News Zootopia and Moana Blue Sky concepts for Disney's Animal Kingdom

[Brer Panther]

again disagree. Let me ask this, what is your view of Avatar in AK? How is Moana not an exact duplicate of this? They are based on the importance of interaction with nature.

Okay, four things here.

1) As somebody else pointed out, the argument for why Zootopia doesn't fit in the park but Moana does is contradictory: Zootopia doesn't fit because "Animal Kingdom is about animals with animal problems, and the animals in Zootopia act like humans." But Moana DOES fit in Animal Kingdom despite being about humans as opposed to animals because "Animal Kingdom isn't about animals, it's about our connection to the environment and blah-blah-blah." Which is it?

2) You can keep pointing at the Te Fiti crap, but Moana is first and foremost about a human character teaming up with another human (or at least half-human half-god) character to save her village full of humans and fulfill her dream of sailing. It's hardly about learning to live in harmony with animals. I wouldn't say that a land based on that Flowers and Trees short would fit in Animal Kingdom even though it's technically about the environment. WALL-E has an environmental message. So did Cars 2. Do THEY fit in Animal Kingdom?

3) AVATAR might not be a perfect fit either, but at least that movie has more of a focus on non-human characters (the Na'vi) than humans. And it actually takes place in a jungle-ish environment as opposed to Moana's sandy beaches and oceans.

4) Everyone seems to have this idea that the hypothetical Moana attractions at Animal Kingdom will follow the park's "protecting the environment and our relationship with it" nature. The chances of that are incredibly small. It's likely just going to be another Frozen Ever After / Tiana's Totally Woke Salt Mine Adventure and have Moana sailing around singing songs from the film. I'd be shocked if the Moana land even had any animal exhibits.

Do any of these things come to mind when you think of Animal Kingdom?

 

[networkpro]

Do any of these things come to mind when you think of Animal Kingdom?

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It reminds me of July in Animal Kingdom about 2 pm on a cloudless day

 

[dothebrdwalk]

Do any of these things come to mind when you think of Animal Kingdom?

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Out of context, the same can be said for just about any movie represented in Animal Kingdom now...

A Bug's Life:

Up:

Finding Nemo:

Shall i continue? Scenes from Moana can fit into Animal Kingdom, just like these other movies...

 

[Suspirian]

This doesn't automatically make the movie about animals.

Look at Aladdin. It has a monkey, a tiger, a parrot, horses, camels (seventy-five golden ones!), purple peacocks, white Persian monkeys, elephants, llamas, bears, and lions in it. Does it belong in Animal Kingdom?

I didn't say it was. I

Now I have to look up Strange World. Not familiar with it.

If every new land is a movie than what will this look like in 10, 15 years. Outdated? And leave people screaming for their current favs. Not sure it’s sustainable.

Or is it just “we have enough room and as long as there is imagination, Disney “land/world” will never be completed”

They’re not doing a great job of marketing it considering it comes out in November

 

[Dan Deesnee]

Zootopia is a golden opportunity to lean heavily into ecological education.

How do different animals survive in the real world in arctic climates, deserts, etc? Hint, it's shown in the movie. The jungle district has sprinklers, the arctic district has snow machines, etc. etc.

The education opportunities are enormous with Zootopia REGARDLESS of if Disney actually does that with the land or not.

 

[_caleb]

I mean, I don't think its really all that confusing - I consider myself someone who loves the details, but not all details are created equal.

Big Thunder at Disneyland Paris has a rich backstory that is intricately interwoven with Phantom Manor and the land as a whole. Guests can still enjoy these things without being aware of this, but the "history" is fully developed, well integrated, and fascinating to uncover for the initiated.

Meanwhile, Big Thunder at WDW littered the queue a few years ago with new "offices" and props that "told the story" of the mining company's owner, "Barnabas T. Boullion", a character who we'd never heard of before, who is never referenced again, and whose attraction was successful for 40+ years without him. To me this backstory is mostly ineffectual business.

The main difference between these two examples is that one of them feels rewarding to discover, and the other just feels like information. Ultimately it comes down to one genuinely being used as a conceptual cornerstone and the other essentially being a cosmetic application.

Mere props with funny names on them aren't what stimulate the guests, the indication of a rich and developed history is. One points to a mystery that can be discovered, and the other ends just about where it begins. The signifiers are similar, but what they signal is not.

The main question to ask when it comes to details, and backstory in particular, is "what has changed now that I know this?" In the case of DLP's Big Thunder, quite a bit changes - not only do the clues throughout the different attractions start to piece together, but the care and consideration which went into those attractions becomes obvious. At WDW's Big Thunder, not much changes when you learn about "Barnabas T. Bouillion". It basically amounts to a fun fact. It doesn't reveal much consideration because, truthfully, there isn't much beyond "How can we sneak in a tribute to Tony Baxter?" Which is a fine thing to do, but feels about as deep as it is.

