Splash Mountain's Racism Never Mattered to Disney
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- Опубліковано 4 сер 2024
- Splash Mountain's closure has sparked a big debate about the ride's racism. However, Disney has never publicly cared about the problematic nature of Splash Mountain, and did not choose to re-theme the ride for that reason. In this video essay, I aim to explain why.
UA-cam Channels Used:
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TikTok Channels Used:
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Songs Used:
Splash Mountain Medley Instrumental
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Theme
Bundle of Joy
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
02:20 Disclamer
03:01 History
7:56 Disney's Announcement
11:27 Peter Pan's Flight
13:28 Tokyo's Splash
16:53 Other Re-themes
19:23 One Last Time
20:57 Conclusion
While it is true that Disney has not blatantly said themselves that the ride is racist, that to me is more of a PR thing, an attempt not to stir up their crowds more than they already have. Companies seldom admit to being wrong, so they would never come out and say, “we have a racist ride”. However, I strongly disagree that this change was planned regardless of the controversy, and them stating that the ride was planned for over a year was just a quick way to cover their tracks. First of all, only a couple months prior to the announcement, they released a brand new line of splash mountain merchandise, only to pull it off shelves immediately after. That is a very strange thing to do when you don’t plan on operating the ride much longer. It also is no coincidence that they stopped selling anything related to the ride past 2020. It makes no sense for a company, who cares mostly about profit, to cut off merchandise for a ride that is so popular, unless they themselves knew the reason they were closing the ride. They also wouldn’t have so unceremoniously closed the ride, as well as pull any recording of Zip-a-dee-doo-dah or other SoTS references from the parks as well as music streaming sites. Disney knew very much why they were making this change, and it also explains why for two years past the retheme’s announcement, not a single bit of info was released regarding their plans. This was clearly a mad scramble to take the heat off of the company, and unfortunately for Disney, this decision met much unexpected backlash. If anything, the retheme could have been a random idea/concept that was perhaps discussed at some point then scrapped, only to be brought back to the table a year later, when the controversy came up. Ultimately, however, this decision was purely fueled by the company trying not to seem racist, and had the company stayed silent, they would have not needed to spend the unnecessary money for this ride, and could instead focus on more important projects, such as the Epcot transformation.
This is honestly such a fabulously crafted rebuttal, and it deserves to be pinned. I hope all the people who watch this video understand that I'm not stating an indisputable fact, but am rather arguing my opinion. And there are other great valid opinions on the subject matter, like yours. Thank you for sharing it!
@@jakethemovienerd thank you, that means a lot. I really enjoyed your video-it was excellently crafted and very informative. You’ve earned a sub!
So nice to see a civilized conversation over a controversial topic 😊
@@Belangerz I agree-I hate when even the smallest of debates turn into some all-out war…
Another point to your rebuttal is that Tokyo Disney isn’t technically run by Disney anymore, or at least they don’t have the control over it that they do over other parks. It is operated by the Oriental Land Company I believe.
The Br’er characters were done so dirty. In 2019, they had a big celebration for Splash’s 30th anniversary doing more for the ride than they usually did with new Funko pops, plushes and all kinds of other stuff. It was looking like Disney was going to start giving the characters more love in general. Then less than a full year later, they started purging everything with them. Now they can’t have merch, park costumes, or anything anymore outside of Tokyo. As a fan of these characters, the last few years have not been fun.
I hope they’ll be given another chance eventually.
George Floyd was a helluva a drug for many organizations.
IMO: Splash Mountain was far removed enough from Song of the South it shouldn't have been problematic.
LITERALLY. I was shown the stories as a little kid, but never even heard of song of the south until I was like 13-14 on youtube n shit lmao.
Agreed. It took the parts of the movie that were praised and made a ride out of it. Heck, the NAACP, the same civil rights group that protested Song of the South back when it premiered, worked alongside Tony Baxter during the creation of Splash Mountain. And guess what? They liked the ride. They LIKED it. Is that not an indicator that the ride was a successful attempt at re-introducing the Br'er characters to a new audience? They built three of them for crying out loud, and each one frequently saw wait times of over an hour at minimum. I think that speaks for itself.
To me, Splash Mountain is a harmless classic that has been a widely cherished staple of the Disney experience for decades and is, to this day, one of the most popular rides at the park.
In all my years of being an avid Splash Mountain fan, I have never encountered a single person who has come off the ride feeling like it left a negative impact on them. (Except performative white keyboard warriors on Twitter, of course.) The vast majority of people see it as a feel-good water ride with memorable music and entertaining characters. Because really, that's all it is. You ride it, and you come off laughing. (And soaking.)
Yes, I am fully aware of Song of the South. I have seen it multiple times. I am a huge fan of the Br'er characters. I understand why the movie gets criticized by some, but I do not think it's enough to justify the erasure of Splash Mountain. A ride that was built several decades after the movie came out and made an effort to remove the outdated depictions of the plantation workers from the film, focusing the ride solely on the Br'er Rabbit fables from African-American folklore.
People will say it should change because "most people don't know what Song of the South is anyway." But to me, that's a good thing. Fans fell in love with Br'er Rabbit. Not Song of the South. Disney successfully separated the characters from the movie and gave them a fresh start in the form of Splash Mountain.
I hope that in the future, the removal of this amazing attraction will be looked back on as one of the biggest mistakes in the history of the Disney parks. Because, in my opinion, it truly is.
Also frankly the ride should stand as a memorial to the wonderful African American stars James Baskett and Hattie McDaniel, without whom the ride and movie would never have existed. It's a shame his wonderful performance of Uncle Remus has been suppressed by Disney, along with the late Bobby Driscoll's wonderful portrayal of the lead role.
