First up, Jennifer S. writes in to ask:
Why for? If anyone might know, you might…
In the Special Edition of “The Lion King,” the song “The Morning Report”, from the (Broadway) musical, is added.
But the thing is…there were many songs from the stage show that were much better and more important to the story. Like “He Lives In You,” which had its genesis on the “Rhythm of the Pride Lands” CD. Or “Endless Night,” Simba’s song about missing his father. Or “Shadowlands,” which Nala sings as she leaves the decimated Pride Lands. (At least that would have given her a song to herself.)
All of these songs detail dramatic character moments and would have added more to the existing movie. So, out of all those, why did they pick a song that really is no more than just a cute throwaway?
Dear Jennifer S.
To be honest, one of the main reasons that “The Morning Report” was selected for inclusion in the Special Edition of “The Lion King” was because this particular song from the Broadway show was so short.
More to the point, the “Morning Report” musical interlude could easily be swapped out for the pre-existing Mufasa-teaches-Simba-to-hunt sequence in the film without having any real impact on the picture that followed.
You see, what the Walt Disney Company basically wanted here was a new song that they could then use to hype the re-release of this 1994 film (I.E. “You may have already seen the original version of ‘The Lion King,’ but not the New! Improved! version of ‘The Lion King.’ Now with a brand-new song!). But — at the same time — the Mouse didn’t really want to pay an awful lot for this new number that was to be inserted into this re-released motion picture.
You see, just as work was getting underway on the “What-should-we-add-to-‘The-Lion-King’-so-that-people-will-then-buy-a-second-copy-of-a-film-that-they- already-own” project, the bills were beginning to roll in for “Beauty & the Beast” ‘s new sequence, “Human Again.” In order for that new musical interlude to fit seamlessly into the revamped version of that Academy Award winning 1991 film, numerous changes had to be made to the original picture. Including animating a new introductory scene for the song, plus digitally adjusting the scenes that directly followed “Human Again” (To reflect that fact that the enchanted objects had actually cleaned up the Beast’s bedroom just prior to his big date with Belle).
Given the additional costs that were involved with seamlessly blending “Human Again” in with the pre-existing footage of the original version of “Beauty & the Beast,” the suits who were then in charge of WDFA decreed that this wouldn’t ever happen again. From here on in, if a new song or scene was to be dropped into an animated re-release, that addition would have to have minimal impact.
So that’s actually why we got “The Morning Report,” Jennifer. Rather than something much more ambitious like “He Lives in You.” Sorry about that, Jennifer.
Next up, Rebecca G. writes in to ask:
Say I was wondering about something after coming back from our fourth trip to WDW.
Why for has Innoventions become so…bland?
See I’ve come on visits starting 1998 then 1999, 2002 and finally 2005. First time it was full of Sega games and it was like a dream come true for me (I think this was one side of Innoventions and the other stuff was things of little interest to me then). Second they had a small Dreamcast area, some cool exibits though wasnt as good as the first and pretty much the same thing next visit with a few added bits.
When we went in October I was really unimpressed with how Innoventions looks now. Everything was the same, the Disney Tag game (which I’d been told the year before and the year after that would eventally be released online but never happened, I’m curious about that too) was still there. The dance mat games were still there. Plus Disneys game section pretty much only consisted of Kingdom Hearts, Finding Nemo and some ESPN games. It felt very lackluster
Do you know if theres any plans to fix innoventions and make it as fun as it used to be or is there the possiblity it’ll be replaced by something?
Keep up the good work on the site BTW, I really enjoy the articles.
Dear Rebecca G.
Thanks for the kind words regarding JHM. As to why Innoventions has become so lackluster lately … I have two words for you, Rebecca: Barry Braverman.
You see, Innoventions was Barry’s baby. He was the WDI exec who (way back in the early 1990s) originally came up with the idea of reaching out to various corporations and offering them huge chunks of Communicore to use as display space for that company’s newest technologies.
And when Innoventions originally opened in July of 1994, it was this huge success. The public just loved having all these new exhibits to explore at the very heart of Future World. And WDW management … They loved the fact that Innoventions cost the Walt Disney Company virtually nothing to operate. The corporations that sponsored all of these displays of their latest products picked up 90% of the cost of operating & staffing Innoventions.
And given that Braverman was the guy who’d originally come up with this extremely clever idea, Barry’s stock really began to rise within Walt Disney Imagineering. Lots of great opportunities quickly started coming his way.
First, Barry was invited to consult on Disneyland’s new Tomorrowland project (Which is why this part of the Anaheim theme park eventually wound up with its very own clone of Epcot’s Innoventions attraction). Then — after the Westcot project fell through — Braverman was invited to pitch ideas for a new second gate for the Disneyland Resort.
Mind you, while all of this was going on, Barry was still supposedly keeping an eye on Innoventions. Making sure that the displays at Epcot’s Future World and Disneyland’s new Tomorrowland were kept fresh & up-to-date by continually hitting up the sponsor companies to bring in their newest products & technologies.