Point being, there's a reason one ride feels full of legitimately special details and the other feels like a ridiculous backstory, and it makes sense that one makes a better impression than the other.

The fact that you’re able to articulate this means you’re not one of the folks I’m confused about.

Great post. I completely agree that not all details are equal. And that Disney doesn’t seem to be living up to the standard that they set for themselves.

Part of the Barnabas Bullion storyline has to do with the effort to connect many attractions across the park to the S.E.A. IP. I’m still hopeful they won’t completely ruin the parks with that.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Lotta people outing themselves as furries the last few days.

 

[_caleb]

Pretty sure the “Zootopia in Animal Kingdom“ discussion is a cyber warfare operation that originated out of a Russian troll farm

 

[networkpro]

Pretty sure the “Zootopia in Animal Kingdom“ discussion is a cyber warfare operation that originated out of a Russian troll farm

Or from here:

 

[Tom P.]

It would be COMPLETELY out of place to walk into a futuristic urban environment in the middle of Animal Kingdom. People would absolutely notice and hate it. You don't put a volcano ride in the middle of Main Street, USA. You just don't.

Honest to God, why are you even a Disney Parks fan?

Yes, of course. Because if I hold a different view, I am not qualified to be a Disney Parks fan. Honestly, Cap, I expected more from you.

And really, I am not arguing about what Disney SHOULD do here. Although I do think it's theoretically possible to integrate Zootopia in a way that works. But what I am speaking about is my opinion of the average Disney parkgoer. I don't think they care about theming. At all. I think you could indeed plop a volcano ride in the middle of Main Street and, if it was a good ride, most guests would accept it. Again, I'm not saying that's what they SHOULD do. But I'm saying what I think most guests are thinking. They are there for fun rides. And that's the extent of it.

 

[Figments Friend]

This is an exact representation of me while watching Josh and the announcements. Not much left in the bottle.

So this is why the rum is always gone.



-

 

[ctxak98]

Dinosaur underperforms for the park. They think this would improve that.

Of course, so would a nice refurb. I hope that, if Zootopia is not funded, they at least refurbish Dinosaur nicely.

Underperforms? Must be the Times I travel to the park but everytime I’m there it has a longer wait time than Everest……

What’s crazy to me is how far Animal Kingdom is straying from its original intention. And unlike Epcot Center where change needed to happen to keep up with the time, animal kingdoms Orignal message and intention is very much still relevant.

Sadly Disney would rather shove any IP into a land for short term profit and not come up with something unique and original to the park, that could last a lifetime.

Wanna know a really cool idea for Animal Kingdom, that’s timeless and kids have been obsessed and amazed with for ages?!… DINOSAURS! It’s the IP that would never go out of style, if Disney did it right. Strip away the Jurassic world signs at islands of adventure and that place would still be a hit!

Truly think Disney is missing the mark on this one. Yes dinosaur needs updates and some TLC( I mean it basically has been running since 1998 non stop with MINOR upgrades and fixes) ….. but the bones of that attraction are great.

As for Moana, no. Not at DAK. Maybe Adventureland. Still don’t like the idea at Epcot but what can we do now. And Joe put it best about Zootopia in the park. He tweeted :”the animals are proxies for humans and human issues rather than animals in their own right facing animal related issues. We try to enforce the “no pants” rule. Classic characters excepted.”

Zootopia would bring nothing to Animal Kingdom……. It doesn’t fit in the park sadly because I LOVE ZOOTOPIA.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Underperforms? Must be the Times I travel to the park but everytime I’m there it has a longer wait time than Everest……

What’s crazy to me is how far Animal Kingdom is straying from its original intention. And unlike Epcot Center where change needed to happen to keep up with the time, animal kingdoms Orignal message and intention is very much still relevant.

Sadly Disney would rather shove any IP into a land for short term profit and not come up with something unique and original to the park, that could last a lifetime.

Wanna know a really cool idea for Animal Kingdom, that’s timeless and kids have been obsessed and amazed with for ages?!… DINOSAURS! It’s the IP that would never go out of style, if Disney did it right. Strip away the Jurassic world signs at islands of adventure and that place would still be a hit!

Truly think Disney is missing the mark on this one. Yes dinosaur needs updates and some TLC( I mean it basically has been running since 1998 non stop with MINOR upgrades and fixes) ….. but the bones of that attraction are great.

As for Moana, no. Not at DAK. Maybe Adventureland. Still don’t like the idea at Epcot but what can we do now. And Joe put it best about Zootopia in the park. He tweeted :”the animals are proxies for humans and human issues rather than animals in their own right facing animal related issues. We try to enforce the “no pants” rule. Classic characters excepted.”

Zootopia would bring nothing to Animal Kingdom……. It doesn’t fit in the park sadly because I LOVE ZOOTOPIA.

To be fair, Dinosaur is IP-based. The movie it “borrows” from is just super forgettable.

