It’s official. Teen crime fighter Kim Possible is being
replaced by a platypus.
In a recent interview with Travel Weekly editor-in-chief
Arnie Weissmann, Chairman of Disney Parks & Resorts Tom Staggs was asked
about the rumors which have been circulating lately about Disney’s Kim Possible
World Showcase Adventure, the popular interactive guest experience which
debuted at Epcot back in January of 2009.
And — in direct response — Staggs said that Disney …
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… will be
converting (the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure to ) one developed around
Phineas and Ferb.
Which is kind of ironic. Given that June 7th of this year
will mark the 10th anniversary of the launch of this Emmy-nominated TV show,
which eventually went on to be the longest airing Disney Channel Original
Series (airing for five years and three months).
This has been a particularly tough couple of weeks for Kim
Possible fans. Given that the first-ever fan event — Kimvention 2012 (which
was to have been held aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. June 16 &
17) — wound up being cancelled back in early February. Though the show’s
creators & voice talent had reportedly committed to taking part in this two
day-long retrospective, ticket sales had been so anemic that the event’s
organizers ultimately had no choice but to cancel this con.
Robert Schooley, Lacey Chabert and Mark McCorkle at the 2010 Annie Awards
Still, one wonders if Kim Possible wound have slipped so
quickly out of the Mouse House’s spotlight if this show’s creators — the
ever-talented Mark McCorkle & Robert Schooley — hadn’t decamped from
Disney and gone over to DreamWorks Animation to go ride herd on Nickelodeon‘s
super-popular “The Penguins of Madagascar” TV show.
Given the number of awards this NickToon has won to date
(i.e. 7 Daytime Emmys, 4 Annies), it’s hard to fault Mark & Bob for leaving
Kim behind after production of that Disney Channel Original Series wrapped in
2007 and then heading over to Nickelodeon to turn Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and
Private into television stars.
But that said, I remember one interview that I did with
McCorkle & Schooley where these two talked about the “Kim
Possible” project that they wish had really gone forward. And that was the
live-action feature film version of this animated series that Walt Disney
Pictures was supposed to produce back in the mid-2000s.
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As the story goes, Mark & Bob turn in their “Kim
Possible” screenplay in late 2003. And Michael Eisner reportedly just loves what McCorkle
& Schooley have done. So much so that he tentatively scheduled a “Kim
Possible” live-action film to be released in 2005. Not only that, but
Michael asked Mark & Bob to do a polish on a script that the studio had
been thinking about making since the 1990s. A high concept comedy about this
secretive, exclusive where the children of superheroes went to hone their
skills.
That movie was — of course — “Sky High.” And
McCorkle & Schooley did such a nice job with their rewrite / revamp of Paul
Hernandez‘s original screenplay that Eisner now found himself with a real
dilemma. He now had two really well-written, extremely smart & funny
scripts about crime-fighting teens to choose from. And since “Kim
Possible” was (at that time, anyway) still at the height of its popularity
as an animated series … Michael’s thinking was that there was no need to rush
into production of a live-action feature film version of this Disney Channel
Original Series. That this was a concept
which would keep, that this was an idea that the Studio could circle around to
again at some later date.
But — of course — Disney never did that. And when you talk
with Mark & Bob about this, they actually laugh about how — in effect —
they wrote themselves out of a job. That — because they did such a nice job
with their polish of Paul’s “Sky High” script that Disney opted to
make that movie instead of their live-action “Kim Possible”
adventure.
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And if that film had been made and had been a hit … Well,
maybe Imagineering wouldn’t be so quick to pull Kim & Wade out of World
Showcase so that Agent P, Major Monogram and Carl the Intern could
then be the stars of this theme park’s interactive quest attraction.
There’s a lesson in here somewhere about no good deed going
unpunished. Which is why I’m now sending a personal message to Dan Povenmire & Jeff “Swampy”
Marsh (i.e. the creators of Disney’s Phineas & Ferb). Who — as you read this — are tweaking the
script for that live-action feature-length Phineas & Ferb adventure which
Walt Disney Pictures is supposed to be releasing to theaters on July 26, 2013.
Guys, if Rich Ross tells you that ” … I love what you
and Michael Arndt have done with the Phineas & Ferb screenplay. So much so
that I was wondering if you guys might be willing to help us out with another
project” … just say no, okay?
Dan Povenmire & Dan “Swampy” Marsh in Madrid promoting one of the many dubbed
versions of “Phineas & Ferb.” Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
So how do all of you Kim Possible fans out there feel about
Epcot’s World Showcase Adventure being taken away from that teen crime fighter
and then being rethemed as a Perry the Platypus-based attraction. Is this a
good move on Disney’s part? Or should the Imagineers have left Kim in place and
found another venue at the WDW Resort (like — say — Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park and/or Disney’s Hollywood Studios) that could have then benefitted
from the installation of a Phineas & Ferb-themed quest?
Your thoughts?