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Thread: Mary Blair's family speaks out against Small World changes!

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  1. #1

    Mary Blair's family speaks out against Small World changes!

    (snip) "...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 Mothers 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 rides international guests and devoted Disney fans..." (snip)

    Much more of Kevin (Mary's son) Blair's letter to Disney executives at this Re-Imagineering link:

    http://imagineerebirth.blogspot.com/...ly-speaks.html


  2. #2

    Is this for real???

    While I'm not necessarily in support of the proposed theming changes to IASW, I hardly think that they would be the cause of "the degradation of the companys talent" or "the subsequent decline at the Disneyland Park itself."

    What's more, I found this letter to be insulting and unprofessional ("I cannot believe someone from WDI was paid to come up with such an idiotic plan as this"). And if Mr. Blair wanted to be taken seriously in this formal complaint (assuming it has, in fact, been sent to Disney executives), he probably should have had an editor look over his draft. The punctuation and grammatical errors are glaring.

    Looks like a lesson in tact is in order.


  3. #3
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    It would be interesting to see an attempt to get some kind of historic landmark protection for a theme park attraction.


  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by River Belle View Post
    While I'm not necessarily in support of the proposed theming changes to IASW, I hardly think that they would be the cause of "the degradation of the companys talent" or "the subsequent decline at the Disneyland Park itself."

    What's more, I found this letter to be insulting and unprofessional ("I cannot believe someone from WDI was paid to come up with such an idiotic plan as this"). And if Mr. Blair wanted to be taken seriously in this formal complaint (assuming it has, in fact, been sent to Disney executives), he probably should have had an editor look over his draft. The punctuation and grammatical errors are glaring.

    Looks like a lesson in tact is in order.
    Well, maybe, but if you had a parent with historic ties to major structures and art - and were not even consulted on changes - would you not as well be unnerved? Remember - this is the third piece of blair design that is being modified at Disneyland (yes, some consider an attraction to be art and design). I am not a historical bigot - I like change - but in some cases you wonder about short term gain versus long term cultural meaning.

    and no - I don't consider it to be "just another theme park ride"..
    "[Disneyland] has that thing - the imagination, and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid." - Walt Disney

  5. #5

    According to what is said in the "it's a small world" segment of this Hong Kong Disneyland promotional video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZHZDcgCao8, the updates to this attraction are exclusive to the Hong Kong Resort. Does anyone have factual confimation from the Company that the update will be used in the Disneyland Resort attraction? It's possible that someone misinterpreted some testing being done in the California ride for the Hong Kong attraction.


  6. #6

    I actually agree with the letter. Ripping out the rain forrest would be crazy. I really feel this is one ride that should be left alone. Other than the boat/canal part.


  7. #7
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    I'm not pro or con about any changes in IASW for now, I'd really like to see what they plan to do before I come down on either side. But....has anybody else noticed that America/USA really isn't represented in the children? We've got a cowboy and a surfer as far as I can tell. Maybe we are represented in others and I just missed it? If they just tweaked it a little I wouldn't be overly upset but, if they totally commercialize it by dressing the dolls in princess costumes, Jack's dreads on the boys and throw a plush in each kids hand it would be extremely tacky. Senergy(?) can be taken too far.

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  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by olegc View Post
    Well, maybe, but if you had a parent with historic ties to major structures and art - and were not even consulted on changes - would you not as well be unnerved? Remember - this is the third piece of blair design that is being modified at Disneyland
    I am a huge fan of Mary Blair and will actually be very disappointed if there are major changes made to this attraction. I just wish that the author of this letter (writing as the representative of the Blair family) didn't resort to name-calling and an "I know better than you" mentality.

    I think that a more respectful letter would have been much more compelling.

    As for whether or not I believe the Blair family should have been consulted about changes to the attraction? No, I don't.

    I loved the original pirate shouting "Bloomin' Cockroachers" in POTC and was saddened to see him replaced by Barbossa, and don't even get me STARTED about Tarzan's invasion of the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. I doubt that the children of the imagineers who created these characters/attractions were consulted...

    I'm a Disneyland "purist," but I've also come to accept that change is a large part of the park I love so much.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by River Belle View Post
    I loved the original pirate shouting "Bloomin' Cockroachers" in POTC and was saddened to see him replaced by Barbossa\
    I take comfort in that I can hear the old dialog in the Fireworks show.