 

[_caleb]

Underperforms? Must be the Times I travel to the park but everytime I’m there it has a longer wait time than Everest……

Wait times for Dinosaur might not be the best indicator of its popularity vs. Everest.

Sadly Disney would rather shove any IP into a land for short term profit and not come up with something unique and original to the park, that could last a lifetime.

It’s all IP: park attractions, films, Disney+ series, characters, all of it. Even Walt is IP at this point. Disney sells it to us however they can. If they don’t use it, it’s not making them money.

 

[ctxak98]

Okay, four things here.

1) As somebody else pointed out, the argument for why Zootopia doesn't fit in the park but Moana does is contradictory: Zootopia doesn't fit because "Animal Kingdom is about animals with animal problems, and the animals in Zootopia act like humans." But Moana DOES fit in Animal Kingdom despite being about humans as opposed to animals because "Animal Kingdom isn't about animals, it's about our connection to the environment and blah-blah-blah." Which is it?

2) You can keep pointing at the Te Fiti crap, but Moana is first and foremost about a human character teaming up with another human (or at least half-human half-god) character to save her village full of humans and fulfill her dream of sailing. It's hardly about learning to live in harmony with animals. I wouldn't say that a land based on that Flowers and Trees short would fit in Animal Kingdom even though it's technically about the environment. WALL-E has an environmental message. So did Cars 2. Do THEY fit in Animal Kingdom?

3) AVATAR might not be a perfect fit either, but at least that movie has more of a focus on non-human characters (the Na'vi) than humans. And it actually takes place in a jungle-ish environment as opposed to Moana's sandy beaches and oceans.

4) Everyone seems to have this idea that the hypothetical Moana attractions at Animal Kingdom will follow the park's "protecting the environment and our relationship with it" nature. The chances of that are incredibly small. It's likely just going to be another Frozen Ever After / Tiana's Totally Woke Salt Mine Adventure and have Moana sailing around singing songs from the film. I'd be shocked if the Moana land even had any animal exhibits.

Do any of these things come to mind when you think of Animal Kingdom?

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I agree. Both don’t fit

The fact that they couldn’t have the frozen characters do anything to help us learn about Norwegian culture at Epcot, gives me 0% hope they would do the same for moana at Animal Kingdom. Especially without Joe at the lead

 

[Epcot82Guy]

To be fair, Dinosaur is IP-based. The movie it “borrows” from is just super forgettable.
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I would argue Countdown To Extinction was not. And it was the worst and lamest of the IP overlays - though the one that did the least damage to the original story.

 

[ctxak98]

To be fair, Dinosaur is IP-based. The movie it “borrows” from is just super forgettable.
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If I’m correct the ride was never really a concert tie in. They added the title out front as synergy as it had some of the same dinosaurs but these characters aren’t really Referenced at all in the attraction. Dr. Seeker, dr. Marsh, the Dino institute, the time Rover….. all OG ideas.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

To be fair, Dinosaur is IP-based. The movie it “borrows” from is just super forgettable.
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I would argue Countdown To Extinction was not. And it was the worst and lamest of the IP overlays - though the one that did the least damage to the original story

I agree. Both don’t fit

The fact that they couldn’t have the frozen characters do anything to help us learn about Norwegian culture at Epcot, gives me 0% hope they would do the same for moana at Animal Kingdom. Especially without Joe at the lead

Same for Rat. I'm sorry, it's not about food or France. It's about Remy escaping the kitchen he was maybe going to work in? Which he was just hanging out over? It's a terrible story for Epcot (again, not attraction - story).

If it were about food or France, I would feel differently.

 

[ctxak98]

Wait times for Dinosaur might not be the best indicator of its popularity vs. Everest.

It’s all IP: park attractions, films, Disney+ series, characters, all of it. Even Walt is IP at this point. Disney sells it to us however they can. If they don’t use it, it’s not making them money.

Don’t get me wrong…. IP works. And I love attractions like ROTR. Fully understand that’s IP.

I just don’t think IP from film animation belongs everywhere.

 

[celluloid]

I’m not defending Epcot although I actually don’t mind Rat. A ride focused on food, set in Paris, makes sense to me. Good is central to French culture. Certainly a better fit than Frozen.

Cosmic Rewind doesn’t belong in World…whatever district it’s in. I honestly don’t even remember. Nature, Celebration, and…? Drawing a blank.

Then you are giving the hope for Zootopia ride to teach or inspire about local animal biomes a lot of faith considering all that is announced is that it will be a ride themed to a movie that featured very little of that. Why would they give Zootopia more of a fit than they give the latest EPCOT attractions?

Also, the fact that food is central to France is an odd and kind of weak arugment isn't it? Food is essential to any culture.

Saying Rat is appropriate since it features food of the country is saying Guardians is a great fit because it features Space and Zootopia is cool just because the movie features anthropomorphic animals.

That is definitely where Disney leadership is sadly at.