain ride… (maybe one of the greatest rides ever) and Disney will be fine.
Disney pulls another journey into imagination reimagining face plant and the struggles for Disney from 2023 will continue.

 

[Bocabear]

Why hire a new Orleans artist at all for this... The mural does not evoke the timeplace or setting, it does not further the storyline or evoke the film... it was an expensive add-on just to be able to say Hey Look we hired an artist from New Orleans, look how authentic....though it is the wrong style from the wrong time period... What always made the Disney thematic settings wasn't necessarily how literal they were, but how evocative they were...How they could transport you to a different time and place...evoking the setting VS literally trying to recreate it... The fake trees and the bayou-fication of the mountain are fine to me...it is gestural, makes sense, and I understand it as placemaking... The fact that no one seems to get the mural shows that it is not necessarily evocative...It sure doesn't make me think of the time and place the ride is supposedly set... quite the opposite.
Now excuse me while I go contact Banksy to do the murals for the Mary Poppins attraction in EPCOT....

 

[mickEblu]

Why hire a new Orleans artist at all for this... The mural does not evoke the timeplace or setting, it does not further the storyline or evoke the film... it was an expensive add-on just to be able to say Hey Look we hired an artist from New Orleans, look how authentic....though it is the wrong style from the wrong time period... What always made the Disney thematic settings wasn't necessarily how literal they were, but how evocative they were...How they could transport you to a different time and place...evoking the setting VS literally trying to recreate it... The fake trees and the bayou-fication of the mountain are fine to me...it is gestural, makes sense, and I understand it as placemaking... The fact that no one seems to get the mural shows that it is not necessarily evocative...It sure doesn't make me think of the time and place the ride is supposedly set... quite the opposite.
Now excuse me while I go contact Banksy to do the murals for the Mary Poppins attraction in EPCOT....

Nice post. I want credit for the Banksy comparison though haha.

 

[Goofy Ninja]

I would have rather seen Tiana go somewhere else, like Fantasyland or her own land somewhere else. The ride just doesn't make any sense in Frontierland. It still won't, even if they do change the whole left side to New Orleans (Pecos, etc).

They'd just be messing up 2 lands in the process and making each of them way too small. Sightline wise it is awful as well, you're not supposed to have two large mountains, for separate lands be that close to one another.

 

[Snow Queen 83]

I would have rather seen Tiana go somewhere else, like Fantasyland or her own land somewhere else. The ride just doesn't make any sense in Frontierland. It still won't, even if they do change the whole left side to New Orleans (Pecos, etc).

They'd just be messing up 2 lands in the process and making each of them way too small. Sightline wise it is awful as well, you're not supposed to have two large mountains, for separate lands be that close to one another.

Someone brought up an interesting idea (I forget who lol). They said they should change the name of the land to "Critter Country". This way it is a more inclusive name for Tiana, Country Bears and the rest of the gang. The section would no longer have to be just about the Old West.

 

[_caleb]

I ask this in sincerity- can anyone provide examples of period-appropriate artwork that might have inspired this mural? The criticism that the painting is completely anachronistic seems strong - it doesn’t FEEL appropriate, which in theme park terms is the most important thing - but I’m not an art historian.

I think the bright, saturated colors and inclusion of actual Disney characters (Louis) is adding to the anachronistic feel.

About 100 pages ago, I fell down a rabbit hole of research into this. For starters, Malaika Favorite is an artist with her own distinct style. I believe she was selected for the TBA mural because her current work is evocative of a particular African American movement in the southern U.S. stretching from the 1900s to today.

From Reconstruction to the Civil Rights era, the movement of self-taught (for obvious reasons) artists known as memory painters who used traditional folk art colors, styles, and techniques to chronicle life events (like funerals, weddings, births, harvests, etc.) in the post-war South. Until photography became more accessible to African Americans, this is how much of their history was recorded. These artists are considered storytellers.

