Small World Review
The Disneyland attraction “it’s a small world” has recently undergone a major refurbishment, and the buzz that preceded it generated a lot of controversy amongst the Disney freaks out there. I think I can use the term “Disney freaks” as long as I count myself amongst them. Many people were excited to see an old friend getting some new paint and a little TLC. But others were hopping mad at some of the rumored innovations that had been planned.
I wasn’t going to believe any of the stories until I saw the final product, because, as savvy as the Disney freaks are, gossip is mighty. One of the stories going around was that Disney characters were going to be added in amongst the existing, doll-style children figures, and that these characters would include figures as far-fetched as Stitch, the alien from Lilo and Stitch. Another rumor was that the rainforest scene was being either reduced or cut out entirely. And yet another rumor was that a “Tribute to America” scene was being added. Now I can’t say exactly where I fit on the tradition-innovation spectrum, but I was shocked to discover that all of these things were true!
I have to say I was prepared to hate it, but most of what I saw was really well done. A lot was being made of the new characters being built in the style of Mary Blair, the artist credited with giving the attraction it’s over all design style. (In fact, it was the family of Mary Blair that raised much of the objection to the proposed additions to the attraction.) I can’t say whether they achieved this. But what they did do is represent human characters with same audioanimatronic dolls as the other children, which help them to blend in. It is their clothing and accessories that make them stand out as Disney characters, not their facial features or body shapes. Animal characters are represented, as other animals previously were, in the much less realistic and usually static style that looks like a bit like glittery papier-mâché.
I think the first character that I noticed was Alice from Alice In Wonderland. She is standing on the previously extant chessboard with spinning chess figures in the British section of the ride. She is accompanied by a small, toy-like White Rabbit. This all seemed very appropriate to me, considering that I had never entirely understood what the chess board was doing there anyway. I also understood, whether it was Disney or not, it was not inappropriate to represent a work of British children’s literature in this particular spot. After all, just across the waterway, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza marionettes have always occupied a prominent place in the Spanish scene. Seeing Pinocchio in Italy also had something of the same relevance. However, I thought Aladdin and Jasmine in the Middle East, and Mulan and Mushu in Asia were pushing it. But Jesse, Woody, Lilo, Stitch, Nemo, Dory, and the Three Caballeros- none of these really had a prior literary heritage that might substantiate their being there. Oh, and of course, Ariel replaced the other mermaids who had previously represented… the children of the oceans of the world? If no one objected to mermaids before, they should not complain about Ariel now.
The other rumors were true and, what’s more, they went hand in hand. The previous rainforest was, in fact greatly reduced, with iridescent strings of beads replacing the older silvery strands of falling rain. And this was done to create space for the creation of a new scene dedicated to the USA. While most whole scenes of the attraction are said to represent regions of world and not specific nations, this rather sparse room features a story-book farm on the left, and a Native American and Cowboy West on the right. It certainly wasn’t the star-spangled monstrosity that I first imagined. And while I thought it might be a generic “North America” scene, this is probably specifically the United States, considering that Mexico and Canada are represented elsewhere. It is good to see the Native American figures both made prominent and in diverse costumes. They lone chief accompanied by a cowboy in the previous version seemed fairly narrow.
The scene is problematic in just a few ways. One is that an underlying message that America’s progress is indirectly responsible for the destruction of rainforest seems way too clear to me. It may be a true message, but that is all the more reason not to represent it so casually. The other problem was summed up in the muttering of one of my fellow passengers: “Farmers and cowboys. Huh.” I’m not sure how I would have done things differently, but it seems there must be a way to better represent American culture that is both diverse and traditional. Sure, people of other cultures might resent seeing their way of life summed up in a can-can dancer or a flying carpet. But it just felt to me like there was physical room in the scene to add something more that might better tell the story of America.
While this has been my analysis of some of the controversial changes that have happened at “it’s a small world” I think there were a number of important changes that have gone unmentioned by the critics. It could also be that I just don’t remember they way things were before, but tons of features seemed new to me. For example, I think I remember there previously being an illuminated ice sculpture in the Asian scene. And while it is no more, there seem to be some updated figures, including a pair in dress that seems much more specifically Korean than I remember.
Another important change of note (again, in the event that they are, in fact, changes and I’m not just listening more carefully to something that was previously there) is the updated music. The Sherman brothers’ infectious song is the same as ever, but I’m fairly convinced that the arrangement and scoring of various scenes has been updated, and, in many cases, improved. Here are some of the things I heard:
- Ice Music: There are chimes on beats 1, 3, and 4 that add a twinkle to the icy North Pole.
- Percussion: Scenes with percussion seem to have much more prominent sound, including the marching of the Queen’s Guard in Britain and the hula dancers in the Pacific Islands scene. There is also notably no singing but strong steel guitar there, too.
- Pinocchio in Italy is accompanied by When You Wish Upon A Star
- Yodeling: I always remember yodeling from the “official album” recordings of “it’s a small world,” but I didn’t recall actually hearing it on the ride. Now it seems louder and attributable to a specific figure.
- Cleopatra’s music seems stronger, and there is distinct “Arabicizing” of the melody by what seems like playing it in a minor key on some kind of woodwind.
- There is a sort of dancing carousel of African girls, I think West African, who are dancing to what sounds very much like Dixieland music. I can’t help but wonder if the music style I’m hearing is authentic or if African-American music is being overlaid on African culture.
- There is prominent and pretty guitar music both at the new Three Caballeros vignette in Latin America and at the cowboy Western scene in America.
- The bubbly voices of the previous mermaids have been replaced with the solo voice of the Ariel character, which is a child singing in a clearly cotemporary pop style. It may not be as severe as I make it out to be, but hearing it drags me out of small world 1966 and hurls me into American Idol 2009
- The last scene, which some people have traditionally called the Heaven Room, also seems to be different. The first half of the room plays a bouncy tune with a moving bass line, but somehow retains the older sound that I remember, maybe in the instrumentation. The last half of the room seems to play a much more steady version for the finale.
Disneyland was built alongside the production of Disney films. In some ways, many of Disneyland’s attractions were nothing more than advertisements for the pictures. After all, if you have seen Peter Pan, then riding Peter Pan’s Flight is an enjoyable revisiting of the film. But if you have never seen the film, the ride honestly gives you very little of the plot but enough imagery to pique your interest. What made small world different is that it was never all that commercial to begin with. It was commissioned by UNICEF as a pavilion at the 1964-1965 World’s Fair. Since Disney created and owned it, it was relocated to the park after the fair. It was never originally meant to sell anything other than the idea of unity represented musically by children of the world. Here’s the problem. Some people see Disneyland as history, art, and high culture. Some people see it as a business. Whether these changes were commercially motivated or not, those who object can surely stop buying tickets and merchandise. They can abandon a piece of art that they now consider “desecrated.” But one thing is certain: Disneyland will continue to change, and for all those who leave the fold, there will be plenty of new Disney freaks to step up and take their place.