It's a product placement world, after all

We told you earlier this month last week that the Disney people had gone ahead with their plan to bespoil Disneyland's It's A Small World attraction, a shrine to world peace and tribute to the innocence of children across the globe, with cynical movie-tie in product placement that puts Ben Silverman and 30 Rock to shame. A visit to It's A Small World over the weekend revealed a ride that's quite different in intent and atmosphere from our first trip through 45 years ago at the New York World's Fair-- and not only because of the new, sturdy wide-ass boats that ferry the audience along the animatronic canal. What was once a tribute to world unity is now invaded by jarring Disney movie characters and promotion. Most egregiously, the view of one of the ride's highlights-- the three hula dancers of Hawaii-- is actually blocked by Lilo & Stitch dolls bobbing on a surfboard. Also disturbing and distracting is the new penultimate display, a tribute not to the world but to America, with Hollywood klieg lights standing between tableaus of farmland and Tom Hanks' Toy Story character on the way to the finale room (known to insiders as "Heaven") where the children in white versions of their native garb, sing in unison, in English. The message is lost.

All in all, a mistake. Below are the ones we caught. Apologies to Donald and Pinocchio if they were already there:

Alice in Wonderland

Cinderella


Pinocchio


Aladdin


Mulan


Three Caballeros


The Little Mermaid


Finding Nemo


Lilo & Stitch


Toy Story

Disney pollutes It's A Small World

We told you last March about Disney's plans to desecrate the "It's A Small World" attraction in Disneyland by inserting cartoon characters and a tribute to America amid the dolls representing the children of the world. The jingoistic Ben Silvermanesque product placement plan was crass enough and enough at odds with the ride's intent o generate protests from the family of the ride's creator.

Now, they've gone and done it.

The ride reopens Friday, according to the Los Angeles Times, "with a new scene that depicts the 'Spirit of America,' a relocated rain forest and 29 added Disney and Pixar characters inserted in the countries where their stories take place.

"Whether the public will embrace the changes remains to be seen...

"But Marty Sklar, executive vice president of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and Imagineering ambassador, said the changes were subtle...

"Change was unavoidable. The ride was built by Walt Disney for the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York and transplanted to Southern California. After nearly 45 years, it was showing its age.

The water flume, which in its day represented a milestone in ride design (it could effortlessly handle 3,000 passengers an hour), had been patched so many times that the boats would get hung up. Disney needed to close the attraction to replace the leaky water channel and the boats. The company wouldn't say how much the renovation cost.

"These mechanical changes opened the door to a broader refurbishment...

"In Small World, the characters -- which look like children playing dress-up -- show up in the settings of their original stories: Peter Pan and Tinker Bell fly over one tower of the London Bridge, the Pinocchio marionette appears in a puppet show in Italy; Aladdin and Jasmine ride a flying carpet in the Middle East scene...

"Threads of music from Disney and Pixar films accompany many of the characters, woven in between the familiar 'Small World'melody composed by brothers Richard and Robert Sherman, who won an Academy Award for their 'Mary Poppins' score.

"The strains of 'Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo' provide an almost imperceptible audio clue that the little blond doll accompanied by mice Jacques and Gus is, indeed, Cinderella.

"A recording of rare Chinese instruments provides the acoustic backdrop for Mulan in China. But even that decision sparked vigorous discussion among the Imagineers, who were still adjusting the volume this week.

"Art director Kim Irvine sought to emulate Blair's artistic style in creating the new America scene, which the original designer had sketched for Small World but which never made it into the attraction. The new room depicts the agricultural heartland, with a red barn towering over farmer dolls in overalls and straw hats, and the American West, with "Toy Story' characters Jessie and Woody against the backdrop of the Butte Mountains...

"To make room for America, Disney moved the rain forest and all its whimsical creatures to the South Pacific -- a transplantation the Imagineers justified by noting that Australia boasts rain forests in its northern region..."

Why?

The small world as we knew it...

Stop the desecration of "It's A Small World"

Disneyland's "It's A Small World" attraction, which features animatronic children singing the maddening song about global peace, has been closed for months in order to retrofit the boats that carry patrons though the venerable ride to accommodate the wide fat asses of modern Americans (people were less weighty when the ride was launched at the NYC World's Fair in 1964). But now it's been revealed that the inheritors of Walt Disney's dream have hatched an evil plan to add cartoon characters throughout the ride and to replace the Rain Forest section with a tribute called "Up with America"!

The situation is serious enough that the family of the ride's creator has stepped forward in an effort to stop the madness:

Dear Disney Executives,

It has recently been brought to my attention that the Walt Disney Company including WDI has proposed changes to the “It’s a Small World Ride” at the Disneyland Park in Anaheim. As I understand the changes include the addition of the Disney Characters (Mickey, Minnie, Lilo & Stitch, etc.) to the ride in select areas, and the replacement of the “Rainforest” section with Mickey Mouse in a tribute entitled “Up with America”. I also understand that the boats and trough they ride in will be expanded for the safety and comfort of the parks modern day guests.

While I fully understand and support the upgrade to the boats as a necessary safety upgrade, the addition of the Disney Characters and the “Up with America” section I do NOT support as it represents a gross desecration of the ride's original theme and my Mother’s stylized artwork.

The Disney characters of themselves are positive company icons, but they do NOT fit in with the original theme of the ride. They will do nothing except to marginalize the rightful stars of the ride “The Children of the World”. This marginalization will do nothing but infuriate the ride’s international guests and devoted Disney fans.

My Mother and I have always had a strong sense of patriotism for America and I DO support a tribute to America. Disneyland has several venues, which are perfect places for this tribute including “Main Street USA” or “New Orleans Square”; unfortunately the “It’s a Small World” ride is NOT one of them. Once again this will marginalize the children of the world theme and bastardize my Mother’s original art. Furthermore ripping out a rainforest (Imaginary or otherwise) and replacing it with misplaced patriotism is a public relations blunder so big you could run a Monorail through it.

As a former WED employee I am saddened to realize the degradation of the company’s talent and focus and the subsequent decline at the Disneyland Park itself. I cannot believe someone from WDI was paid to come up with such an idiotic plan as this.

As the head of the Blair family I cannot urge you strongly enough to abandon this idiotic plan and instead upgrade the boats and return the ride to it’s original classic form, design and colors. The desecration of Mary’s art is an insult to Mary Blair, her art, and her memory, and to the entire Blair Family itself.

Sincerely,

Kevin L. Blair
Representing;
Kevin Blair, Donovan Blair, Jeanne Chamberlain,
Maggie Richardson, Kevin Allison

The letter is featured on the Re-Imagineering website, "a forum for Pixar and Disney professionals to catalog past Imagineering missteps and debate solutions in hopes that a new wave of creative management can restore some of the magic that has been missing from the parks for decades." While we'd debate whether the magic is missing from Disneyland, we certainly join this effort to preserve this timeless, if annoying, classic attraction that almost always has the shortest lines and quickest wait times in the park.