  10. #10

    Brady MacDonald of the LA Times got a WDI spokeperson to respond....

    http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/?p=1530


    Disney officials said some additions — known as “plussing” in Imagineering parlance — will be made to Small World but that no decision had been made on specific creative changes to the 14-minute ride despite the speculation.

    “No one approaches our classic attractions with more reverence than Disney Imagineers who take great care when refreshing beloved attractions,” said Marilyn Waters, a Disney Imagineering spokeswoman. “As with all our classics, any enhancements made to It’s a Small World will be in the original spirit of celebrating the children of the world.”
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  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Bytebear View Post
    I take comfort in that I can hear the old dialog in the Fireworks show.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bytebear View Post
    I take comfort in that I can hear the old dialog in the Fireworks show.

    Sorry, I meant this post: as well as in the 3rd Pirates movie; recorded for posterity!
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  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Bytebear View Post
    I take comfort in that I can hear the old dialog in the Fireworks show.
    Better yet, I have the entire ride soundtrack on CD, including the pirate that talks about trying to find a maiden and offering to share with anyone that helps him find her, lol!

    While IASW is not my favorite attraction by far, I like it the way it is. I'd like to see an update that just involves improving the mechanics and existing costumes, maybe updated a little to more modern times, but still keeping with the overall existing design. But I don't think Disney has to consult with the families of the Imagineers who designed any ride when a change is contemplated. Those families don't own any rights to those rides and shouldn't have veto power. If anyone should be consulted, it's the public who plunks down millions if not billions of dollars a year on the parks.
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  14. #14

    I think the attraction has always been wonderfully themed; a tribute to the children of the world, showing us all that we have many more similarities than differences with our neighbors, reminding us that "It's A Small World afterall!" The simple, yet beautiful and comfortable visuals created by Mary Blair accompanied by a theme song that everyone walks away humming make IASW a unique experience.

    It's one thing to update an attraction so that the people attending can better relate to it. Case in point, changing the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse to the Tarzan treehouse. But by the attendance draw at IASW, it has shown its universal appeal for 40 years now.

    I think that I am in the camp that opposes the corporate branding of IASW with Disney characters and making the lovely and simple dolls the background players. Not everything has to fit into the corporate synergy.

    I hope that in refurbishing IASW, they carefully consider any changes which could potentially undermine the attraction's original theme.


  15. #15

    After having seen the photos, I'm not so scared any more about the additions to IASM. I must admit I'm a member of what seems to be a relatively small group that happens to really love this attraction (and I'm a man in my early 40's, so this must be REALLY rare!), but I'd rather see Small World get a new lease on life with some tasteful and unobtrusive additions then see it disappear due to lack of interest. Although I am a purist, I realize that Disneyland is a theme park and not a museum, and needs to remain updated and relevant for each new generation. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing the changes when the attraction is re-opened in the fall.


  16. #16
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    Official response from Marty Sklar about "it's a small world"

    This is the response from Executive Vice President and Walt Disney Imagineering Ambassador Marty Sklar to some of the recent comments about the "it's a small world" attraction:

    A MAGIC KINGDOM OF ALL THE WORLDS CHILDREN

    A local newspaper reporter got it right when she wrote that, after we updated Pirates of the Caribbean last year, many fans grudgingly acknowledged that the additions may make the ride more appealing to young park goers." Now, based purely on rumors that are mostly inaccurate, we are being criticized for touching another one of Walt Disneys classics.

    We all agree that Its A Small World is a Disney classic. But the greatest change agent who ever walked down Main Street at Disneyland was Walt himself. In fact, the park had not been open 24 hours when Walt began to plus Disneyland, and he never stopped. Having started my Disney career at Disneyland one month before the park opened in 1955, I can cite countless examples.

    Like all my colleagues at Walt Disney Imagineering, I was pressed into action to help make Its A Small World happen at the 1964-65 New York Worlds Fair. We were all working to complete and open Fords Magic Skyway and General Electrics Carousel of Progress (I worked on both) as well as Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln for the State of Illinois. But 11 months before the Worlds Fair opening, Walt agreed to do a salute to the children of the world for UNICEF, and all the Imagineers somehow made it happen.

    Mary Blairs illustrations were, of course, the spark. But this was one of those great Disney team efforts, and many Disney legends joined her: Marc Davis; Blaine Gibson; Rolly Crump, Harriet Burns and numerous others. And, of course, Bob and Dick Sherman added that song we cant get out of our heads. I interfaced with all of them to write and produce a 24-page souvenir book that was sold at the Fair, because Walt wanted to showcase and thank the team for an extraordinary accomplishment.

