Splash Mountain Being Changed?

[ASteelersMidget]

First, I want to say sorry if this has been brought up already. Haven't been on the boards in a couple of days.

I recieved a text last week from a friend who is a CM at Magic Kingdom. She told me that Splash Mountain is going to change from the Br'er Rabbit theme to The Princess and the Frog. No date was given, but said it will change sometime soon.

I for one, don't know how I feel about that kind of change. I feel as though Splash Mountain is one of those staples of Magic Kingdom.

How does everyone else feel if it were to be changed?

I think the big thing here got missed by most of the people. It's a CM rumor. How Often are CM rumor's accurate.

Yes it's based off the movie Song of the South that most of you obviously have never seen. I've said before I'm part of the "under 21" crowd and I've seen it. It is available everywhere else in the world. Or if you really care you can torrent it! (I in no way am telling you to partake in illegal actions) Disney is just afraid to release it do the the our history here in the USA with slavery and racism.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think it is 100% false.

 

[Galen_50]

After watching the movie on the weekend with my son, I can understand why they have not released it in the US. I do not think it has to do so much with the slavery aspect as it does with the cartoon characters themselves. The way brar rabbit and fox talk are both very racist and stereotypical. I had no problem with it knowing the time it was suppose to be set in, but I can really see why they have not released it. I remember seeing the cartoon part as a kid in school and I do not remember them talking that way. I wonder if there are edited versions of the toon part out there?

 

[Faldred]

I'm not buying the rumor. That's a big expense and a lot of downtime to re-theme one of the park's most popular attractions to a movie that wasn't particularly successful. Doesn't sound like a smart decision.

It would make much more sense to, say, re-theme the Liberty Belle so that it's a New Orleans jazz cruise with Tiana and her friends. (They could even do it as a character buffet meal, especially during peak periods.)

 

[Uncleromulus]

This rumor has about a 0.001% chance of being correct---and that may be a generous estimate.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

please tell me this is a joke... why would they mess with this ride???

It's a Cast Member rumor. Cast Member rumors are notoriously inaccurate.

Because they wear Disney name tags, people tend to believe stories from Cast Members. The reality is that the decision makers at Disney do not share unannounced plans with park Cast Members.

Yes, but Song of the South was only banned because of slaves coming through the fields looking happy.

There are no slaves in "Song of the South" because the story takes place after the end of the Civil War (although that isn't really clear in the movie).

I agree that the reason that "Song of the South" has been locked away by Disney is because of how the "happy" African American plantation workers are portrayed, despite storyteller Uncle Remus being the wisest, most sympathetic character in the movie.

 

[nytimez]

It's a Cast Member rumor. Cast Member rumors are notoriously inaccurate.

Because they wear Disney name tags, people tend to believe stories from Cast Members. The reality is that the decision makers at Disney do not share unannounced plans with park Cast Members.


There are no slaves in "Song of the South" because the story takes place after the end of the Civil War (although that isn't really clear in the movie).

I agree that the reason that "Song of the South" has been locked away by Disney is because of how the "happy" African American plantation workers are portrayed, despite storyteller Uncle Remus being the wisest, most sympathetic character in the movie.

I don't think it's ever clear in the move when it takes place -- before or after the war. If it is, I missed it.

The plantation workers are never depicted in chains or anything overt like that, but I don't think it's ever specifically established that they're free. Again, unless I missed it.

But along with the happiness of the plantation workers, I think the problem is also the heavily stereotyped way in which they speak and act. But I haven't seen the film since a theatrical re-release in... I dunno... it must've been the late 1970s or early 1980s, so my knowledge of it isn't perfect.

 

[Polydweller]

This rumor has about a 0.001% chance of being correct---and that may be a generous estimate.

I'd add another 0 before the one for a few reasons.

1. It's a CM rumor. Those aren't very reliable.
2. It's a popular ride as it is, nothing says it needs an upgrade.
3. It's estimated the ride cost $75,000,000 to build. The whole thing looks like a briar patch, it would have to be reworked almost completely, it's not a repaint type job. What justifies redoing all of that, inside and out, at cost of several $10s of millions?
4. The Princess and the Frog was not exactly an overwhelming blockbuster. It's not crying out for a major attraction.

It's ultimately a CM rumor that's had more conversation than it deserves.

