The Jungle Cruise ride at Disney’s California and Florida theme parks, long criticized as racist, is getting a makeover to remove what the company called “ negative representations ” of some cultures.
Disney said on Monday that the riverboat attraction would be updated to “ reflect and appreciate the diversity of the world around us. ”
First opened in 1955, the Jungle Cruise has long been accused of having a racist undertone in portraying some non-Western characters as savages and cannibals.
Disney’s Jungle Cruise ride has long been criticized for portraying natives as savages and cannibals, including this depiction of a man with shrunken heads
Disney said the ride would be updated to ‘reflect and appreciate the diversity of the world around us’
Disney said plans to remove such “ natives ” scenes are unrelated to an upcoming Jungle Cruise movie starring Dwayne Johnson
The company will remove images of “natives” who wanted to portray them as subordinate or as.
The updated ride will feature new scenes and a new storyline, Disney said in a blog, although the company has not named a launch date.
“ As part of this story update, we get to follow a skipper and his passengers as their journey goes awry, ” Imagineer Kevin Lively said in a Twitter video.
“In fact, the expedition will be in a tree after their sunken boat disintegrates and chimpanzees will board the wreckage, resulting in monkey business.”
Disney noted that the changes are unrelated to the upcoming Jungle Cruise movie, starring Dwayne Johnson, set to hit theaters on July 30, Variety reported.
The ride will have no characters or tie-ins added to the film, according to the outlet.
This is not a new take on the whole attraction. It’s the Jungle Cruise you know and love, with the skippers still at the forefront, and at the same time we tackle the negative images of ‘natives,’ ” Chris Beatty, a manager at Walt Disney Imagineering said in an interview.
Disney’s Executive Chairman Bob Iger also tweeted about the ‘exciting’ changes following the announcement.
Changes to the ride, which first opened in 1955, came after the company said it would overhaul its Splash Mountain ride in June
“The exciting changes we are making to one of Disney’s most popular classic attractions, Jungle Cruise, reflect our commitment to create unparalleled experiences that not only reflect the best in storytelling but also reflect the values and rich diversity of our world,” Iger tweeted.
Fans of the ride have remained ambivalent about the changes to the much-loved ride.
The only ‘people’ who see racism in the attraction are hardcore racists, and they lack the intelligence to realize it. Update, fine. Remove non-existent “racism”? Ridiculous, ‘tweeted @ mikejt1954.
Another warned the company, saying that those who visit theme parks do so because of its nostalgia and traditions.
‘Adding improvements is good, but in the entertainment world people live on traditions; changes can break the emotional bond. Extreme caution is advised. Always make decisions from the front line, not from behind the desk. Live the dreams, ‘tweeted @randy_senna.
Another fan claimed their first reaction was ‘don’t touch my Jungle Cruise!’
However, this seems more like an improvement, so I’m cautiously optimistic with excitement. Disney did a great job with Alice and Peter Pan’s attraction updates at Disneyland, ‘according to a Twitter account called DisenyworldVacationer.
Disney fans took to Twitter to both praise and condemn the company for announcing changes to the Jungle Cruise ride
Others added that they “fully supported” the changes to the Jungle Cruise.
‘We shouldn’t uphold outdated images in the name of nostalgia. That said, it would be extremely progressive for Disney to put The Rock in Jungle Cruise and every other amusement park ride, just a full swing across the board, ” @carlyewisel joked.
The changes follow a cultural reckoning in the United States about systemic racism that has led to revisions of several television shows and movies.
Disney said in June that its Splash Mountain ride was also being revised to dispel the associations with black stereotypes in the 1946 film “ Song of the South, ” on which it was based.
The problematic movie hasn’t been available on any Disney platform since 1986, when it was re-released for a 40th anniversary in theaters, according to SFGate.
Fans were left mixed when the company said it would replace the ride’s Brer Rabbit theme with The Princess and the Frog.
The entertainment giant also posted advice on some of its classic animated films last year, including ‘Peter Pan’ and ‘The Aristocrats’ warning that they contain outdated or stereotyped images of people of color.