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New year, new look.
Disney is making a change for the better by updating the Jungle Cruise ride through its bicoastal theme parks, removing “negative representations” of Indigenous peoples.
A photo of a group of tourists on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland.
(Kari Rene Hall / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The entertainment giant broke the news on Monday, explaining that the jungle cruise was being reinvented both at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., And at the still-closed Disneyland Park in Anaheim, Calif. The Jungle Cruise’s original first opened at Disneyland in 1955, and has long been criticized as being race-insensitive for its portrayal of Indigenous peoples.
BOAT TO DISNEY WORLD’S JUNGLE CRUISE SINKS DURING THE RIDE; GUESTS FILMED DURING RESCUE BY STAFF
The original Jungle Cruise ride opened at Disneyland in 1955.
(Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The Orange County Register reports that Imagineers will update the aquatic attraction scenes involving the shrunken head merchant, Trader Sam, and a rhino chasing a tree safari party.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Trader Sam is a “dark-skinned man today dressed in tribal straw clothing” who signals that he will trade “two of his heads for one of yours.” Meanwhile, the current rhino scene features a white traveler on top of a tree trunk, as “native safari guides” cling “in a more perilous position.”
Going forward, a render for the new rhino scene “only features hapless participants from a previous Jungle Cruise boat ride,” reports the LA Times.
An illustration posted by the Disney Parks Blog of a new scene in the works on the Jungle Cruise.
(Disney Parks Blog)
Another new scene underway will feature monkeys on a sinking boat, according to an illustration shared by the Disney Parks blog.
An illustration published by Disney Parks Blog of a new scene in the works of the Jungle Cruise ride.
(Disney Parks Blog)
“We are constantly evaluating ways to improve the attractions and experiences in our parks. And when [guests] step off the attraction, they know we’ve done our homework because it’s the details that count, ”said Chris Beatty, director of the Walt Disney Imagineering creative portfolio, in a new interview with D23, Disney’s official fan club.
“When you look at the jungle cruise as it is today, there are just a few scenes that don’t do that and needed to be refreshed … It’s the jungle cruise that you know and love, with the skippers always in the lead, and at the same time, we are tackling negative representations of ‘natives’. “
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Carmen Smith, Director, Creative Development and Inclusion Strategist for Walt Disney Imagineering, highlighted similar sentiments, emphasizing the importance of inclusiveness in branding theme parks today.
“As Imagineers, it is our responsibility to ensure that the experiences we create and the stories we share reflect the voices and perspectives of the world around us,” Smith said in a statement shared by the parks blog.
When contacted by Fox News, a Disney spokesperson declined to provide further comment.
The “Splash Mountain” rides at Disney theme parks will be renamed “The Princess and the Frog,” a film starring the company’s first black princess.
(Bryan R. Smith / AFP via Getty Images)
During this summer, the company was praised for redesigning its Splash Mountain ride – an attraction criticized for its connection to the 1946 film “Song of the South” – with a new theme “The Princess and the Frog,” based on the 2009 Disney animated film starring a black woman.
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Disney also removed “The Aristocats,” “Dumbo,” “Peter Pan” and “Swiss Family Robinson” from children’s profiles on the Disney + streaming service on Monday, WDW News Today reports. Older films are still available on adult profiles, with a content disclaimer informing the viewer that the program includes “negative portrayals and / or abuse of people or cultures.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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