 

[yitbos96bb]

I don't really see that happening. When it came to the domestic figures, it didn't even make the budget. Only because of the foreign box office did it push it past the budget. That makes it unsuccessful in America (even though I think it's a cute movie). Now I don't often come across people who know Splash Mountain is based on Song of the South, but it seems unlikely they'd change a rather popular attraction to cater to a movie that didn't have much success in the States. Maybe I'm wrong... but that's just my speculation on it.

It only missed its budget by about $600,000 domestic and made $162 Million International. It made over a $100 million domestic, which is far from failure. It wasn't a hit in the way Toy Story was, but it was still a modest success by pretty much any definition. Add in DVD, Broadcast rights, digital downloads, etc. and the movie has done fairly well, albeit not as well as other Disney movies have.

Now why didn't it do better? Well several theories exist. One is 2D just doesn't do it any more for kids which would be sad if it is true (given the new Pooh movie only did about $26 million domestic on a $30 million budget, maybe some truth exists to that). Another is that the marketing was very girl centric and didn't appeal to boys which I do feel may be an overall contributing factor; that's one of the reasons the Marketing for Tangled featured Flynn as much as Rapunzel. I don't agree with this one but some feel that maybe people weren't ready for a black princess, again which is sad if true, but I'm pretty staunch in my belief that most kids now a days don't care about that. The movie got fantastic reviews... who knows why it didn't make North of $200 domestic like other movies have.

I would also like to point out that Pooh, Cars 2, Tangled, Bolt, and A Christmas Carol, all failed to make their budget back in their domestic gross. Tangled in fact fell $60 million short. I don't know if most would call any of those films is considered a failure. Just something to think about.

*All figures from Box Office Mojo*

 

[yitbos96bb]

If there's a problem with people not knowing the characters, then a better alternative imo would be for Disney to get over their PCness and re-release Song of the South. Or edit it to take out the "offensive" scenes and then release it.

The real hypocrisy is the fact they re-release other films with offensive scenes all the time... Dumbo with the Circus hands and the crows seems far worse to me than Song of the South. And let's not forget the oh so "correct" portrayal of Indian Culture in Peter Pan and the song with the lyrics "What makes the red man red?"

 

[yitbos96bb]

I don't think it's ever clear in the move when it takes place -- before or after the war. If it is, I missed it.

The plantation workers are never depicted in chains or anything overt like that, but I don't think it's ever specifically established that they're free. Again, unless I missed it.

But along with the happiness of the plantation workers, I think the problem is also the heavily stereotyped way in which they speak and act. But I haven't seen the film since a theatrical re-release in... I dunno... it must've been the late 1970s or early 1980s, so my knowledge of it isn't perfect.

It's the reconstruction South. I do believe there is a reference or two in the film, although I can't remember where. I'll have to re-watch my bootleg copy of a DVD of the Laserdisc copy I bought online.

 

[nytimez]

It only missed its budget by about $600,000 domestic and made $162 Million International. It made over a $100 million domestic, which is far from failure. It wasn't a hit in the way Toy Story was, but it was still a modest success by pretty much any definition. Add in DVD, Broadcast rights, digital downloads, etc. and the movie has done fairly well, albeit not as well as other Disney movies have.

Now why didn't it do better? Well several theories exist. One is 2D just doesn't do it any more for kids which would be sad if it is true (given the new Pooh movie only did about $26 million domestic on a $30 million budget, maybe some truth exists to that). Another is that the marketing was very girl centric and didn't appeal to boys which I do feel may be an overall contributing factor; that's one of the reasons the Marketing for Tangled featured Flynn as much as Rapunzel. I don't agree with this one but some feel that maybe people weren't ready for a black princess, again which is sad if true, but I'm pretty staunch in my belief that most kids now a days don't care about that. The movie got fantastic reviews... who knows why it didn't make North of $200 domestic like other movies have.

I would also like to point out that Pooh, Cars 2, Tangled, Bolt, and A Christmas Carol, all failed to make their budget back in their domestic gross. Tangled in fact fell $60 million short. I don't know if most would call any of those films is considered a failure. Just something to think about.

*All figures from Box Office Mojo*

Tangled's whopping budget is due to a near-hellish experience in development that led to increased costs, delays and considerable expenses. So while it fell short of its production budget domestically, it did something like double the business of Princess and the Frog.