But then as the Disneyland Resort second gate project — AKA Disney’s California Adventure — began to consume more & more of Braverman’s time and energy, Innoventions stopped being such a high priority with Barry. Which is why the time between change-outs of displays of new equipment & technologies gradually grew longer and longer. Until we wound up with what we have today at Innoventions … Which are (to be honest) are mostly out-of-date displays of what used-to-be cutting-edge technologies.
Of course, given that Braverman no longer works for WDI (He officially exited the theme park design arm of the Walt Disney Company earlier this month), Innoventions is pretty much a headless operation right now. There’s no one within the Imagineering organization who is actually keeping after these corporations now, making sure that they regularly change out their Innoventions exhibits, bringing in the latest products & technologies to display.
So now … Well, the guys at WDI are waiting to see what John Lasseter will do once he officially comes on board at Imagineering’s new Principal Creative Advisor. Will John keep Innoventions going? Or will he simply opt to gut this entire section of Future World? Bring in something bold and new just in time for Epcot’s 25th anniversary (Which is officially due to get underway in the Fall of 2007).
Sorry, Rebecca. I wish I had better news for you. But it’s quite likely that Innoventions will remain very lackluster for the next 18 months or so. Til this section of Future World is finally radically revamped and/or it disappears entirely.
And — speaking of disappearing entirely — Carl E. writes to ask:
Carl E.
Do you have any idea of what became of all the articles that were accumulated on the Save Disney web site? There was a lot of very good history and stories. It would be a shame for all of that to just disappear.
Thank you.
Dear Carl E.
You know, while I may not have always agreed with what Roy & Stanley did, I always enjoyed going over to the “Save Disney” website and reading the articles that were posted there. Particularly those pieces that were written by Merlin Jones. Those articles — while they may have laid the Eisner-is-evil-and-must-be-anhilated stuff a little too thick (at least for my tastes, anyway) — were always well researched and loaded with all great info.
Which is why I — along with thousands of other Disneyana fans out there — were sorely disappointed when Disney & Gold decided to shut down their “Save Disney” website on August 7, 2005. Basically scattering this great collection of Disney-related articles to the four winds.
Ah, but that’s the beauty of the Web, folks. Just because someone decides to pull the plug on their website doesn’t actually mean that that particular website is actually gone for good. All you have to do is know the right place to look. More importantly, the right search engines to use as you begin your search.
My advice to you, Carl, is to go on over to the Internet Archive. In particular, check out the Wayback Machine, that amazing tool that basically allows you to travel back in time (at least in a cyber-space sort of way). So that you’re then allowed to resurrect long-dead websites and read stories that were posted there.
The last time I looked, there were various versions of “Save Disney” available for perusal via the Wayback Machine. Mind you, the most recent one dated back to April 7, 2005. So admittedly, you’d miss out on the last four months worth of stories that were posted on that site. But — hey — that’s better than nothing, isn’t it?
Just be warned, though, folks. Last night, as I was trying to access “Save Disney” via the Wayback Machine, the Internet Archive was behaving in a very flukey manner. Which means that — while I could see the listing of “Save Disney” sampling dates that were supposedly available for perusal — I was never actually able to open any of them. So here’s hoping that this proves to be just a temporary glitch.
I mean, I’d really hate it if all of Merlin Jones’ “Save Disney” essays really were gone for good. While I may not have always agreed with that guy’s corporate politics, I almost always enjoyed the stories that he wrote. Here’s hoping that Merlin finds a new home on the web someday.
And — finally — Adam S. writes in to ask:
hi jim,
love the “dailies” i look forward to them, well, umm,… daily. i know alot of what you write on is disney media and parks, but i am looking for some sort of cruise line update. do you have any news on new ships in the works?
thanks.
adam
Adam —
Thanks for the compliments about JHM. As for the Disney Cruise Line … The way I hear it, the third ship of the line is already designed. The plans have been drawn up for several years now. Even the money for construction of this third cruise ship (which would supposedly be berthed on the West Coast) has already been set aside. In fact, all that dough is said to already be in some Disney corporate account, drawing considerable interest.
“So if the plans are complete and the money has already been set aside, then why hasn’t the Walt Disney Company actually gone forward with construction of the third cruise ship?,” you ask. Would you believe that it’s mostly the cost of steel that’s supposedly holding this project up?
I kid you not, folks. I’ve talked with numerous folks at various levels of the Walt Disney Company about this subject. And each of these people have basically told me the same tale. How Disney’s current management team is reportedly waiting for the cost of steel to come down before they finally okay construction of that third Disney Cruise ship.
All the pieces are allegedly already in place. Disney’s reps have even picked out the European shipyard where they want their next cruise ship to be built. But until the cost of steel comes down to a more affordable pricepoint, the Mouse is going to continue to postpone this project.
Anyway … That’s pretty much it for this week’s bad news edition of “Why For,” folks. Here’s hoping that you all have a great weekend and that we’ll see you here again bright & early on Monday morning!
Later,
jrh