Disney’s Splash Mountain Changes Prove Brand Image Matters

The Walt Disney Company just announced that one of their most popular attractions, Splash Mountain, would be undergoing an extensive refurbishment to become an attraction based on the movie The Princess and the Frog. 

Splash Mountain, one of the first things Michael Eisner approved for the Disney theme parks, was based on the 1946 film Song of the South — a film that has been in the Disney vault for years because it’s racist. It’s the story of an enslaved man who decides to stay on the plantation after the Civil War and regale a lonely white boy with stories that come to life as animation.

Based on the Uncle Remus stories — written originally by a white man — Song of the South was a huge hit when it was initially released and was trotted out off and on over the next few decades. (The last time it was released was in theaters in 1986. It has never had a domestic home-video release.) Splash Mountain opened in 1989. A logical question, of course, is how did we get here? How did we get a singing animal log flume ride based on a racist movie? 

In the 1980s, Disneyland was struggling to appeal to teens. One of the first things Michael Eisner, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, did when he joined the company in 1984 was bring his son, Breck, to Walt Disney Imagineering and ask the staff there to pitch to his teenage son. If it sounded cool to him it would be made. Brecht was sold on the big drop and thrilling elements of Splash Mountain and theming it to Song of the South meant that animatronics from an old theater show, America Sings could be used. To sidestep Uncle Remus they removed the specific tale they were looking to tell from any sort of greater narrative and all narration was delivered by Br’er Turtle, a creature created for the attraction. It was named Splash Mountain because Eisner wanted some synergy with their forthcoming film Splash. 

Shawn Rosell said it best in this thread: 

@disneyandkicks has a point but I think I should elaborate on some.

Splash mountain, by design isnt racist, but this Disney doing its best effort to separate itself from Song of the South by use of the characters themselves. https://t.co/hJciS5IxuQ

— Shawn Rosell (@shawngorlando) June 8, 2020

Even though Disney has tried its hardest to remove itself from the racism that was woven into the original work it is impossible to fully wipe it away. So when Disney announced this morning, in the midst of an ongoing, heated, conversation about racism in America, that they’ve actually been working on a Princess and the Frog re-imagining for a year already it seemed mighty convenient.

Meanwhile at Imagineering: pic.twitter.com/tbgMqexYpl

— Disney Dan (@DisneyDan) June 25, 2020

Princess and the Frog itself is not without its issues, however. The first black princess in the Disney canon spends most of her film as a frog, an issue prevalent in Pixar’s Out as well as its forthcoming Soul, too. The film also largely fails to acknowledge racism in the American South in the ’20s. That said, Tiana is one of my favorite Disney princesses — her determination and drive completely endeared her to me from the jump and I’m so excited for her to get a ride (and an animatronic!), an honor reserved for very few princesses to date. Initially, I was indignant at this announcement, upset that Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen, Mama Odie and all of their friends from the Bayou were given a hand-me-down attraction. As I continue to read about it, however, the more excited I am to see what Imagineering chooses to do with it.  The executive creative producer is a black woman. It’s a new story, not a retelling of the original. I’m excited that the original cast is planning to return to do the voices and I’m excited to spend more time with these characters. 

If you’re dying to experience Song of The South inspired Splash Mountain, great news, no plans have been made for Japan. Japan’s parks are not fully owned by Disney, and Splash Mountain is a merchandise juggernaut — you can even buy Song of the South on DVD in the gift shop. At the end of the day, I think this is the right choice, but Disney is a company, their bottom line matters. I hope that their intentions are pure, but I would be deluding myself. There are still many problematic aspects of the Disney parks that need to be addressed. This is a step in the right direction, sure, but this isn’t the only thing that needs changing. 

The Disney parks fandom has always picked weird hills to die on. A few years ago it was announced that the wench auction sequence from Pirates of the Carribean would be replaced. Instead of selling women to the, frankly, horny pirates we now have a female pirate looting the homes of the wealthy. This change caused huge amounts of upset amongst fans of the Disney parks. Disney is selling fantasy and people were chafing at the idea that women could be more than princesses. 

In an unsurprising turn of events many fans of the Disney parks are upset by this latest announcement — change is hard, but I hope folks are able to take a page out of Mama Odie’s book and dig a little deeper. Black lives matter and hopefully positive representations of blackness in the parks will help to lead to a better, more inclusive space. Then again, Charita Carter, executive creative producer of the project may have said it best in the announcement: “Like Princess Tiana, I believe that courage and love are the key ingredients for wonderful adventures.”