The movie had issues, but those two performers gave it their absolute best acting efforts anyway. The ride should have simply had a memorial plaque added to it over the entrance. "This ride is dedicated to the memory of James Baskett, Hattie McDaniel, the late Bobby Driscoll taken too soon and the African American supporting cast that gave Song Of The South their all"
Honestly they should just release the film to the public domain.
This definitely the most W comment here, I agree with every point. Also I love your username lol.
When they re-released song of the south in 1986 it was specifically to see if audiences still cared about it. They showed it, made a lot of money and had zero controversy form it which allowed them to go ahead and build splash mountain
That actually makes a lot of sense. I'd love to see where you found that info, if it's a reliable source i'll make an amendment to this video.
This is true! In 1986 the movie was released and didn’t receive any negative backlash, how successful it was I’m unsure but the film was not shunned at all by new audiences at this stage. By 1989 when splash had opened the tar baby had obviously been replaced with a far more appropriate beehive and honey trap to completely eradicate any potential controversy from the retelling of the animated sequences but early promo material happily referenced Song of the South. Way into the mid 2010s Disney was still advertising Splash Mountain as being based on the films animated segments, it wasn’t until 2015/16 that Disney go removed all references to the film and updated it’s bio for the ride, this may have indicated subtle pressures building on Disney to remove this attraction however in 2018 3 Song of the South plush dolls were released in the Disney parks and a funko pop 3 pack was released, leading me to believe that no retheme was in the works at this stage and that the princess and the frog announcement was solely to do with the petition and events in 2020. It was always strange to me growing up how Disney had all but banished Song of the South from audiences after 1986 but built a giant multi million dollar monument to it in their theme parks. I personally adored this attraction and have since I was a child, even into my teenage years I had no shame in admitting to my friends that I loved the ride full of cute singing animals and favoured it to the much cooler and more hip Space Mountain, I have watched Song of the South and whilst it’s frankly boring and horribly outdated the animated segments are extremely charming and James baskett as uncle Remus was such a wonderful and adorable character. This ride existed simultaneously alongside the somewhat controversial source material for 34 years with no issues and entertained millions of people with it’s awesome storyline and hilarious characters. I will forever love and miss Splash Mountain 🐰🦊🐻
Well there was always controversy surrounding the movie ever since it’s original release, and the 1986 release was no exception. Since this controversy was mostly pointed towards the live-action portions, when making Splash Mountain they strictly themed it off the animated portions and replaced the Tar Baby for a beehive. I mean if audiences really didn’t care THAT much then it would’ve gotten a home media release long ago outside of the Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah segment.
maybe not huge controversy but audiences definitely noticed that the film didn’t age well, that’s why it wasn’t released on vhs in america.
@@andrewcb9255 seems as though they were only worried about releasing it in the US, it was released in the UK in the 1990s on VHS and clearly got no backlash as I can find several different variations of it on eBay
Splash Mountain was never racist. Period. No argument and no discussion necessary.
The dig at the Country Bear Jamboree was uncalled for, but overall a very well done video, awesome work!
the amount of comments I've gotten regarding the country bear jamboree is wild lol. I'll have to try it out again next time at Disneyworld and see if I change my mind
@@jakethemovienerd You’re not the only one who doesn’t like the Country Bears. I don’t, either.
Ayo, County Bears is based
When it comes to the issue going on in Tokyo Disney. The resort is actually not owned by Disney and is instead owned by the oriental land company. They basically own the rights to the Disney properties hence why they’re not taking down their splash mountain. Tho another reason as to why they’re not closing it is cuz the ride is in the middle of a mini song of the south land
They don't own the rights, they lease the rights. They were asked to contribute to a retheme to lower the costs across the three versions but declined like they did with galaxy's edge and runaway railway. Splash is working, everything looks amazing, crowds flock to it, it sells merch, it meets the cute factor for japan guests and most importantly the Japanese guests have no idea of the problematic back story to the ride. So why would OLC spend money to retheme something when it doesn't need to be done, they wont, they didn't. If a retheme did take place, it would likely be Alice in Wonderland. And the guests wouldn't complain, they would be excited for something new.
Gross
@@Banjo_Tails they declined on building Galaxy's edge? Interesting
"Oriental"? You nwords are the real racists.
The reason they're not taking it down is that nobody in Japan cares about the racism. It's a popular ride if the new version is a smash hit in the US they will likely follow suit.
I’m not really sure how to feel about the ride overall, I’m black and i don’t like Song of the South at all, but throughout my life my family has always gone on Splash Mountain. I certainly don’t mind the ride, it’s easy going and fun, but having Princess and the Frog overlaying it is a good idea. I kinda feel that it’s a half assed attempt though, I saw the model of the ride at D23 and it’s a lot more lack luster than the current theme. I think if they wanted to be more culturally sensitive and aware, why not build a new land and go all out.
True!!
As a former visitor to World, I felt like the original Splash Mountain wasn't covered as much in this video. I clearly feel like the ride was in a state of decay and required massive refurbishment.
I do believe Splash Mountain helped make these characters stand past the ride's initial controversies. I don't think if Splash Mountain was so beloved it would have lasted 30+ years. Definitely defined the perfect log flume ride. Part of me kind of hopes Disney World finds a way to provide a small homage to these characters like they have with previously shut down animatronics.
With all that being said, I don't believe the PatF retheming will live up to Splash Mountain's legacy. Not when all of Disney's new rides have been nothing but uninspiring video projectors and those horrible looking Bubble Faced Animatronics.
