I must admit that I know very little about horror and the darker spectrum of fantasy. I am a very skittish person & I have already accepted that this class will probably give me nightmares. However, I have always been a fan of fantasy and science fiction. I enjoy Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Star Wars. My absolute favorite is the lightest of the spectrum: fairy tales. Though I know they are not true fantasy, they do possess fantastic elements and folklore (plus, the original fairy tales are rather horrific). I love all things Disney and my current obsession is Disney's The Princess and the Frog. It uses Cajun folklore and culture and the magic of Jazz Age New Orleans to weave a delightful, beautiful, musical tale.
Another medium of the dark fantastic that I did not even think of in class is theme park attractions and rides such as Walt Disney World's The Haunted Mansion. So, I decided to try to find a theme park attraction to fit Clute's outline for horror stories. I think Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in Disneyland fits. The sighting is the initial reckless nature of Toad's driving through peaceful England. Though it may seem harmless, the alarm in his friends faces and his determination to keep going foreshadow something worse to come. In the thickening, Toad continues driving past police men who wave for him to stop and even onto barricaded areas, such as a ship yard. The feeling of the ride becomes even more turbulant. The revel comes when Toad's jolly ride through London to "nowhere in particular" transforms to an eternal criminal sentence. A judge sends Toad to prison, but in the process, he is hit by a train. Now, the guests and Toad find themselves in Hell (which is surprisingly extreme for a Disney ride). Thus, his quest for "nowhere in particular" leads him to the worst possible place he could be. The guests return to the boarding area for the ride in Toad Hall, but it is ambiguous as to what happens to Toad. Do we assume that since the guests escaped, Toad also did? Disney fails to give this ride its usual happy ending and simply ends, thus mimicking Clute's aftermath.
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Thank you, Tara, for reminding us that theme-park rides and similar attractions certainly fit the theme. I am delighted to know that Mr. Toad's Wild Ride ends up in Hell! Having never been to Disneyland, and having never ridden the Disney World version when I had the chance, this was news to me.
ReplyDeleteSome argue that America is a far more conservative nation today than it was 50 years ago. That Mr. Toad's Wild Ride opened in 1955 is arguably evidence for that, since it's hard to imagine a contemporary Disney kiddie ride steering its guests into Hell. I wonder whether fundamentalist objections -- presumably louder in Florida than in California -- had anything to do with the closing of the Disney World ride, while the Disneyland attraction has (cross fingers) stayed open?
Here's the Wikipedia entry about the rides, with many links.
Tara,
ReplyDeleteI have always loved Disney too ! I was wondering you you knew about the current exhibit in New Orleans "Dreams Come True: Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from the Walt Disney Studio. I haven't seen it myself, but was in New Orleans last weekend and saw some information on it that looked really cool. They even have the sketches from The Princess Frog. The exhibit will run through March 14. Maybe you can go check it out.
Here's more info about the exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art site. That a copyright symbol is superimposed onto Tiana's balcony scene symbolizes all that is wrong, many think, with the 21st-century Disney empire.
ReplyDeleteTara, you're quite right that many traditional fairy tales are dark or horrific enough to qualify as texts in this class, but why do you say fairy tales "are not true fantasy"? What definition or description of fantasy do they not fit?
I too am a Disney fan, but more of a Disney World fan than in general. I have to agree with Professor Duncan (Andy? What are we to call you?) that it is likely that objections to the ride are at least partially responsible for the replacement by the long-lined Pooh ride at WDW. That is an interesting opinion because I only ever hear of people that miss it and wish it was still there.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it says on the Wikipedia article for the ride that its closure was met with protest. I get the feeling that it was a decision made by the powers that be due to complaints from parents.
ReplyDeleteDaniel, I don't much care what students call me, so long as it's polite. Many have opted for "Andy," many others for "Mr. Duncan," a few for "Mr. Andy." It's up to the individual.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, thank you for bringing up the exhibit. I have not heard about it, but it sounds awesome! I hope I can visit New Orleans before it's finished. I've already missed a Princess & the Frog event: Disneyland had a Princess & the Frog Riverboat Musical that ran through January 3. Unfortunately, I made it to California a week late for the show. Maybe I'll have better luck in New Orleans!
ReplyDeleteMr. Duncan, I guess what I meant was that fairy tales have fantastic elements, such as magic, but they are not just fantasy. (I guess they are fantasy's sister or grandmother, definitely a blood relative). They seem more folkloric and many convey a fable or lesson, usually for young children.
Also on the closing of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride:
Another reason for its closing, according to the Wikipedia article, was that Disney wanted to replace the attraction with a more recognizable, Disney owned and created character. Disney did produce short animation on the characters from The Wind in the Willows in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, but they obviously have more cartoons, movies, and merchandise for Winnie the Pooh. I guess execs believe that kids don't identify with works like The Wind in the Willows, but in my opinion, if we don't attempt to teach them, how will they? This is becoming a theme in Disney's park refurbishment. For instance, they are changing Tom Sawyer's Island to Pirate's Lair from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Disney doesn't own the Pooh characters; A.A. Milne's original books are still widely available. What Disney did buy, back in the 1960s, were various movie rights and merchandise rights based on the Disney-movie characters. Milne's granddaughter recently sued to get some of these rights back in the family, but lost the case.
ReplyDelete