Imagineering Theory: The Disney Animated Canon And Area Themes, Part 2

Hi there. In case you weren't here last week, I'm taking a look at all 55 (soon to be 56) films in the Disney Animated Canon and assigning each one a themed area in the Disneyland Resort.

That's enough preamble.

12. Cinderella (1950)

Location: Fantasyland

Do we even really need to ask? Cinderella may not be the centerpiece film of our Fantasyland the way it is in Orlando, but it's still a Princess fairy tale and cannot rightly belong anywhere else. Plus, we have the aptly named Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique right behind the Castle.

And that's enough for me. In some circles this comes close to heresy, but I don't really like Cinderella. It's easily the weakest of the “Princess” movies, and it really bugs me that Cinderella, the character, is propped up as the “main” Princess. But that's maybe a topic for another time.

13. Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Location: Fantasyland

Our Fantasyland has, in fact, an entire little Wonderland “district,” with the dark ride, Tea Cups, and Mad Hatter shop all clustered together and sharing design features. It's one of the most attractive little sub-areas in the park.

14. Peter Pan (1953)

Location: Fantasyland

Another Opening Day legacy. Fantasyland is obviously the most appropriate place for it, but as I noted fairly recently, Neverland has a lot in common with Disneyland as a whole. You could tie in the Indians with Frontierland, the pirates with New Orleans Square, even the mermaids with Tomorrowland if you were being retro.

15. Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Location: Main Street, USA

Main Street, USA represents a small American town around the turn of the 20^th Century. Lady and the Tramp takes place in...a large American town (or small city) around the turn of the 20^th Century. Close enough, I'd say. The film doesn't really lend itself to a ride (and Main Street is no place for elaborate rides anyway), but if they were to re-theme one of the restaurants as Tony's Pizzeria, I would have no serious objections.

16. Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Location: Fantasyland

Gee...ya think? Of course we have not only Sleeping Beauty Castle and the associated walk-through attraction, but those nice art pieces on the Carrousel. For some reason.

17. 101 Dalmatians (1961)

Location: Main Street, USA/Mickey's Toontown/Hollywood Land

This, like Saludos Amigos, is one of those Disney movies that doesn't really line up with the traditional theme park area motifs. But unlike Saludos Amigos, it features dozens of adorable puppies and a really flamboyant villain, so it's too popular to ignore. So there are tidbits here and there...often in connection with firehouses, since Dalmatian = firefighters' dog.

And then there's this thing, which...I want to say used to be in California Adventure's Hollywood area:

I don't recall seeing it in recent years, so maybe they've taken it out by now? It was supposed to be Cruella DeVil's dressing room trailer, as if the character were an actress filming on location. Yes—they wanted us to play along with the notion that one of the most horrendous Disney Villains of all time was just a film diva. Because...fur coat = movie star? I honestly don't pretend to know how these decisions are arrived at.

18. The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Location: Fantasyland

King Arthur Carrousel is not named in honor of this movie, which didn't come out until eight years after the park opened. However, the Sword in the Stone prop out in front of the Carrousel is definitely a reference, and where else would you put a movie so steeped in Merrie Olde Englande imagery?

19. The Jungle Book (1967)

Location: Adventureland

By the time The Jungle Book came out, Disneyland was a cultural force all on its own,* with no need to rely on film IPs for its attraction motifs and I promise I am not going to start ranting about the state of things today. So no permanent or even long-term attraction based on Jungle was ever installed. But if one had been, is there any doubt that it would be part of Adventureland?

Well...

There are those who consider Baloo's Dressing Room**—a temporary gimmick placed at the far north end of Fantasyland as part of 1991's Disney Afternoon Avenue promotion—a Jungle Book attraction. Because Baloo, right? Only the thing is, that's not Jungle's Baloo. It's TaleSpin's. If you're not familiar with TaleSpin...you'll have to Google it or something, because I cannot possibly go into it now without derailing this entire post. Suffice it to say that the hat and jacket-wearing furry in the above photo is the Baloo from the movie the same way Elsa is the Snow Queen from the H.C. Andersen tale.

And anyway, all of the Disney Afternoon stuff was in Fantasyland. Because that's where there was room for all of it. If you ask me, a permanent attraction based on TaleSpin—not that they would ever have made one—would also go better in Adventureland than Fantasyland, and not just because the protagonist was sort-of Baloo. But again...not the time.

20. The Aristocats (1970)

Location: New Orleans Square

Does this one surprise you? The period setting of The Aristocats would seem more suited for Main Street, but I'm just going to point out that the one redeeming feature of this hot mess of a movie is its show-stopping jazz number, “Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat.” Pretty much the only way they could add something Aristocats-related to Disneyland without me plotting arson is to go with the jazz angle, and that means New Orleans Square.

21. Robin Hood (1973)

Location: Fantasyland

I've heard arguments in favor of Critter Country for this one on the grounds that the cast consists of anthropomorphic animals. It's a decent point, but I still think the medieval setting of the film—and Robin Hood's status as a European legend in general—make Fantasyland a more appropriate place. Also, see below.

22. The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh

Location: Critter Country/Fantasyland

Anaheim's version of the Pooh Bear dark ride is in Critter Country. This has not been a popular move with fans, and not just because they ousted the Country Bears to do it. The Hundred-Acre Wood, as a setting, is far too cozy and benign and charming and English to sit well alongside the decidedly American rustic aesthetic of the rest of Critter Country. They handled this one better in Orlando—Mr. Toad is as unfortunate a loss over there as the Country Bears are over here, but at least they don't have a total thematic mismatch on top of it.

Winnie the Pooh is a European storybook franchise. If it must be anywhere in Disneyland, it ought to be in Fantasyland alongside the other European storybook material.

Stay tuned next week, for: More of the same!

* Also...you know.

** Wait a minute. How come both the photos in this post are of a “dressing room” supposedly belonging to a particular character?