Also Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah is a banger. I think I'm more upset that Disney is wanting to distance themselves from arguably the most iconic Disney song ever made.
With Song of the South never being released in the states, The Brer Characters are so synonymous with Splash Mountain and the park and I see the change of the ride theme will be the death of these characters. Few of the Disney Characters that I can think of that are symbolic to a ride
This is such a well-written video with fab editing and great delivery. Are you planning on making more theme park videos?
To be honest I think you're underplaying the role that the events of summer 2020 played in triggering the decision to re-theme, but I do think you're right that there were many other factors at play too. I know Disney claim it had been worked on since the previous year but the differences between the concept art and the current design, plus the enormous gap between the announcement and the ride eventually closing (Mission Breakout went from announcement to opening in just 10 months for comparison) lead me to think this was a blue-sky concept that was quickly green-lit. I really enjoyed listening to your argument though!
I completely agree, the way the retheme has changed story & design each time we get more information...leads me to also believe the project was far earlier in development than they'd have us believe, even if the "idea" to change it to Princess & the Frog is old. Sentimental feelings towards Splash aside, as a Disney-parks enthusiast I worry most greatly about massive budget cuts in order to speed things along, at the cost of letting imaginers create a worthy successor full of life & three-dimensional movement(please Disney don't make this Navi River Journey 2.0).
I think the events of that summer provoked the /announcement/ of the retheme. Otherwise they wouldn't have announced it at such an early stage of development.
Lol
@@alexdean2109 I agree. They certainly have been developing this idea for a while but I do think it was more at the blue-sky level and they should have held off until it was more fully-formed because now i have serious concerns about it being rushed and the budget slashed
Disney never does anything spontaneous, however much it may seem that they do. The decision to re-do Splash had NOTHING to do with Floyd and the riots. A monstrously huge corporation doesn't make snap decisions based on sociological factors - unless their primary/main investors tell them to. Look to the globalist corporations for our social agendas, folks.
I’m not sure why I came here… I grew up in the Disney Parks and loved Splash ever since I was little, I never saw anything racially bad with the ride (nor watched the movie) until 2020 when the controversy sparked but I remember how mangled it was in there… Your video made my thoughts in my head perfectly summed up on how I feel. Nobody really understood what I was trying to say about Disney not caring about this ride with my words jumbled in a mess. I should’ve seen this coming, with all the rides i’ve loved as a kid going for something ‘new’, I cant believe I missed the fact that splash was just like these rides too. My last ride on Splash was in December 2022 with my dad, my dad and I loved this ride to bits and it was our ‘bonding’ ride per say… We laughed, screamed, sang along, and fought for the dry seat on this ride and i’ll never forget it lol…. I’m sad that this ride, which held memories of my fun moments with my dad, is going away for something new…. Like maelstrom, the backlot tour, the great movie ride, and so many more that I grew up with and made memories to last. Hopefully some kid in the next couple years from now will have the same experience like I did when I was younger but with different songs….But it’s also odd thinking about that too…. Anyways…. Thank you for making this, I somehow feel more calmed about this Splash situation now, like I finally had my final goodbye and someone gave me a comforting hug (I also did kinda cry in one part too). Definitely subscribing A+
@@wrelensmash Are we pretending that’s what’s happening?
I really wish that the Princess and the Frog retheme would go to Disneyland since it’s right next to New Orleans square, but then do an Emperor’s new groove retheme at DisneyWorld. I mean, Kuzco and Patcha go down a freaking waterfall on a damn log!!!!
Oh that's such a good idea!
Yes California Disneyland's Critter Country is next to New Orleans Square and its settings was made like New Orleans Bayou whereas in WDW Splash is owned by Frontierland which is themed after the western side of the Old South. The only Splash remaining safe is Tokyo Disneyland's which is also located in Critter Country but Tokyo's Critter Country is themed to western side of the Old South (Texas/AZ/New Mexico) instead of Louisiana Bayou as the sub set of the park's Frontierlad equivalent, the Westernland.
Imagine hearing "Pull the lever Kronk" before falling😂😭😭
Now I need it
I know you may not read this comment but another IP that I feel could have been used is Brother Bear, I loved that movie and it would've fit critter country (and possibly frontierland in disney world) so well. Brother Bear also fits all the categories of needing water, needing talking animals, and needing something relevant (I feel like this movie deserves love).
And a better soundtrack (being a Phil Collins fan!)
The ride had zero racism
As a Native American, I don’t find it “racist” for Disney to use animatronics depicting Native Americans. It’s not “offensive” either. Why do people need to feel offended for others? What’s next? Take all the animatronics out of the parks? That’d be exciting 🙄
@@squirreland half native here, personally it didn't bother me
@@squirreland not offended at all. The way I look at life is to look at the future and use the past as a guide to help us all be better.
Excited for Tiana to get something but wish they’d just build New Orleans square and give her some original stuff. I will be missing the final celebration scene from Splash Mountain for sure.
That’s literally what i was about to comment. I’m not Native American, but my husband is almost 100% and he DOES NOT find this movie offensive. Actually, he gets mad at the Disney plus “warning.”
Country Bear Jamboree lampoons abusive redneck families and somehow Whites - and everyone else - is invited to come laugh.
I was at Disneyland last week and you are spot on about the ride needing refurbishment/an upgrade. There's animatronics that don't work, burnt out lighting/areas that are so dark you can't see any of the sets or animatronics, and the whole thing generally looks run down and old. It's well past time the ride was updated, and while I have nostalgia for the ride (queuing for two hours in the July heat with my cousins, coordinating poses for the photo with my siblings, making up our own obscene lyrics to the songs since we didn't know the actual words) I'm so excited to see the new version. Disney's done really well with their re-theming in recent years and I am really optimistic that this one will be fantastic. At the bare minimum it's going to be visually more appealing than what they have now.