One of the most famous of these was Clementine Hunter (active a bit later than 1920s, but part of the same movement and style). Her work was often painted on found objects (no money for canvases) called childish and amateurish by critics, but has since come to be seen as exemplary of the movement:

Another example would be Sister Gertrude Morgan:

The earliest were people like Bill Traylor, who were born enslaved but later became free to depict life from their own perspectives. The movement ran deep in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Carolinas, but spread north during the Great Migration. You can see some of the same colors and imagery that became so prominent in the Harlem Renaissance (which @LittleBuford has pointed out).

I don't believe the TBA mural was done to imitate this style, I think Favorite was just being consistent with her own style. But hers has its place in a long and sacred tradition that would be consistent with what Imagineers seem to be going for: community memory folk art in the African American tradition.

Is it too much of a reach for WDI to go in a direction like this and expect audiences to dissociate the style from more contemporary versions drawn from the same inspiration? Maybe. Or maybe this is a good way to build in the authenticity they say they're committed to when representing cultures in their attractions and films.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I ask this in sincerity- can anyone provide examples of period-appropriate artwork that might have inspired this mural? The criticism that the painting is completely anachronistic seems strong - it doesn’t FEEL appropriate, which in theme park terms is the most important thing - but I’m not an art historian.

I did my Internet research a while ago, and couldn't find examples of that type of art that was typical for the early 20th century. I'm guessing they're going for modern Orleans on the outside for some reason.

Unfortunately, I can't spin this into period-appropriate art. I guess I'm an awful shill.

Anyhoo... here was my previous post (with pictures!)...

So, the use of colors and abstractions isn't exactly anachronistic. Here is a painting done in France in 1906.

View attachment 748552

However, I don't think they're going for "this could have been painted in the 1920s." It is very similar to the type of modern artwork for NOLA, Jazz, and Black history. See here:

View attachment 748553View attachment 748554

So, isn't that anachronistic to Frontierland or the 1920s?

Not if this area of Frontierland becomes New Orleans Square similar to Disneyland.

A modern mural in the style of NOLA murals depicting the Jazz greats of the the past (Luis the crocodilian) does 'fit.'

 

[plutofan15]

Why hire a new Orleans artist at all for this... The mural does not evoke the timeplace or setting, it does not further the storyline or evoke the film... it was an expensive add-on just to be able to say Hey Look we hired an artist from New Orleans, look how authentic....though it is the wrong style from the wrong time period... What always made the Disney thematic settings wasn't necessarily how literal they were, but how evocative they were...How they could transport you to a different time and place...evoking the setting VS literally trying to recreate it... The fake trees and the bayou-fication of the mountain are fine to me...it is gestural, makes sense, and I understand it as placemaking... The fact that no one seems to get the mural shows that it is not necessarily evocative...It sure doesn't make me think of the time and place the ride is supposedly set... quite the opposite.
Now excuse me while I go contact Banksy to do the murals for the Mary Poppins attraction in EPCOT....

Or maybe we wait until the attraction is complete before being judgenmental.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Or maybe we wait until the attraction is complete before being judgenmental.

Why didn't anyone care when people criticized Tron or Guardians and their giant showbuildings when they were being built? Some on this board, whether they're on Disney's payroll or not, seem to see it as their full-time job to defend this attraction against any criticism, even of the slightest amount. I've never really seen anything like it.

 

[plutofan15]

Why didn't anyone care when people criticized Tron or Guardians and their giant showbuildings when they were being built? Some on this board, whether they're on Disney's payroll or not, seem to see it as their full-time job to defend this attraction against any criticism, even of the slightest amount. I've never really seen anything like it.

I think it is asinine all the complaints made on any attraction/hotel or any project during construction. Many on this forum think they are all knowing experts, it is sad really. I prefer to wait until any project is complete and I see it in person before passing judgement.

 

[Tha Realest]

But the movie PatF didn’t do any of that so all of this extra stuff is unnecessary.

Not that I know of.

I suspect there’s a feeling amongst some of these creatives that PatF was problematic because 1) Tiana didn’t dream big enough, 2) she was defined as a character relative to her relationship, and 3) she was a frog for most of the film.

