Changes to Small World in Califorinia

Disneyland is jeered over ride restyling

Changes to the It's A Small World ride are meant to help update and enrich the experience, but the son of ride designer Mary Blair, Kevin, says "It just bastardizes the whole ride.¡¨
'It's a Small World' will showcase familiar faces instead of an anonymous cast of characters. The renovation, called a 'gross desecration,' sparks a preservation campaign among fans.
By Kimi Yoshino, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 29, 2008

Disneyland's "Small World" will soon be getting a little more crowded.

The Anaheim amusement park is planning to add iconic Disney characters to the anonymous international cast of the beloved 'round-the-globe boat ride. The idea has sparked outrage among the family of the attraction's original designer and prompted a preservation campaign for the ride, which opened in 1966 and closed for renovations in January.

Walt Disney Co. isn't saying how many familiar characters will appear in the revamped ride or how prominent they will be. But relatives of artist and ride designer Mary Blair sent a blistering letter to Disney executives last week, berating what they called an "idiotic plan" that "represents a gross desecration of the ride's original theme."

"The ride itself is a classic ride," said Kevin Blair, the designer's son. "They should leave the ride the way it was with the children of the world and leave all the Disney characters out. It just bastardizes the whole ride."

Walt Disney Imagineering spokeswoman Marilyn Waters said a number of familiar characters would appear in "stylized" form in the overhauled ride and placed into appropriate countries. Mickey and Minnie Mouse are not part of the plan, she said.

The changes carry on Disney's tradition of "plussing" attractions, Waters said, and help enrich the storytelling and keep the experience relevant for future generations.

"No one approaches our classic attractions with more reverence than Disney Imagineers, who take great care when refreshing beloved attractions," Waters said, adding that the original intent and celebration of children will be "retained and strengthened."

Some fans of the original ride, however, fear the changes are a crass attempt by Disney to make the attraction more commercial and sell more plush toys, dolls and other products. Many are posting plots and pleas on savethe smallworld.com and other Disney-related sites.

"I'll sign any petition, wear any T-shirt or handcuff myself in a human chain to 'It's a Small World' in protest," wrote one fan. Another penned new lyrics to the ride's iconic song:

It's a world of franchise,

it's a world of fun

Piles of plush mean profit

for everyone

Wonder, Magic of Dream,

in our marketing scheme,

it's a mall world after all.

The criticism comes as Disney prepares to open its newest version of "It's a Small World" at Hong Kong Disneyland. Thirty-eight recognizable characters, old and new, will appear in the attraction: Aladdin and Jasmine, from the movie "Aladdin," will be in the Middle East; Woody and Jessie from "Toy Story" can be spotted in an expanded America section with the Golden Gate Bridge and Empire State Building. The song has also been modified, adding "familiar Disney melodies," Waters said.

The changes that will be made to the Anaheim ride won't mirror those in the one in Hong Kong, Waters said.

Ken Bruce, a former employee of Pixar Animation Studios, which Disney now owns, maintains a blog "for Imagineering and animation professionals to critique the current state of Disney theme parks."

He said the "It's a Small World" overhaul has sparked fierce debate about change and creativity. Most of the people contributing to his site want "Small World" kept in its original form.

"It's job No.1 right now as far as we're concerned," Bruce said.

"It's a Small World" is a "very cogent, carefully thought-out piece of thematic storytelling," Bruce added. "To think that Disney characters are going to invade the place and take away from the rightful stars -- the children of the world -- is really scary for us. It's Disney turning their backs on one of the classics and turning it into another marketing scheme."

Still, for all the outcry, Disney has successfully refurbished other attractions, including "Pirates of the Caribbean." Last summer, the Anaheim park added several lifelike animatronic Capt. Jack Sparrows -- played by Johnny Depp in the movies -- prompting complaints from purists.

But after the updated attraction opened, many fans grudgingly acknowledged that the lovable troublemaker had been seamlessly introduced and that the additions may make the ride more appealing to young park-goers who had seen the movies.

Of course, some park-goers who find "It's a Small World" dull and its song saccharinely repetitive and cloying say Disney can't do enough to change the attraction, which will reopen in November.

"What is the big deal?" one Disneyland fan wrote on Bruce's website. "The ride is old, sad and boring. "Disney: Tear the thing down and put in something more interesting please!"

kimi.yoshino@latimes.com

 

Now for my 2 cents.

After having lunch with Alex Caruthers, he basically said that they if they can see a way to attract more visitors by changing a ride (like Small World or Carousel of Progress) it would be done.