True of many rides. Maintenance cuts.
So why not just update it like they do with so many other rides? What is the reason for the retheme on a ride so many people obviously love.
@Anastasia's Secret because the ride isn't the movie. The ride itself is what people loved. And because of it they brought in a ton of customers and sold a bunch of merchandise. Updating it and adding a new Tiana ride would have been the better option.
@Anastasia's Secret Just like Haunted Mansion. The old people who watched the original movie back in the 40's are dying off. Why keep it?
@Anastasia's Secret the point is the movie may have been the origin for the idea of the ride, but the popularity of the movie has nothing to do with splash mountain the ride.
I mean space mountain and big thunder mountain don't even have IPs. People still love these rides, in the same way they love splash mountain
I thought it was cool how before Disney rides weren't based off existing properties. Sure there were a few even in the early years but now you can't even go take a dump without it being themed after Big Hero 6, or drink fruit punch without it being themed after Chicken Little, and you can't even lay in bed without having Wreck it Ralph watch you snooze.
Part of that is that Disney has a lot more IP now than they did then, and many of the park’s original rides were atleast attempted in media at some point.
I always thought Brother Bear was the perfect IP for Splash Mountain, both because it's in Bear Country, and because there's even a scene in the movie where the characters slide down a waterfall at a salmon run.
Imo the re theme and name change is sort of bull. The characters in the ride were fun cartoon classics that brought you into their cartoonist world with mind blowing (for the time) animatronics. It'll be hard to go to Disney without seeing Brer Fox's home, the Ol' tree upon chick a pen hill, an icon of Disney Parks
Excellent video, definitely subscribing! Would love to see more theme park video essays in future! :)
Great video, subbed and looking forward to your future work!
Really well done and concise video! Some things I want to add and some pointers about both Splash Mountain's history, Disney history, history on Song of the South and the Br'er characters
In the 1970s there was actually a Robin Hood dark ride planned from either Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom, but the idea was scrapped because while the characters were memorable, Sherwood Forest wasn't a distinct enough setting for it to stand out.
Disney actually re-released Song of the South numerous times, 1956, 1972, 1973 (Sadly that re-release is the reason star Bobby Driscoll died of a drug overdose in 1968), 1980 and 1986. Not to mention on American TV the film played under Disney Channel's Lunchbox Program from the 1980s to 2001, but had the Tar-Baby segment cut out.
Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear were seen a lot in promotional materials for the New Orleans Square when it opened up, Br'er Rabbit's first costume was pretty underutilized and was replaced with a more accurate one the time Splash Mountain opened up. Hell I found some pins of that area from 2003 of Br'er Fox playing the saxophone
Song of the South is historically signifcant as actor James Baskett, who played Uncle Remus, was the first Black man to recieve an Oscar for his role campaigned by Walt Disney. First Black person overall to recieve an Oscar was actress Hattie McDaniel for her role in Gone with the Wind for her role as Mammy, who funny enough is in Song of the South herself and sings the song "Sooner or Later".
Something to note about the Br'er characters is that they come from African folklore, and that the animated segments in the film and by consequence from the ride are based on specific tales. Namely Dollar A Minute, Tar Baby and the Laughing Place story, though something to note Disney planned on using a lot of the original stories in the film itself. They were super common and seen everywhere in the Disney catalogue, hell one illustration on Walt Disney's death has a lot of Disney characters mourning his death, and Br'er Fox, Br'er Rabbit and Br'er Bear are prominent in that illustration.
Personally I'd rather have the characters and music live on, since even when the film came out despite all the controversies, a lot of critics felt that Baskett's acting, the animated segments and the music were the only sparks of Disney magic. I mean hell Disney re-released a cartoon of Mickey Mouse, their own mascot, in a blackface minstrel show to DVD in 2004 but not Song of the South.
ALSO THANK YOU FOR CRITICIZING DISNEY FOR IT'S HYPOCRISCY! The Natives from Peter Pan and Crows from Dumbo can stay or have references in the parks but not the Br'er characters? Also surprised you didn't acknowledge Disney's little fiasco with shrinking John Boyega on a Star Wars Poster or covering up Chadwick Boseman's face to appeal to Chinese racism, or how they filmed near a literal death camp for the Mulan remake and thanked said camp in the credits.
Imo, Disney doesn't give a fuck about minorities, all this is just a simple PR move in my eyes. Like you said they didn't retheme or give a crap about it, personally I don't find the ride offensive or racist there's much more racist rides like Jungle Cruise or the Peter Pan's Flight, but if they did you'd think they would've done it sooner if they cared.
This was a great video! I wanted to make a small note: Disney probably didn’t make nearly as much on the last day of operation at MK. For one, I would say at least half of the visitors there to ride the ride were local passholders and cast members. As a local, I didn’t know anyone that paid specifically for that day to ride splash. There was probably a percentage that planned their trip around riding one last time, but I would only call them a fraction of the crowd. Secondly, there was no splash merchandise (I asked a few days prior after my last ride), but there was definitely an increase in general food and beverage, as well as some merchandise, as a result of a more crowded day. So while I would definitely say they benefitted from the crowds, it’s probably not nearly as much as one would think.
The saddest part of the video is remembering Carousel of Progress at Disneyland and how its now a storage space/warehouse to be turned into a Disney Vacation club ladi dah bar. what a sad loss of a good ride/experience that got kicked to the curb for nothing of worth to replace it. it has not been star wars launch bay since the pandemic ie you cant go inside and maybe this year will be the last time guests could go in during the after dark star wars nights but thats is pure guess work.
