Thanks, Disney!

Last week, all Disney employees were treated to a free Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack of Toy Story 3! And not just any combo pack, but a Studio Commemorative Edition with a special message on the back:

"Once again, the incredibly talented creative team at Pixar took audiences to infinity and beyond. Thank you all for making Toy Story 3 such a phenomenal success across our entire company. -- Bob Iger"

What a great way to start the holiday season -- a copy of one of the best Disney movies in a long time! I'm so honored to work for this company!

Imagineering at the Movies

Walt Disney Imagineering, or WDI, is the “master planning, creative development, design, engineering, production, and project management subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation of the Disney theme parks and their expansion” [4]. Founded in 1952 as WED Enterprises, Walt Disney Imagineering was created by Walt Disney to help design and build his dream, Disneyland. Looking for a team of people to help build his dream, Walt looked to the most talented and creative people he knew: the artists, directors and designers from his movie studio. The first Imagineers were “a select handful of [Walt’s] studio people” [3], who had a wealth of knowledge of making magic on film. 

With such close ties between his movie studio and the design process of Disneyland, Walt used this link to promote the studio’s films in the park. Though the use of branding and promotion was not as prominent in Disneyland’s early days as it is today, opening-day guests experienced a number of attractions inspired by Disney film projects when Disneyland “opened its doors to a curious and eager public on July 17, 1955” [5]. One such attraction at Disneyland (and Walt Disney World) is the Jungle Cruise. This ride-through attraction was built to tie in with Disney’s True-Life Adventures series of documentaries, specifically the 1955 release of The African Lion. Walt Disney’s True-Life Adventure films also inspired the Mine Train through Nature’s Wonderland attraction. 

In finding source material for Disneyland’s original attractions, Walt Disney and the Imagineers looked into Disney’s history of animated features. Joining the Jungle Cruise, other opening-day attractions inspired by Disney films included Peter Pan Flight, Snow White’s Adventures, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (based on Disney’s The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad,) as well as Mad Tea Party (inspired by Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.) Throughout the history of both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, countless attractions have been inspired by Disney film productions. 

There are indeed myriad attractions in Disney Parks worldwide that do not include a tie-in to a Walt Disney Pictures production. Walt Disney World’s Epcot, for example, is known for its cultural and educational attractions. With its two sections, Future World and World Showcase, Epcot features rides and shows “focusing on the major issues of science and technology, communication and the arts, and community” [4]. As Kurtti also explains, there were no costumed Disney characters at Epcot on opening day, nor were there Disney character merchandise in the stores. In essence, Epcot “was treated as its own organic, self-contained culture, with no relationship to the Magic Kingdom” [4]. 

Yet though the years, many of Epcot’s original attractions and pavilions have changed to incorporate content from Disney films. One striking example is The Living Seas pavilion. The Living Seas opened in 1986, and included a multimedia presentation about ocean research, a ride through a Caribbean coral reef, as well as a visitor information center dedicated to undersea research. In late 2006, the attraction underwent a major overhaul, now featuring characters from Disney•Pixar’s Finding Nemo. The added characterization to certain attractions, such as Epcot’s Mexico pavilion, has been seen as unnecessary by park purists [12]. Yet Wilson also points out that The Living Seas pavilion had seen a steady decrease in attendance in the years leading up to the inclusion of Nemo and friends. 

It is evident that the collaboration between Disney Imagineering and the Walt Disney Studios is becoming stronger, given the popularity of movie-related attractions in Disney Parks. With such a successful strategy on their hands, Disney decided to take a chance at turning one of its popular attractions into a feature film. In fact, numerous attractions have received the big-screen treatment. Yet not all film adaptations have been as successful as the attraction that inspired them. In examining the relationships between the films and attractions, numerous differences can be found. The inclusion of human characters in the attraction’s storyline is the primary factor in the film adaptation’s success.

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List #6

This is a list of movies I watched in my writing class this semester. The class is titled WRA 150: The Evolution of American Thought - American Values and Perspectives in the World of Disney. 


It's a pretty interesting writing class. Basically, we watch Disney movies and analyze them by writing film reviews and analytical papers. 


Here's from the class syllabus: "Though a main focus of the course is on writing, we will focus our readings and writings on the themes, characters, and cultural issues found in Disney features (mostly animated), an institution within American culture. We will look at the concepts of gender, ethnicity, disability, (and class and sexuality which is often embedded within the film) found in the films. The Disney brand is both an American institution and a global empire, and in looking at the films with a critical eye, we will reflect on how the values in the films have helped define what an American is."


And now the list of movies we watched: 

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. Pretty Woman
3. Peter Pan
4. Song of the South
5. The Jungle Book
6. The Three Caballeros
7. Beauty and the Beast
8. Bolt
9. Up
10. Enchanted