You Can't Run Away From Trouble
It feels like a lifetime ago that the debate among some pop-culture circles was “Should Disney retheme Splash Mountain so that it’s no longer derived from Song of the South?”. Of course, that debate happened just a couple weeks ago — 15 days ago, to be exact, is when I posted this on the very topic. I would not have expected that a retheming was possible.
And yet, here we are.
Splash Mountain, specifically, will get redesigned to fit with the 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog. 15 days ago, I argued that it’s precisely because Disneyland is not a museum that rides such as Splash Mountain should be able to undergo an extensive redesign. Now, I adore The Princess and the Frog. It’s my favorite Disney animated film since Beauty and the Beast. It’s got wonderful songs, colorful designs, complex characters, and excellent vocal performances. I am, in theory, on board with this change.
The question, though, is what will differ between theory and execution. Even if we take Disney at its word that they’ve been thinking through this refurbishment for a year, I wonder what exactly inspired this change. If we presume that Disney’s word is…perhaps dubious, then the answer to what inspired the change is easy: the state of American racial relations, as exemplified in the last 30 days. If it really has been a year, I’m fascinated to know what prompted Disney to approve a redesign of arguably its most enduring and popular attraction. When Disney chose to redo Maelstrom, the water ride in the Norway pavilion at Epcot’s World Showcase, it bothered many old-school park fans. But Maelstrom (and I say this as one of those bothered old-school park fans) isn’t, and never has been, the kind of attraction that was consistently, wildly popular.
Either way, there are two points I want to make here. I want a great Princess and the Frog attraction, not just a haphazard overlay with some flashy new Audio-Animatronic characters. Tony Baxter, who oversaw the original Splash Mountain, is a consultant on the new attraction, and it would be ideal if the Imagineers are given a lot more room to innovate than just “Splash Mountain, but with new characters”.
But there’s a larger discussion we should have, and that Disney should be having, as well. It is a good thing that they’re redesigning Splash Mountain to remove it from its racist origins. For historical purposes, though, I’m not thrilled about the further implication of Disney sweeping the ride and its inspiration under the rug. I don’t say these words to defend Song of the South. It’s technically remarkable, and its story is a saccharine snoozefest (even if you can ignore its inherent racism, which I cannot). But it is a major part of Disney’s history, serving as the inspiration for a wildly popular attraction and featuring what is arguably one of the four or five most iconic pieces of Disney music ever. To pretend like the film never happened doesn’t solve the larger problem.
And that larger problem stares you in the face at the Disney theme parks with or without Splash Mountain. It stares you in the face at Peter Pan’s Flight with its grossly stereotypical depiction of Native Americans, and in Jungle Cruise with its depiction of a supposedly exotic culture. It stares you in the face even at It’s A Small World, though in a far less aggressive fashion. It’s there in Pirates of the Caribbean, which just recently revised a scene to remove the implication of women being sold to pirates. Revising Splash Mountain is a step. It is not the entire path.
Disneyland is not a museum. The Disney theme parks, both domestically and abroad, reflect an American sensibility. It’s time they reflected something closer to the current American moment, and not just in one attraction.