Do you think the removal of the splash mountain themed merchandise far earlier than the closure of the ride had to do with racism? I just wonder why they took it out nearly a year before the ride actually closed
They didn't - the merch was still for sale last summer when I was there. (WDW)
Great video! A small anecdotal note, I was at Disney in early January and I saw that there was zero Splash Mountain merch, and its gift shop was already closed. Unless they had made new stuff for the ride's last day, the only money the ride itself generated was from people coming to the park for it.
I was there in Disney world on the last day of splash mountain and I had no clue it was closing and my god the line was so long it was hard to walk though the Wild West area (I don’t know the name of that area) and during the night at the end of the ride there was so many people cheering on the people that waited it was cool and kinda sad because that was one of my favorite rides I’m really gonna miss this ride I know it’s gonna be the same I’m just gonna miss the old characters. Bye Splash Mountain you will always be in my heart as my favorite ride.❤😢
Great video! I’m going to Disneyland ca in March so planning to ride splash mountain for potentially one last time. I know they haven’t announced a closing date but I doubt I’ll be back later in the year, until maybe December 2023.
If you go on the Pinocchio, ride at Disneyland, there’s still a racist depiction of a Chinese person as soon as strngboly locks you away. If you turn to your right, he’s sitting up on the cage when I last went, I said “wow that’s still there that’s super strange they left that there”
I thought stromboli was italian
theres also the peter pan "indian" scene still on the ride
I would say that Splash Mountain is not based on Song of the South, but rather Splash Mountain and Song of the South are both based on the Uncle Remus folk stories. While Song of the South can be very cringe at times, Splash Mountain eloquently adapts the stories and removes the problematic elements found in Song of the South.
I think it was a mistake to retheme this attraction with its sophisticated plot that teaches while we can’t always run away from our problems, we can always outsmart them. I always loved the sign in the queue that read, “You can’t run away from trouble. Ain’t no place that far.” The new plot that involves getting ready for Mardi Gras and an employee owned business (says the shareholder owned company) is a huge downgrade, in my opinion.
Princess Tiana is a princess. Her story is a fairytale - a fantasy. She belongs in Fantasyland, along with Moana. To keep Fantasyland Eurocentric and put all the non-white princesses in every area of the parks except Fantasyland is more racist than Splash Mountain could ever be, much like your point about the American Indians in Peter Pan’s flight.
Actually, it doesn't remove the problematic elements found in Song of the South. I highly recommend checking out Dreamsound's video, "Disney's Racist Ride" for the problematic elements that sadly carried over to Splash Mountain.
As someone who loved Splash Mountain, it highly opened my eyes to several things.
@@siramaytheshowgundragon ... I'm going to assume you meant the OP and not misgendering Dreamsounds I hope.
@@UnityBringer wait what? oh my i am so sorry didnt know, apolgies!
still bias though
@@UnityBringer I have seen the video you’re talking about.
I recommend checking out Julius Lester’s edition of the Uncle Remus tales. In his forward, Lester discusses the history of the Brer Rabbit stories and what kind of legacy the Uncle Remus character should or shouldn’t have.
James Baskett won an Oscar for his portal of Uncle Remus in Song of the South. For any actor to win an Oscar means a guaranteed career in Hollywood. Walt Disney and his producers actively campaigned for Baskett to receive this recognition. This piece of African American history is now hidden from the world.
As for the dialect of the characters on the ride, they’re just talking like any other hillbilly from Appalachia would speak. I say this as a hillbilly from Appalachia. Many people have loved Splash Mountain because it celebrates country living and the simple life. It celebrates those tiny communities in the woods of Appalachia where every type of critter, black or white, is accepted and at home.
You have earned my sub man hope to see more types of these videos in future
So after they announced the retheme of Splash Mountain into princess and the frog I was upset and I started writing my book series called the Western River Expedition which was a attraction that supposed to be built at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom but they never did and I think the Western River Expedition would having been a perfect retheme for Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World because it is located in Frontierland
And I think you should do a video about the Western River Expedition
They should redo WDW’s Splash to be Western River someday
@@johnlynch42069 I agree we should tell Disney that if not that’s there problem
I definitely agree with this. As it would be an honor to Marc Davis' legacy. I know it was always a sore spot with him that the Western River Expedition got canned.
@@Caterpillarjon I agree if Marc Davis was here today what would you say to him
WRE would be way too big to fit in the Splash Mountain space.
This is such a perfect summary of the whole event.
Very interesting! Loved the explanation. Thanks
Splash Mountain was a great ride.
I preferred Bug's Land to Avengers Campus.
I'll admit, I was somewhat armed for bear when clicking on this video, but I gotta say this was a great video. The fact that Disney Co. never mentioned race and continues to let other "racist" depictions exist elsewhere is something nobody else has talked about. Even still, I lost a lot of respect for them when they made this announcement. They ignored a decent chunk of their audience including a 100,000 signature petition to keep the ride the same. It seems all they care about is fast money rather than long term customer relations. I just hope this new version has actual props and not a bunch of crappy screens.
This is the best video I have seen on the topic of Splash Mountain.
You are very clear, nuanced, and well thought about every aspect of this ride. You found every perspective, and found all of the nuggets of truth within. Great video!!
Only ridden splash mountain at Disney land and world. Never knew about the movie until the news broke about splash mountain remolding to Tiana adventure
Why do people say Song of the South is banned. It is all over the Internet, VHS, DVDS, Blu-ray, digital downloads.
