by Dave
MiceCast, a podcast for the PG-13 crowd (okay, maybe sometime R), introduced a very interesting idea on their February 28, 2007 show. They asked the question, can Disney bring an audio-animatronics figure of Walt Disney himself into the theme parks? It took me some time to flush out my idea for this, but I think they can.
Creating something like this is a terrific idea and a needed one. As more people start forgetting that a person named Walt Disney ever existed, instead thinking it nothing but a brand name, any well-done reminders are welcomed. With that in mind, I would certainly want to make it as near an e-ticket as an AA attraction can be anymore. So, in order to keep the purists and the bean-counters at Disney management simultaneously happy, we need a ride full of characters, movie tie-ins, with high load capacity, and lots and lots of animatronic edu-tainment.
This attraction will require lots of Walt animatronics and loads of characters as well. It’s a big, expensive, high-maintenance idea. Just making a “Great Moments with Walt Disney” would not be enough to make the accountants plug down the cash, nor would it get kids excited, so we need a big draw. Here’s what I propose…
Think Spaceship Earth…but without napping. It would have animatronics acting out scenes from films and Walt’s life, while a narrator explains the history of what the rider sees. Perhaps a famous narrator from Disney history, such as Roy Disney, or perhaps even splice together Walt’s own words for narration.
The subject that best suits this would be the history of Walt Disney the filmmaker, focusing on the early years that are often lost on people. Everyone knows about the feature films, and there are many attractions of Walt’s films in the parks already, so once we get to the more popular eras of his creations, we need not spent as much time as we do during the developmental stage of his life.
It is an omni-mover ride and begins with the narrator introducing you to a young Walt at the beginning of his career, covering the Laugh-O-Grams and Alice Comedies. There is a terrific scene from the Alice’s Wonderland short with Walt and Alice looking at cartoons on paper coming to life. This would make a great scene with the two AA’s and the cartoon portions running a cleverly disguised screen made to look like the drafting table in the film.
During the early portion of the ride, we can also have our first major introduction of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit into the Disney theme parks. The vehicle can glide through a large room with many different movie screens running the Oswald shorts. The narrator can explain the history of Oswald, and how he was lost, along with another AA scene of Walt along with Ub Iwerks talking about what kind of trouble they can get Oswald into. Placing an animated Oswald figure somewhere in here would also be a great moment, but perhaps not necessary (another nod to the accountants!).
From there we can move to a scene of Walt and his wife Lilly on the train from New York to California, where the two are discussing the creation of Mickey Mouse after the disappointment of losing the Oswald character. Lilly was said to be extremely proud of suggesting that Walt name his mouse Mickey and not Mortimer and this would be the perfect dialogue to run. Some special effects simulating the train moving would also be a nice touch here. Steamboat Willie would make a natural fit for the next scene, and I would have an AA of Mickey in his famous roll. To accompany it, you would also see an AA representation of Walt voicing Mickey and struggling happily with his vocal chords, this is a clip any purists has scene a thousand time, and making it come to life would be a treat. It’s also a groundbreaking moment in animation history, and one that could never be ignored.
We may have something of a true Imagineering challenge for the next scene. The ride can take you eerily into a black and white world of the Skeleton Dance from the Silly Symphonies series. To make a set of figures that replicate the rubbery dance of the skeletons will not be an easy task, but one that can be a real thrill. The spooky scenery and music can deliver a moment that nearly everyone but the true purists has forgotten about. This amazing short was masterful at setting a macabre yet fun mood. Creating that in three dimensions has great potential.
Next you will get a dramatic introduction to the world of color, as you ride through a beautiful scene of Flowers and Trees come to life. The opening scene of this famous groundbreaking short would be fantastic in audio-animatronics, as the trees come to life. But that’s only one side of a room dedicated to the Silly Symphonies. On the other side, we have the Three Little Pigs in audio-animatronics. Are you seeing the synergy yet? What a gift shop this could make, eh?
A simple scene of early Fab-Five shorts can transition us into the era of Walt’s feature animated films. There is a huge potential to overlap here with existing attractions, so the idea needs to focus less on the famous films and more on Walt and his pioneering moments. A great place to begin this portion of the ride is replicating the famous scene of Walt talking to Shirley Temple and receiving his special Oscar awards, one big statue and seven little ones. This can be followed by some animatronics, like Bambi or Jiminy Cricket, to represent the golden age of Disney animation. A great scene to animate with Walt would be from the one-hour television show that he used to promote Alice in Wonderland. It has Walt at his whimsical best.
During this section, we can also see Walt with two tigers relaxing on his desk, as he introduces us to his terrific True Life Adventures, a scene I am sure you are familiar with. We can find Davy Crockett, or even a scene from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, all amazing moments in Disney’s creative life.
The Disney-MGM Studios seems like a natural fit here, although between One Man’s Dream and the Great Movie Ride this is certainly not an earth-shattering or unique design. But I don’t think it will be overkill at all. The Studios should have something that celebrates the history of the Disney Studio in a grand way, not to mention its founder. This attraction will do both, bring Walt virtually alive and resurrect some wonderful forgotten characters and films in the minds of Disney park guests. There are more details to the plan, though I think this posting is long enough already. The only thing I haven’t figured out yet is what to call it.
So what do you think? Could it work? What would you add?