But in more basic terms, Rapunzel moves merch... Tiana doesn't. And that's really why you won't see any big investments in Princess and the Frog infrastructure in any of the parks.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Tangled's whopping budget is due to a near-hellish experience in development that led to increased costs, delays and considerable expenses. So while it fell short of its production budget domestically, it did something like double the business of Princess and the Frog.

But in more basic terms, Rapunzel moves merch... Tiana doesn't. And that's really why you won't see any big investments in Princess and the Frog infrastructure in any of the parks.

Tangled is also the best non-pixar disney cartoon in...geez...10-15 years.

I think tarzan was great...so i'll put it 11 years back to 1999. But some would argue it is past to the lion king even aladdin.

It really is a pretty good story...i like the broadway take they did on the music...i like the voice acting...and though the story is recycled...they managed to make it not suck.

And "See the light" is the best animation/ music sequence that disney has done since "When she loved me" in Toy Story 2 or "Strangers like me" in Tarzan....
really a great song and very touching sequence...it was worth the price of admission.

And they gave the oscar to a bad randy newman song that wasnt' even in the actual movie! Still ticks me off. He didn't win for "you've got a friend in me" but he won for THAT?!!

the Princess and the frog...well...wasn't terrible....wasnt exceptional either. I know where they were going and i wish we were there...but we're not. Check your cable dial and you can find 10 examples of how we're not there every ten minutes. In los estados unidos...of course.

That's about as bland as i can say it...and it is the truth.

But disney occasionally has a "sleeper" movie/ merchandise hit....toy story being perhaps the biggest one...tangled certainly is one as well.

And they have ridiculously stupid, overhyped, overmarketed money gobblers that have no chance of maintaining staying power or are outright failures...

Think: Dinosaur, Atlantis, Chicken Little, Cars 2, or Pocahantas...

And yes..."cars 2" is a turkey no matter how much motorhead crap they shoveled this year. its already forgotten in anybody's mind with an IQ higher than a gopher.

Winnie the Pooh also was underwhelming...but has the benefit of history on its side.

They could put a princess and the frog restaurant in port orleans or adventureland...but since they closed Bonfamille's 10 years ago, increased the room rates by 4% annually, and nobody said anything other than "do you accept visa?"...then why bother?

 

[Flossbolna]

It's the reconstruction South. I do believe there is a reference or two in the film, although I can't remember where. I'll have to re-watch my bootleg copy of a DVD of the Laserdisc copy I bought online.

I watched it recently (UK VHS version) and I think it becomes very obvious when Uncle Remus decides to pack his bags and leave the plantation. There is no question whether he is allowed to do that, the kid is just very sorry about it.

And, btw, seeing this from my European (or more precise: German) point of view, I found the film nearly not watchable because of the stereotypes used in it - not only racial, but also with regard to class and gender. The only good parts of it were the animated tales. Besides that the story around the animated parts just isn't good at all and neither is the acting. If I hadn't been curious, I wouldn't have continued watching all of it. I just did not think it was a good film at all - besides the question of political correctness.

 

[Terese]

For those of us who were lucky enough to grow up watching Song of the South, I hope that's not true! Since it seems as though they're never going to release that movie again, Splash Mountain is our only link!

 

[Jason71]

Rumor highly unlikely. BTMRR is going down for 6 months next year, no way they both go down at the same time (in fact, Splash will be open in January/February for the first time in a while, if ever).

 

[mike the canuck]

Rumor highly unlikely. BTMRR is going down for 6 months next year, no way they both go down at the same time (in fact, Splash will be open in January/February for the first time in a while, if ever).

When is BTMRR suppose to close down next year?

 

[Oglet]

When is BTMRR suppose to close down next year?

If people only knew just how bad of shape BTMRR is in..

 

[Colleen27]

When is BTMRR suppose to close down next year?

Rumor has it, January.

 

[XGrumpy1]

Lest we forget that a lot of the characters used in Splash Mountain were from "America Sings". Maybe with the success of "Star Tours" Disney will indeed consider updating some of their older rides.

 

[Figment632]

If people only knew just how bad of shape BTMRR is in..

Yea it's terrible the ride is almost not rideable for me.