Pretty
short one this time. I've had this idea knocking around for a while
and I want to try putting it into words to see if it holds up when
stated plainly.
There
are two Imagineering trends that we hardcore Disney theme park fans
tend to criticize: 1) the abandonment of original ideas in favor of
attractions that lean on film IP for their ideas, and 2) the
over-reliance on screens and projections at the expense of
three-dimensional sets and complex animatronic figures. The object of
both is, naturally, maximizing revenue (luring in guests with
already-popular films and characters) while cutting costs (screens
take up less space and are easier to construct, maintain, and adjust
than three-dimensional infrastructure).
But
I'm starting to think the two trends are connected in another way. A
way that speaks volumes about the company's artistic philosophy in
this day and age.
First,
let's backtrack a few decades. I think I'm just old enough to
remember when Disney theme parks openly
lauded their technology as technology...not
just to the theme park buffs but to mainstream audiences. “Come see
this cool thing we built,”
advertisements would say.* They freely admitted that they were
creating sophisticated illusions and invited people to be impressed
by the ingenuity on
display. Disneyland took on the role of a stage magician, wearing top
hat and tails and wowing audiences with sleight-of-hand tricks that
had us all wondering “How did they do that?” but never for a
moment doubting that it was a trick.
I'm
not sure when that started changing, but the transition is certainly
complete by now. The goal these days appears to be total suspension
of disbelief. Disney doesn't want guests to be awed by how lifelike
the animatronics are...because they don't want people thinking about
them being
animatronics. They want them to be bowled over by the prospect of
being in the presence of the characters, in a kind of imposed
celebrity worship. I don't know why they went in this
direction—surely they don't expect anyone over the age of about six
to actually be fooled,
and surely popular characters have the same draw whether we're
mutually pretending they're real or not, but it is what it is. The
magician has traded their tuxedo for a purple robe sprinkled with
stars and a pointy hat, and insists we play along with the notion
that the otherworldly spirit in the summoning circle is real, and
evince awe that the wizard can call up that
spirit, as opposed to the less fashionable spirits at the command of
other wizards.
The
upshot is that the more Disney de-emphasizes the craft
on display in their parks, the less reason there is to put a lot of
effort into that craft. Imagineers used to advance their tech for its
own sake as well as for the entertainment value, but now, with the
sole benchmark being “How well does this convince the kiddies that
they are meeting their heroes?”, all that matters is that it looks
right. Building an animatronic that really looks and moves like a
beloved character is hard. Creating a movie
that really looks and moves like the character is...well, it's
automatic, since these characters came from movies to begin with.
TL;DR:
The increased use of screens on rides isn't just for economic
reasons; it's also because Disney has become so fixated on getting
people to play along with the delusion that the characters are real
that the company has forgotten how to be proud of invention for its
own sake.
I
dunno. Just a thought I had.
*
Not in those exact words.
