Disney Imagineers: Are They Failing to Honor the Past?

I’ve spent the last hour or so listening to some wonderful music from the past—not the Mozart kind of past, but the EPCOT past, and it made me think more than just warm, nostalgic, and happy thoughts of good times back in those yester-decades called the 1980’s which, I know, many of you were not blessed to be around in.

In the player above, you’ll find a restoration of all 1 hour and 25 minutes of soundtracks, musical accents and other audio cues from the original “World Of Motion” that opened with EPCOT in FutureWorld, including everything from its representation in the collage of music that played at the front gate to the hilarious Gary Owens narration tracks and more. Listening, as I said, brought back memories, but more: do we think that ANY of the “modern” and “improved” attractions at Disney in the Bob Iger Era EVER would have put an hour and a half of finished tracks together for ANY of their shows, not counting, of course, the costly rehearsal, adaptation, composition, and other time-is-money involved?

One is amazed at the range of musical ability and style—everything from banjos and kazoos to symphonic soaring cinematic tracks to jazz and pop and rock and choral work. It reminds you of some of the astounding musicians who can adapt to ANY style ANYtime (notably in our current era I think of the house band at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry or, in the recent past, the band on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show).

But the overall thought that then comes to mind is this: Okay, if you as managers and Disney imagineers think something’s dated or dull or out of touch with what you think your “modern” audience is about, swell. You’re entitled to your opinion. But that gives you a creative variation on the classic medical commandment: “First, do no harm”

In short, it isn’t good enough to just replace with something you like and think works. It has to not just equal the creations of the past in storytelling, emotion, humor, style, and atmosphere—it HAS TO BE BETTER.

Yeah, I’m lookin’ at you Tiana’s Swamp, and you, Dune Buggys Former Rivers Of America, and at you Epcot Mall Fountain Replacement, and all the rest of the “innovations” these people are pushing into our lives with a kind of arrogance and presumption that astounds even the most casual fan.

If it fails to surpass the past, why would you dare to damage it? And wouldn’t you realize improvement if it were clearly presented to you? Is your political/social ideology so powerful that you consider “better” as irrelevant in art and instead attribute it solely to purpose?

Sam Goldwyn, the renowned theatrical producer and film magnate, expressed it succinctly: “If you wish to convey a message, use Western Union.

Anyhow, for those who remember World Of Motion as it once was, listen and enjoy. For those who never experienced it, try to imagine the amount of effort that went into the artistic, visual, animatronic, and other elements when the music by itself is so damned good. And for those who might say of our coverage of the destruction of the “brand” of Walt Disney Imagineering that we whine too much or are unable to move with the times or that it isn’t a big deal?

Is it such a ridiculous request we make that they make something BETTER before they remove something that was so very, very wonderful? Is it so outlandish of us to say “Hey, guys—you’re charging us for greatness, we demand you deliver”?

Do no harm. Do BETTER. Or become only a fond memory of the past. That’s the ONLY choice the Disney parks and experiences have anymore, and so far? They have not, as a certain old knight in a cave full of cups put it best, chosen wisely.

Enjoy the music…and memories…and dare to dream of a future worth dreaming and doing.

2025-03-15 17:03

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