Song of the South is banned specifically in the United States. Versions "all over the the internet" are bootlegs and pirated copies of VHS and LaserDisc copies released in various European and Asian countries between 1982-2000. So the film isn't banned worldwide, or erased completely from existence, but there is no legal way of watching it in the United States. That's why people say it's banned.
@@jakethemovienerd but if a North American can buy a copy online, and have it imported, with no issues or anyone stopping them? Then it not really banned. And what is the point of trying to banned it when Disney have their New Orleans and French Quarter. Both of which are base on Southern Slave Culture. Princess and the Frog start with her and her family living in former slave quarters, on a former plantation. The lead inhale the job of house cleaner from her mother, who work for the family that may have own them.
Thank you! I know the first time I went on the ride, I had no idea it was themed Song of the South into Zipe-de-do-dah started. I was perplexed then, why theme a ride for a film no one can see? Was it the Oscar winning song? At least you gave some answers!
Hey bruh! There was no last day merch. I was there and they really dropped the ball. Everyone in that line would have spent up to get last day plushes, pins and shirts.
Also, Your video was awesome. It was my youngest daughters first big ride and also her favorite.
We will really miss splash.
A Pocahontas ride would have been a better fit for Frontierland.
I wouldve actually got behind that a little more! Still would've missed splash but would at least be excited to see that. And that would make perfect sense. That big tree being the wise woman tree and such
That film is just a problematic as Song of The South. Schafferillas talked about it in his ranking if every Disney film. Indigenous Americans do not claim this film.
@@twoczents I mean....I lived on a reservation and no one complained about that movie once. And this was in the 90s
@@thizzlemetimbrs8194 Well, there's no singing animals.
@@twoczents true. They'd jam out with Pocahontas but they don't sing if I recall
I don’t understand how the ride is racist anyway. It’s based on the br’er rabbit story (which was created by Africans) not song of the south. Besides the songs. They’re removing an African story and replacing it with a European story lol
But yeah they don’t care about racism, it’s all about ESGs/money
Also it’s not extremely crazy they’d use the br’er rabbit story for the ride. That story is an old classic and everyone has heard it!
this video is mad underrated bro, you just got another sub
W channel we love to see the growth🥳
Our boy is growing up 🥲
@@doubledowndanfilms So so so true his growth is growin'😭😭
Just have to say, this is the most well thought out explanation of any I’ve heard.
Disney knows what they’re doing when they re-theme. I mean come on, who really wanted to ride the submarine ride until it was re-themed to finding Nemo? Honestly, never got on that ride until finding Nemo re-theme.
And your reasoning for why re-theming makes us sad about the old ride is a valid one. I still miss the people mover because I spent lots of time on it with my parents. I miss the old star tours because it reminds me of my parents, too. Those are rides we’d go on when I was little and now my parents are gone, so I’ll always hold those happy memories and wish I could go back. But I can’t so I’ll enjoy the new stuff that comes along and make new memories and maybe cry a little on the rides as I remember my parents.
Disney knows what to do with retheming about the same as they knew what to do with the new Star Wars films and Phase 4 of the M-SHE-U! 😂😂😂😂
With JK Rowling constantly attacking and criticising the LGBT community and being accused of Anti-semitism in her depiction of Harry Potter's goblins, Splash Mountain isn't even the most controversial theme park ride anymore, since it's basically the entire Wizarding World at Universal now. Especially the Escape from Gringotts. I fully expect you all NOT to be picky hypocrites. Now demand Epic Universe be closed before it's even opened! 😂😂😂
Its funny how a bunch of people who supoosedly are offended by the ride's theme are willing to wait in line to ride the offensive ride before it closes. I've watched the film multiple times and still love it. The ride itself is the best formatted/themed in the park, imo, and it's still a tragedy that Disney pandered, and continues to do so, to all the fake 'delicates'. Snap out of it, people ! Save Splash Mountain !!
Honestly, I feel like it would have been a good idea to give Disneylands and Disney Worlds rethemes different IP's. Not only to give to different experiences, but also because the location of the ride. While Princess and the frog works perfectly in Disneyland, it doesnt in World, where its in Frontierland. It of course wont change anymore, but it would have been a good idea.
Man if I ever owned the Disney parks, I would change Disney Worlds Tiana's Bayou Adventure to Home on the range in no time!
Holy 💩! I'm nearly 60... I grew up in Disneyland in the 70's thru the early 2000's... I did America Sings with my fam for years... I never thought about how inappropriate it was being in Tomorrowland! 😂🤣. Excellent point!
i think it was 2018 or 2019 that me and my dad went on it around 14 times because we thought it was closing
Exactly … they don’t really care they just want to bring in a younger audience and no one has seen song of the south these days.. the times are changing and as always some are angry at change.
I dont remember splash mountain or song of the south having anything racist in it
Me neither
The only racist element is the Uncle Remus character. The source media that Song of the South is based on was quite supportive of black stories, but was a bit out of touch. Most of the outrage is just overblown reactions from times of racial tensions.
A racist wouldn't find anything racist
For modern audiences the portrayal of Uncle Remus is problematic. Quite why they even included the live action bits is a mystery to me; as the ride demonstrates cutting them out has no effect on the film.
I went onto Tower of terror with my friends in 2014 it was my first and only Time on it. I was finally tall enough to ride it I'm about 4 feet 7 inches tall. Now 10 year's later I know I can't ride it anymore due to my scoliosis chronic pain.
