Mary Blair's Family Speaks Out Against IASW Changes

[Isaac]

http://imagineerebirth.blogspot.com/2008/03/blair-family-speaks.html

Too cool! :snap:

Hopefully this will have some influence on TDA.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

We can hope...

[Gemini Cricket]

LSPE brought up a good point last night. If they add the USA section, they will never, ever remove it. It would make Disney look unpatriotic to do so.
Oy. What a mess.
They should have just added more articulate AA dolls. That would have been cool.

[Alex]

They should turn it into a padded playground so people have a place to go when Toontown is closed.

[blueerica]

*crossing fingers*

While it may not be my favorite ride, it's pretty much fine the way it is, perhaps with a few technological advances. No new characters!

[CoasterMatt]

The characters HAD a lot more range of motion in the earlier years- check out any early video of the motion of the Dutch kids in the tulips for one of my favorite examples.

[flippyshark]

I'll be pretty depressed if these changes go ahead, but I won't be surprised. The fallback position on everything at Disney these days seems to be "pirates, princesses and characters." It feels like a slow steady march toward a dull, homogenized future. And I'm tired of hearing the defensive cry of "Disney is not a museum," just before some new piece of banality is unleashed on the parks. I don't want everything to stay the same, but I do want to be charmed, delighted and surprised by new things, not marketed to. Ugh.

[innerSpaceman]

Yeah, you wouldn't hear many complaints if there were new, non-host countries done in non-clashing style.

Alas, I don't think that Blair family complaint is going to fall on any un-deaf ears. For one thing, it was a little impolitic in its harshness. Of course I agree with it completely ... but it's talking to the proverbial wall.

[Mousey Girl]

My mom said that she saw a news clip about IASW. They were interviewing people to ask them what they thought of the ride. One woman said that it is a very racist ride. The entire segment was focusing on Small World not being politically correct. That type of mentality just floors me. It is this same thought that prompted the changes to PotC (which, as a plus sized person, I found very offensive).

[RStar]

Wow, I didn't have a particular opinion eaither way, but after reading what kevin Blair wrote, I have to agree with him.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

I think what's funny about adding a USA section to the ride (presumably in normal attire) is that I suspect it will make the "politically incorrect" stand out all the more.

The entire thing is made up of dolls dressed in the folk garb of different countries. (This, IMO, is not racist, but a reflection of history of culture.) Even the two dolls representing US are wearing what can be considered OUR most 'historic folk garb' - dressed as a cowboy and a native american. The second you switch a section to include normally-dressed kids from the USA, it's going to clash with the folk-garb style of the rest of the ride, and make it seem racist.

[Gemini Cricket]

I'd like to point out that the Hawaiian children also represent the USA.
;)

[Kevy Baby]

They should just rip the stupid ride out altogether and put Rockin Roller Coaster in the spot.

[Gemini Cricket]

They should just rip the stupid ride out altogether and put Rockin Roller Coaster in the spot.
Gasp!
May your next parking spot be Minnie 1K!

:D

[CoasterMatt]

Rockin' Rollercoaster would be awesome with a remix of It's A Small World - just have tons of doll heads surrounding the track - then sell off pieces of the old ride as a tribute.

[Isaac]

I posted some pics of the new dolls in my livejournal.

I also posted a couple pics of the new boats backstage.

[RStar]

I posted some pics of the new dolls in my livejournal.

I also posted a couple pics of the new boats backstage.

You sneeky devil!

I knew I should have bookmarked your page! ;)

[LSPoorEeyorick]

I'd like to point out that the Hawaiian children also represent the USA.
;)

Yeah, yeah, I (for whatever reason) didn't make the connection, there. Still, they're definitely wearing folk garb, aren't they?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Oh please, Hawaiians aren't real Americans.

[Snowflake]

I posted some pics of the new dolls in my livejournal.

I also posted a couple pics of the new boats backstage.

can you sneak in an URL so those of us who do not know the LJ spot can take a gander?

[Kevy Baby]

can you sneak in an URL so those of us who do not know the LJ spot can take a gander?To see if it would work, I tried this URL and got an interesting error message: http://www.livejournal.com/zapppop

The ACTUAL URL is http://zapppop.livejournal.com/

[innerSpaceman]

OMG, the Peter Pan dolls make me sick. They look like stuffies, and are not remotely in the style of it's a small world.

Gak!

[Chernabog]

Yeah they sort of just look like regular plushes of those characters that you'd buy in WoD.

iasw is going to turn into a "look there's Jack Sparrow Peter Pan! Look, over there, it's Davey Jones Mulan!" instead of, you know, the actual theme of the ride.

[Gemini Cricket]

See, the Hawaiian children and the cowboy and indian kids prove that there are already USA sections. So there's no need to add a USA section.

[Alex]

Yeah, but we need backup in case the Hawaiian secessionists eventually win the day.

And that cowboy isn't American, it is the Australian cowboy from The Man from Snowy River (which I always thought was a Disney movie, but looking at IMDb I see it wasn't).

[Ghoulish Delight]

They should just gut the whole thing and let Marie Osmond redesign it.

[innerSpaceman]

With some Anne Geddes babies thrown in for good measure.







The old DCA Tower of Abortion would look great as a stand-in for the Tower of Pisa. They've always needed a better Italy section.

