Retheme Splash Mountain?

Should Splash Mountain be re-themed?

  • Keep the rabbit - a classic!

  • Bring on the Frog!


Results are only viewable after voting.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Keep in mind, this is not a big angry protest to get the ride changed - just an idea that was fleshed out as a possible alternative that some people (albeit from this thread, a decided minority) felt was worthy of more serious consideration. It is not the "frog contingent" that have shown by their actions that they feel the material is offensive, it is DISNEY that has kept the material locked in the vault for that reason. Personally, I don't hide from it. My kids have known form the start what the ORIGINAL story was, and why that is offensive...and we ride it every visit because who doesn't love a good log flume ride?
....but.....but.....BEES are offensive....definitely.
popcorn::
 
Disney has delt with there fair share of this kind of thing before with pocahontas, mulan etc.
As i feel it should not be changed .... newer theming of newer movies is a great idea. For my kids they had a lot of questions about old disney movies they have not seen and they are back in the Disney vault so i cant show them.
 
....or TWO, for that matter.....
The last time I would have saw it would have been in the late 1970's or early 1980's. My hometown of 25,000 people had a movie theater that you could go see a different movie every week of the summer in the afternoon for 50 cents a seat. They did a lot of the old Disney movies as they were considered "kid friendly" along with Godzilla, 3-stooges, etc. I think one of my aunts had it on VHS too, as I recall watching it at their house. Zipadee Do Da, Zipadee Yeh My oh My what a wonderful Day
 


One thing I would like to point out, though, as much as many of us, myself included, want this ride to be preserved as it is now, it's important to acknowledge that the lives of black people matter and to fight against systemic racism. That may seem like a funny thing to say. But I believe strongly that while encouraging the preservation of this ride, we need to acknowledge the struggles blacks go through in this country and to try and work for a more just society.
 


How many of you have actually seen Song of The South in the past decade?

I have, as have my kids. I bought a DVD online 10 years ago. It's obvious it's sourced from a VHS, but I wanted a copy of it. I tell my kids that this is a pre-civil war period piece, so slavery is a part of this. And since it's Disney, everybody is happy, because that's what Disney does.

The stories and timeless "lessons" of Uncle Remus are actually done quite well, and the film itself is very charming.

I can't speak from a BLM perspective on this film, even though I've recently marched with them. But I feel like my children are better for knowing how The Mainstream used to view race and portray it, and how we've come so far from that time period. And how we can continue to progress without tearing down and destroying history, which only leads to future ignorance.
 
Seems to me that a movie that glorifies the life of a person who bought and sold slaves would be pretty offensive. I guess Disney needs to put that Hamilton movie in the vault right next to Song of the South.
 
Here's the crazy thing - I almost posted yesterday that I had changed my mind about my support for changing the ride. Reason being, I just couldn't get behind the reasons that were being presented in the media for changing it. The fact that Disney had buried both SotS and the children's books that went along with it (Tar Baby), was my primary reason for supporting the re-theme. After all, if you are not going to cross-market the ride to the multi-media, why use that as your theme? The fact that I knew the TB story that the drop was based on was the other reason. Sure, they changed the details of the story, but that is THE pivotal moment on the ride, and if you try and go back and read the story, just as many of us have done with Wind in the Willows with Mr. Toad's, you will ONLY find Tar Baby, not the story of how Braer Rabbit get stuck in honey - and that is an AWFUL story to tell to kids today (without context of course).
BUT...
Neither of these things were being discussed in the media. Instead it was a different narrative about systemic racism that is NOT in the ride - it's just a fun little story about a rabbit that left home to see the world, and was trapped by Braer Fox through no doing of his own. The animals are not different races, the songs are not racist unless you REALLY dig into their origins - and who would ever do that?

OK, so great, they are changing it - can't wait to see what they have in mind. As Walt said, "As long as there is imagination left int he world, Disneyland will never be completed." That's a good thing, this is just part of that. I just hope the ride isn't closed too long for the makeover, because it is my favorite at both parks.
 
Last edited:
If the ride included an audio-animatronic Uncle Remus explaining why slavery is really not that bad, I would say yes, change it. But it doesn't. It's an animatronic bunny escaping from an animatronic fox with no social commentary at all. Anyone who demands that Splash be re-themed because they see it as somehow sympathetic towards slavery should probably, to be consistent, also demand that POTC be changed due to its sympathetic attitude towards piracy. I would say leave Splash alone.
Uncle Remus preserved the oral folklore that African Americans had passed down from generation to generation. It also preserved stories that they kept from West Africa, even though the slave masters had tried to exterminate education and a link to the past in Africa.
 
Uncle Remus preserved the oral folklore that African Americans had passed down from generation to generation. It also preserved stories that they kept from West Africa, even though the slave masters had tried to exterminate education and a link to the past in Africa.
This is actually a great point. I went to a University that wasn't all that diverse and ended up taking a class in African Literature to satisfy one of the core requirements. It was the only time I was ever a minority in any class. The material covered I think really opened the eyes of many in the class. A lot of African literature is pretty brutal, because it's about a culture that could also be pretty brutal.
 
This is actually a great point. I went to a University that wasn't all that diverse and ended up taking a class in African Literature to satisfy one of the core requirements. It was the only time I was ever a minority in any class. The material covered I think really opened the eyes of many in the class. A lot of African literature is pretty brutal, because it's about a culture that could also be pretty brutal.
Alot of the slave stories, songs and dance were ways the slaves rebelled against the slave masters by preserving their culture and education right under the slave master's noses. It also shows that there were stories and culture and education in West Africa before the white man.

So erasing Uncle Remus and his stories in away is erasing that rebellion and West African culture and pretending that most fables, education and dance were invented by the white man.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top