Great video Jake, solid analysis
I miss out on this part on splash moutain as african american woman who ride this ride back in 1989 and 2003 as child and a teenage girl I did not see this. I never saw song of the south as black young girl in 1986. It would be nice to see attraction on african american and native american to tell stories. I always wanted to go on the twilight zone tower ride
how do you only have 200 subs your stuff is so hi quality
This was really well done!! I’m sad to see it go, but I’m excited to see how they tie in the new theming into the old area!
honestly, i dont really mind splash mountain being rethemed, its time for something new this ride is really old
Splash mountain should’ve never had to close. Always been my favorite ride. RIP Splash😢
How about a ride based on the Disney classic “Fantasia?”
This was excellently done. Thank you for talking about this
The youngest of the Disney Mountain Series gets a permanent Theme Change. Now there were seasonal Hyper Space Mountain but that was just for a limited time. I don't recall Big Thunder Mountain to have a theme change though. Still Splash Mountain will be missed. I first got to go on it during Grad Night 1991
Its all about copyrights and trademarks and that the clock is about to run out on the original IP before publuc domain entrance. So they are replacing it with an IP that won't enter the public domain for about another 75 years. And they found a way to do it to make themselves look good and get away scot free from having to apologize or pay back the hundreds of millions they made off the original IP. All they had to do was virtue signal at the right time.
Funny part is that 90% of those who complain about Splash Mountain's relation with Song of the South are white people recording tiktoks in the comfort of their houses... Smh
In other media, Disney started to be very strict about Offensive showings. They started to "ban" Comics (no disclaimer, directly and forever into the Disney vault). Don't get the measures they are using on their different branches of products.
The whole controvery about these characters blindsided me, because in Europe where I grew up, the Brer characters have been used in Disney comics for decades, with absolutely no context as to where they are from. They usually show up in B-stories alongside the Three Little Pigs and Big Bad Wolf, so I always assumed they were based on some obscure short, or were just straight up comics-original like most of the Duckburg characters are. When I learned about Splash Mountain, I was flabbergasted that these minor comics characters had a ride of their own, since I knew Disney comics were pretty obscure in the states lol. All of that is to say, Disney has been using them divorced from their original context for a while now.
Disney: We want u to delete splash mountain tokyo disney because it forms bad press for dis-
The oriental land company: N O
I originally heard that Splash Mountain was about to close February 7, 2023, and it saddened me, because I love this ride. With great joy, I discovered that Disneyland kept it open. I was so overjoyed that even though it was cold that night, I rode it and got drenched. I haven’t felt that much enjoyment for over 30 years.
So currently, Disneyland is keeping splash mountain open?
@@Thomasmemoryscentrales, for now
Fantastic video!
i never rode it myself, but for what i know, its a disney park-classic, so it will be missed!
Super awesome video.
Also why the new generation can just enjoy old stuff too? Like Michael Eisner once said: respect the old! I still feel Splash Mountain shouldn’t have been re-themed.. maybe because I just don’t like the animation of Tianas.. the point is how they handled everything.. make improper names for Splash Mountain and divide people.. completely erase its existence, characters not being showed in the parade, no merchandise etc…I genuinely feel that even the movie Song of the South was done in the first place to educate people. And even tho is post-slavery, it shouldn’t stop people to know the truth and learn from the past.. I believe Walt wanted to give a strong message.. but of course nobody understood…
This is really good.
Good video. I watched it when I was younger in the 90’s, me being from Louisiana, I am on the fence about it being Rethemed. I think it’s all about $ Merchandise $$
I have an amazing idea for a redesign of splash. If the theme was A Goofy Movie, and the log is some sort of log or car, and the final drop is when goofy falls and max does the whole fishing rod part. and the inside where all the animals are singing could be the whole canyon and stuff.
The song is the most iconic part of the ride
Correction: Marc Davis did not work on Robin Hood (1973). His last film was 101 Dalmatians (1961) then moved to work at Disney imagineering on attractions such as Pirates of the Carribean, Haunted Mansion, Country Bear Jamboree and yes even America Sings.
On IMDb it says Marc Davis was an uncredited character animator for Robin Hood. Davis also did work as an imagineer and animator simultaneously, it wasn't really a move to work as one or the other. He helped with Peter Pan (1953), then the Jungle Cruise (1955), then back to animating with Sleeping Beauty (1959), then back to imagineering with Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland (1960), and back and forth for a while thereafter. Even if the IMDb page is incorrect, and Marc Davis didn't assist with animation for Robin Hood, his style is nonetheless heavily present in both the movies and parks at that time. This furthers my point that choosing an IP to match the character style of America Sings wasn't a big issue for Disney, as most IP's would match anyways. But good catch nonetheless, as most sources don't credit Marc for his help with Robin Hood.
@@jakethemovienerd I doubt that imdb is completely reliable. anyone can edit the imdb info like those on wikipedia, sometimes they can be erroneous like using geuss work for uncredited voice actors. I can't find a Marc Davis' artwork for Robin Hood but Ken Anderson, Milt Kahl, John Lounsbury, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston the other hand.
Edit: oops Just remembered. Marc Davis and Ken Anderson did storyboards for Chanticleer in the early 1960's, the artwork looks somewhat similar to Robin Hood and America Sings.
@@voicetalentBrendan I'm not sure where the contributor for that IMDb page got their info. But you're absolutely right, it's definitely not a perfectly reliable source. If not for actually animating on Robin Hood, my guess for Marc Davis' credit is because Robin Hood reused lots of animation from previous Disney projects in an attempt to save money. Some of those reused animations are from Snow White, which Marc did animate on (if I am correct lol). So maybe because Lady Mirian's dance animation is the same as Snow White's dancing, which could have been animated by Marc, then he gets a technical credit. Again, this is all guesswork at this point. After this discussion I'm believing it's more likely than not that Davis didn't animate on Robin Hood. But there's always a chance!