[Chernabog]

The old DCA Tower of Abortion would look great as a stand-in for the Tower of Pisa. They've always needed a better Italy section.

Huh? Whats the DCA Tower of Abortion?

The funny thing with all this is that we cannot "BOO" the USA room because it's like booing the USA, which isn't why we're booing.. but nobody else will know that. If you boo the USA room you'll get stuff thrown at you by other guests and be forced to stand in front of the HUAC Department of Homeland Security or something.

[innerSpaceman]

I will bring a tiny American flag to silently burn every time we go thru the USA room.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

They should just gut the whole thing and let Marie Osmond redesign it.<runs away screaming>

[CoasterMatt]

They should just gut the whole thing and let Marie Osmond redesign it.
That would be an AWESOME Halloween layover :D

[Not Afraid]

To be fair, there have been minor character appearances in IASW fro quite some time. However, they were almost like a hidden Micky (only it was a hidden stitch and a hidden Flounder (or was it Dory?).

[Gn2Dlnd]

WDI confirms (http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/?p=1552) changes. :(

I had been hanging on the thread of hope that this was info being confused with Hong Kong, or rumors gone wild based a an overheard "what if" conversation. Now I'm sad. The article does say Mickey and Minnie won't appear, but says nothing about the rain forest scene being replaced with "Up Yours, World!" "Up With America!"

[Kevy Baby]

I just think that Disney is keeping up with modern times. The rain forests are disappearing from the world, so it should be in iasw as well.

[Isaac]

The new Small World ride at Hong Kong Disneyland (http://park.hongkongdisneyland.com/hkdl/en_US/home/home?name=HOMEPage) adds 30 Disney characters to the attraction (including Mulan, Peter Pan and Aladdin).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v686/zapppop/barfsmiley.gif

[innerSpaceman]

So does that mean the awful Peter Pan crew of stuffies is for Hong Kong?

Because if that's what they're doing to our small world, i will be boycotting it again - just as I did when they were using the lame Paris music.

[CoasterMatt]

Is there going to be a statue of Walt holding an umbrella in the Up With America room? You know, tastefully done in the style and color palette of Mary Blair... :)

[Isaac]

Walt could be standing atop a building watching a hurricane flood New Orleans as many little black dolls float around in the water lifeless. If the Walt idea seems tacky, just replace him w/ George Bush.

It'll be just like the rain scene in Winnie The Pooh !

[Disneyphile]

And, once again, Walt churns in his urn. :(

[Kevy Baby]

And, once again, Walt churns in his urn. :(Don't you mean that his cryogenically frozen body is turning in the Matterhorn?

[BarTopDancer]

They were talking about this on Kevin and Bean this morning.

They basically said get over it. heh.

[NickO'Time]

Don't you mean that his cryogenically frozen body is turning in the Matterhorn?

Isn't that holding up the Matterhorn from falling on Nemo?;)

It's crap. The whole thing should be left alone.


I would love too see all this money that has been diverted towards IASW and the Disney suite and see Tomorrowland updated. Especially the Peoplemover tracks.
Gee, how long has it been since there was something up there? Almost a decade it seems.

I miss the World of Motion. At least there was more activity. My brothers and I used to spend at least a half a day in Tomorrowland.
Sorry, off topic rant.:(

[Mary Blairiffic]

Excellent letter! Hope ti works!!

[Mary Blairiffic]

And why Stitch????? WHY?????????? I can maybe, MAYBE see them adding characters from the films that Mary Blair did the concept artwork for, but the more modern ones, notsomuch.

[NirvanaMan]

Walt could be standing atop a building watching a hurricane flood New Orleans as many little black dolls float around in the water lifeless. If the Walt idea seems tacky, just replace him w/ George Bush.

Or more appropriately, Ray Nagin! That would be hilarious.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

And why Stitch????? WHY?????????? I can maybe, MAYBE see them adding characters from the films that Mary Blair did the concept artwork for, but the more modern ones, notsomuch.Stitch = Hawaii, which is actually already in there, so it's probably the best character fit this side of Ariel.

Still sucks though.

[Isaac]

Though Lilo & Stitch takes place in Hawaii I don't like the idea of putting animal characters like Stitch inside IASW. It's like adding Baloo to the african jungle scene.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Though Lilo & Stitch takes place in Hawaii I don't like the idea of putting animal characters like Stitch inside IASW. It's like adding Baloo to the african jungle scene.Which I'm sure they considered.

The whole idea stinks, no matter if the characters are human, animals, fantasy creatures, robots, enchanted teapot people...

[Gn2Dlnd]

Though Lilo & Stitch takes place in Hawaii I don't like the idea of putting animal characters like Stitch inside IASW. It's like adding Baloo to the african jungle scene.

Well, Baloo (the bear) would be in India or Pakistan, I believe, but what kind of animal is Stitch?

[innerSpaceman]

it's a small world not worth conquering.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

KCRW's Design and Architecture interviews Kim Irvine on Small World changes (http://download.kcrw.com/audio/10108/de_2008-04-15-172829.mp3)

It's a brief bit later on in the show. Main points:

Irvine mentored with Mary Blair.

Example of the way Disney characters would be added - a "small world doll" will be dressed as Alice and placed on the already existing chessboard with already existing rosetrees nearby.

"No decision has yet been made" regarding the possible Rainforest-to-America conversion.