merlinjones
07-19-2002, 07:00 AM
One aspect of the Disneyland entertainment debacle we are not hearing enough about comes down simply to taste and intent.
I don't car how cheap the show is, the writing and performance at nearly all of the offerings is extremely condescending. I suspect that the
genesis of this was somebody's experience in "children's theatre" or "street theatre" workshops of the PC variety, which tend to treat and interact with children from a preachy parental point-of-view, as if they were beneficently holding court at the Sunshine School.
Getting kids to scream is not entertianment.
This "gloves on" PBS approach sounds like another New York import, and is typical in all areas of the Company today of execs who don't get (or want to) the whole Walt Disney approach to entertainment, which assumes that kids are smarter than adults. Instead they want to project their own brand of
elitist wank-off "because these fly-over people are too stupid to get it anyway" approach to entertaining "the masses".
"It's just for kids" is a deadly phrase that has no merit in the philosophy of true Disney entertainment.
True Disney entertainment aims upward - - it comes from the inner child and connects with the inner child of any age group. It does not go downward - - coming from the parent or adult. Heavy handedness and lack of respect for your target audience insures you will connect with no
one. This is one of the same problems they have at Disney TV Animation with the offensive animated feature sequels, etc, etc.
What they need are some grown up kids - - cartoonist type storytellers and slightly kooky entertainers who really believe in the characters and their fantasy worlds... and don't just view them as mass marketing images and products to use for political agendas and PC re-education - - or a sorry placeholder for their stalled lofty careers on Broadway or in live-action film.
Theatre cronyism has been a bane to the animation divisions (after the death of the talented Walt-loving Howard Ashman), and now through Theatrical's control over park entertainment, the disease spreads.
Walt always respected his audience at any budget. Something many of the current WDC execs seem incapable of. Surely the shareholders can't be held responsible for taste and imagination and respect (or lack thereof).
It's from real Walt Disney style full-bodied family entertainment that the stockholders dreams are made - - when the inner child is pleased they make a lot of cash.
I don't car how cheap the show is, the writing and performance at nearly all of the offerings is extremely condescending. I suspect that the
genesis of this was somebody's experience in "children's theatre" or "street theatre" workshops of the PC variety, which tend to treat and interact with children from a preachy parental point-of-view, as if they were beneficently holding court at the Sunshine School.
Getting kids to scream is not entertianment.
This "gloves on" PBS approach sounds like another New York import, and is typical in all areas of the Company today of execs who don't get (or want to) the whole Walt Disney approach to entertainment, which assumes that kids are smarter than adults. Instead they want to project their own brand of
elitist wank-off "because these fly-over people are too stupid to get it anyway" approach to entertaining "the masses".
"It's just for kids" is a deadly phrase that has no merit in the philosophy of true Disney entertainment.
True Disney entertainment aims upward - - it comes from the inner child and connects with the inner child of any age group. It does not go downward - - coming from the parent or adult. Heavy handedness and lack of respect for your target audience insures you will connect with no
one. This is one of the same problems they have at Disney TV Animation with the offensive animated feature sequels, etc, etc.
What they need are some grown up kids - - cartoonist type storytellers and slightly kooky entertainers who really believe in the characters and their fantasy worlds... and don't just view them as mass marketing images and products to use for political agendas and PC re-education - - or a sorry placeholder for their stalled lofty careers on Broadway or in live-action film.
Theatre cronyism has been a bane to the animation divisions (after the death of the talented Walt-loving Howard Ashman), and now through Theatrical's control over park entertainment, the disease spreads.
Walt always respected his audience at any budget. Something many of the current WDC execs seem incapable of. Surely the shareholders can't be held responsible for taste and imagination and respect (or lack thereof).
It's from real Walt Disney style full-bodied family entertainment that the stockholders dreams are made - - when the inner child is pleased they make a lot of cash.