Marc Davis developed concept art for Chanticleer. Those concepts were used to develop Robin Hood.
@@genappithy as well as Ken Anderson.
Good take, good video
great video!
Would have loved of Disney had left splash mountain alone (literally my favorite ride ) and given princess and the frog it’s own ride . Glad I got to ride splash 5 more times last year (on my last Disney world trip ).
This video makes a whole lot of sense on why Disney would retheme the ride not because of racism. But I also agree with the pinned comment about them covering their tracks though I’m not saying you didn’t disagree that Disney was fueled by the controversy. It’s honestly a little bit of both. Outdated animatronics that just couldn’t work as well as they used to and also Song of the South’s Controversy which would make sense for them pulling off the merchandise from shelves. Nobody likes to say they’re wrong let alone a multibillion dollar company. I think the pinned comment as well as your video basically sum up the retheme for Splash Mountain. Really enjoyed the video as it educated me a lot.
The Animatronics work just fine in Toyko. In reality you Americans are just lazy as hell and didn't want to bother installing new ones like they did in Japan.
That's not an adequate excuse to close the ride.
How come Japan does a far better job maintaining rides than your country does? It's because Disney is lazy when it comes to maintaining stuff, and the OLC forced them to do a better job of it in Toyko as their partners.
It's no excuse, animatronics can always be fixed or replaced with a brand new one.
Anyone else clock the Rollercoaster Tycoon sound effect at the end
I live in New Orleans and I’m Cajun so I’m pretty happy
Yea I went in December , waited in line for over an hour with my niece, nephew & little brother and it closed down out of nowhere as soon as we made it to those stairs 😩😩😩… glad we went to Universal studios 2 days later , I loved it !
Brilliant! I love the analysis. It is well thought-out and articulate. And the intro was a great touch.
this is really well made, how do you have less subscribers than ME?!
Song of the South was released on home video overseas, so technically a bootleg isn't the only way to see it.
this channel is going to blow up
Tangled would have been perfect. Rapunzel and Finn leave the tower, they go to the bar and singing ensues, then the henchmen arrive, they flee, ending up escaping in a mine, and eventually break free.
Except the songs in tangled are bad
Doesn't fit in new orleans square and frontierland in wdw 😐
I ride splash mountain the last day of operation. I actually cried when I got off the last time because it was the first ride I vividly remember going on as a child. It was like part of my childhood was going away forever. However with this being said I’m happy with the new change and I hope Tiana’s ride is very well themed. And I also hope there’s a reference or Easter egg to splash mountain somewhere on the ride.
I'll admit you have some good points, but I'll never see this ride as racist. Largely because most guest who rode the ride (mainly children black or white or anything else) never even knew what it was based on. /shrug And even if you really hate that fact, you'll hate this worse: Song of the South (like it or not) was one of the first major motion pictures to star a black person in Hollywood. It will go down in history as that along with films like Gone with the Wind. Get over it.
Beautiful video honestly
Very nice video
Look, I’ve typed this comment before.
But I wanna say it again. The stories from Song of the South are literally made up folklore from black slaves that lived on plantations. The stories belong to them.
Just cuz the guy that recorded them was very disrespectful… It’s an incredible thing to erase. It’s unclear if it’s the right thing to replace it with a story from Europe in a movie written and directed by white men. Just saying… I’m shocked nobody is saying this. It’s verbatim their own argument.
Right, I’m someone who wants culture to be preserved, but it seems like we just keep erasing cultural history to be politically correct somehow. Crazy.
If I recall the never built a robinhood ride because they couldn't come up with scenes more interesting than character a meeting character b in the forest, which isn't interesting enough for a dark ride
Loved this video! Thank you for approaching this conversation from a different angle and showing what other reasons could motivate Disney for changing Splash Mountain. Financial reasoning behind their choices is what businesses do best! We put way more emphasis on their choices for changing Splash Mountain than they probably ever did 🪵💦
'Song of The South' isn't really racially insensitive. It takes place after the American Civil War, so the African("black") people in it are not slaves, and the movie is about the friendship between a young "white" boy and an old "black" man. It's a positive movie with positive messages. The only reasons that anybody thinks that this movie is racially insensitive are that they haven't done their research and assume that the film takes place before or during the Civil War, and the fact that Disney, thanks to Michael Eisner and Bob Iger, has not given the movie any kind of official release since 1986(other than some VHS and Laserdisc releases in certain countries), which only helps to perpetuate the notion that the movie is racially insensitive. If Disney had released the movie on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray worldwide, there would be very few, if any, people who think that 'Song of The South' is racially insensitive. Is it a great movie? No, but it is a good movie with a positive message of friendship, and it deserves to be defended and seen.
For a movie of it's era, 'Song of The South' was actually pretty progressive in portraying multi-racial friendships when you consider that it was released during the segregation era of the American South. Disney needs to release the film on Blu-ray and make it available on Disney Plus, with bonus features included, including a feature-length documentary on the film's creation, release, and legacy. Also, to anyone who thinks that Walt Disney was racist, he wasn't. The "black" actors who were in the film were not allowed to attend the film's world premiere at the Fox Theater in Atlanta,GA, but that wasn't Walt's fault. It was 1946 and segregation in the American South was a thing by that point, as I've already mentioned. Walt hated the fact that the "black" actors weren't allowed to attend the premiere, but, obviously, there was nothing that he could do about it. Walt made it possible for James Baskett(the actor who played Uncle Remus and Brer Fox) to get an Oscar for his portrayal of Uncle Remus. #ReleaseSongofTheSouth and #BringbackSplashMountain.