Surely the long-gestating production of the D+ series which has gone through multiple creative leads and still does not have a clear release date will improve on the character.

 

[_caleb]

I can agree with what they re doing moving forward but that’s still mostly influenced by the current climate

So what if it is? I'm not sure how that's a big revelation or that it serves as a reason to critique an attraction (which isn't complete yet). Even Disney attractions we consider to be timeless are products of the times in which they were developed.

 

[_caleb]

I suspect there’s a feeling amongst some of these creatives that PatF was problematic because 1) Tiana didn’t dream big enough, 2) she was defined as a character relative to her relationship, and 3) she was a frog for most of the film.

Surely the long-gestating production of the D+ series which has gone through multiple creative leads and still does not have a clear release date will improve on the character.

You don't have to suspect what the creatives are feeling; they've been telling us what their aspirations and inspirations are for TBA.

 

[mickEblu]

So what if it is? I'm not sure how that's a big revelation or that it serves as a reason to critique an attraction (which isn't complete yet). Even Disney attractions we consider to be timeless are products of the times in which they were developed.

I didn’t say it was a big revelation. But to answer your question if they continue to put messaging before story, placemaking etc it’s not going to end to well for them unless of course they have enough money reserved to weather this storm until a couple generations die off and everyone gets used to this new way of entertainment.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Let me put it like this:

View attachment 760499

I found this entire queue and mural ugly, off-putting, tacky. But I still enjoyed the attraction.

It’s not so binary. There can be aspects of any rides themed layers someone won’t enjoy or find to their taste, and others will love.

I fully understand the mural is polarizing, I just don’t understand the level of importance people are giving it.

It’s like a friend choosing a house colour you would never use on your own house, you think “oh god, what a choice”, and then you go inside and have the best time at the dinner party.

The Tiana mural you can see from outside the attraction. You can see it from the train station.

The Maelstrom mural you could only see if you went on the ride.

 

[plutofan15]

Good for you. You do what you prefer... See how that works in a free country?
Being a discussion forum and not a Disney-Owned cheerleading website, I thought we could discuss what we are seeing and what Disney themselves are putting out there... without being called asinine...
Again, you don't have to discuss it if you don't want to...and you can wait and discuss it when it is complete.....but then it wouldn't be a "latest details and construction progress" forum now would it?

Did I hit a nerve? Hit a little close to home? Feel free to discuss what you want when you want, it is your opinion. And my opinion is that bashing (or praising) something before a final product is in place is, in fact, asinine. There are many people on these forums who fancy themselves as experts in any and all aspects of anything that Disney does to a comical degree. Forum posts and discussions at one time used to informative and useful. Now it is simply a wasteland of fanboys bashing any little thing that Disney does. I certainly do not agree with everything that Disney does but they do continue to many things well. If I don't like what is being posted/discussed here, why do I continue to come back you my ask. Besides the comic relief of reading the pages and pages complaints of such minute things as eliminating straws on property (news flash: we just returned Christmas Eve from a four night stay and the absence of straws had zero affect on our trip), if you are able to wade through the mountain of complaints, there is actually some useful information to be found. Thanks for the information on how discussion forums work and have a great New Year.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I’ve got issues with Disney retheming attractions in general. Maelstrom and Mission Breakout being the worst of the worst.

I think Disney has gone way over the top with the virtue flag waving on this thing. Call
It “Tiana’s Splash Mountain” take the bunny out and put in some extra frogs and cook some beignets so you have an excuse to sell them and call it a day.

 

[pwnbeaver]

I like what they're doing with the ride so far after seeing more finished work. It seems like a nice way to bring in more voices that have been mostly absent from the planning and design of Disney Parks. The backstory is still convoluted and weird, but that backstory likely has little to do with the actual ride itself and what the guests will experience on it.

I think the worrying about how it fits into the concept of Frontierland is something that will likely not matter once enough years have passed. This seems like the beginning of the end of "Frontierland" as it is, which is a land that does not match the understanding of history and the Westward expansion that we will likely continue to have going forward. The genie will not exactly be put back in the bottle here.