    Now the rumors are swirling that we are ruining Walts creation. Ive heard that we are planning to remove the rainforest, add Mickey and Minnie Mouse, create an Up with America tribute, to effectively marginalize the Mary Blair style and Walts classic (all not true).

    In fact, just the opposite is true. We want the message of brotherhood and good will among all children around the world to resonate with more people than ever before, especially todays young people. Our objective is to have everyone who experiences Its a Small World understand (in the words the Shermans wrote 44 years ago) that there is just one moon, and one golden sun, and a smile means friendship to everyone.


    To make Its A Small World even more relevant to our guests, Tony Baxter (who created the concepts for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain and other Disneyland classics) and I arrived at the same place eight years ago. To accomplish our objective, we decided to seamlessly integrate Disney characters into appropriate thematic scenes in the attraction, and do it completely in the distinctive Mary Blair style. We spent many long months exploring ways to accomplish this.

    We are not turning this classic attraction into a marketing pitch for Disney plush toys (rumors to the contrary). Between Tony, our chief designer Kim Irvine, and me, we represent 128 years creating Disney park entertainment and fun for literally billions of guests around the world. We are not young marketing whizzes trying to make a name for ourselves. We were fortunate to have trained, and worked with, all of Walts original Imagineers.


    In the Shermans song, its the oceans that are wide, and the mountains that divide. Our goal was, and always will be, to bring people together, and keep this classic the happiest cruise that ever sailed around the world (words I personally wrote for that souvenir guide nearly half a century ago).

    Or, as Walt Disney phrased it in his introduction to that guide, a magic kingdom of all the worlds children.

    Martin A. Sklar
    Executive Vice President
    Walt Disney Imagineering
    Imagineering Ambassador
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  17. #17
    Fun is wherever you find it... olegc's Avatar
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    i think that's a good message from Sklar - but I know folks at Re-imagineering will turn their backs anyway. Many have been blinded by the "keep it as I remember it" motto. But you can't... my kids will remember DLR differently from me, and theirs to them. (I remember when BTMRR did not exist, then it did. but I lost my mules. For me - that's one of my memories).

    "[Disneyland] has that thing - the imagination, and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid." - Walt Disney

  18. #18
    Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spokker Jones View Post
    If that letter is indeed the real thing.
    "That letter" was sent to MousePlanet (and other media, I assume) from John James Nicoletti, Director, External Communications, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. So yeah, I think it's safe to assume it's the real thing. I can not even IMAGINE a scenario where a Disney spokeperson puts that many words into the mouth of someone like Marty Sklar.

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  19. #19

    I love "it's a small world," but I'm not going to protest changes to it. Hopefully as Sklar says, they will be additions and not detract from the overall idea of the ride. In either case, I'm glad the original is getting a much needed overhaul.


  20. #20
    Fun is wherever you find it... olegc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spokker Jones View Post
    They not only didn't turn their backs, but they fired back one hell of a response to Sklar's letter.

    http://imagineerebirth.blogspot.com/...on-speaks.html

    Either these guys have some job security or they have big brass balls to say what they did.
    well, I guess we will now see how much influence, or I say protection, John Lasseter and Steve Jobs has over some of these guys. As one person on the site stated - the last time people spoke out they got laid off. True - Disney Animation is a new animal but now it's an issue of airing dirty laundry out in the public - Theme Parks (Rasulo) vs animation. It will be very interesting whether this is a marker for changes in upper management in one of the divisions. Lasseter is the only one to play in 2 divisions - so we will see.
    "[Disneyland] has that thing - the imagination, and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid." - Walt Disney

  21. #21

    I'm personally with Marty. Look...we all LOVE Disney and are the most critisizing out of anyone about the parks, but I think we should trust them. Walt himself took many risks and we've loved tons of them. I guess we probably can't get everyone to agree, but I personally think that Disney knows what they're doing .

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  22. #22
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    Awright! Small world

    What's up with the whole small world thing? Are they adding characters or what? I cannot figure this out! If they are who will they be adding?

    I'm having trouble dealing with the fact that Edward Cullen is a fictional character.

    One person's craziness is another person's reality-Tim Burton

    All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them-Walt Disney

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