He mentioned that Walt never saw DL or WDW as static places and would never have wanted a ride standing in the way of progress (pun intended). Walt was a man of vision. Alway moving forward.

I was the type of person who thought that these ride should stay unchanged, but after our discussion at lunch Alex helped to enlighten my vision.

 

I wonder who these "purists" were whose minds were changed about adding Jack Sparrow to Pirates of the Caribbean... On the boards and blogs I go on, the general consensus seems to be that positions went relatively unchanged from before to after the minusing.

But that said, I actually don't mind the addition of a few tasteful Disney characters in the appropriate style to it's a small world. I mean, unless all the other kids start talking about the Disney characters in some kind of contrived and utterly nonsensical storyline. The change I'd be more concerned about is taking out the rainforest and adding an American room, which this article didn't mention.

However, in the ultimate scheme of things, I've stopped really getting in a fuss about this stuff. I complained about Pirates of the Caribbean and that changed, I complained about Tom Sawyer's Island and that changed... I suspect the trend of effacement would continue regardless of how much complaining I did on the internet. ;

 

I for one don't mind some updating of attractions.

The updating the Disney has done to Pirates of the Caribbean & Haunted Mansion do nothing to detract from the attractions IMHO.

We you talk about Small World, a ride without any recognizable movie characters that celebrate the children of the world, there is a fear that Disney could turn it into just a big cross promotion advertisement for, their Movies, Hannah Montana etc.

I'm confident that will not happen. Disney will tastefully add more recognizable faces that will enhance the attraction.

FTFA: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-s ... 2833.story

"No one approaches our classic attractions with more reverence than Disney Imagineers, who take great care when refreshing beloved attractions," Waters said, adding that the original intent and celebration of children will be "retained and strengthened."

I was more disappointed when they took out Captain Nemo's submarines from the MK at WDW. But I'm hopin Disney will bring it back as they did at Disneyland as Findings Nemo Submarines

 

Oh, I think the changes to the Haunted Mansion are fantastic, and often cite them as examples of good changes in opposition to the bad changes to Pirates of the Caribbean. I grant that I have not seen the Pirates changes in person, but from everything I've seen and read in news items, trip reports and videos, I would seriously consider not bothering to go on Pirates again during my next trip to California. I'm just thankful that I was able to go on it before they wrecked it, and kind of regret not having enough time in Paris to take in a non-Depped ride. ;

 

I don't know what the big deal is about POC. I saw the revamped California Pirates last year. Johnny Depp was "slipped" into 2 pirate-crowd scenes. The third image is a scene of him all by himself with the treasure at the end of the ride. OK that may be overdoing it, but it doesn't detract from the great animatronics of the ride. He doesn't look "modern" versus the other pirates.

Here's Johnny Depp on the ride:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTQ5eWBl ... tes%20ride

IASW is a little more problematic. The whole point was that all children of the world were equal, a seemless flow from one country to the next ... now if one country has a better princess, or one country doesn't have any great Disney icons, does that make them less? I loved the DL version with the mermaids at the beginning. I don't think I want Ariel doing the welcoming ; ;D

 

It's not so much Sparrow himself that bothers me... He just gets to be the scapegoat. I'm more annoyed by Davy Jones as both a character and an effect that is unprescedented in the ride and distrupts its theme and flow while irritatingly contradicting the history of the ride, the constant reference to CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow that actually contradicts the very source material of the changes by undermining the running gag that Sparrow was the only person in the first movie to actually call himself captain, and the nonsensical story about the town hiding Jack so that he can steal their treasure instead of Barbossa. If it was ONLY Jack and a few discrete mentions of him that didn't involve the town hiding him, I probably wouldn't be as annoyed. I mean, I still think it's stupid that they added him, not only as a marketing decision but as something that actually takes you out of the story by making it a story you watch unfold rather than a town full of pirates you're in, but I wouldn't be as annoyed ^_^

 

Well, it'll be interesting to see the concept ... my only concern is that it won't be "all the world's children" ... Mickey Mouse and Minnie are not "children."

Perhaps they're only making slight enhancements. For example, my daughters always thought it was a Jasmine doll on the flying carpet. They could make a stylized Jasmine there ... not sure how other human characters could be blended in. I guess people are concerned that there will be animated characters or Pixar elements brought to the forefront.

I'm sure it's all in good hands ;

 

Link to LA Time travel blog about the IASW refurb rhubarb.