Disneyland General
Topic: So after all this time - Reason? IASW topic

#	Author	Message
111	u k fan Thu 5/1/2008 6:23a	Regardless of whether or not I want Disney characters in IASW (fundamentally I'm opposed - in reality I'll wait and see) I actually think that by some peoples reasoning Stitch is one of the easiest characters to explain. Stitch is part of American culture. He was created by an American for an American movie and is as American as Alice is English. Hawaii is now part of the USA (there endeth the geography lesson), so as far as some people have said they have no problem with literary characters from the appropriate countries being used Stitch is fine. He is a true American original. Bambi however, does not belong in the North Pole!!!
112	dshyates Thu 5/1/2008 6:40a	The same cane be said for Spongebob. Maybe they can work out something with Nick. Stitch is far from a historical figure and/or from a famous literary masterpiece. Who wrote Stitch? The author is a famous Hawaiian author?? Stitch exists firmly in the realm of Pop Culture. And I don't feel that what IASW needs is not a giant shot of Pop Culture.
113	danyoung Thu 5/1/2008 6:57a	>just wanted to say - Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts< Thank you for your thank you, dean. These kind of threads can get incredibly hot very quickly. For the most part I think we've all been pretty well behaved (yay for us!!!).
114	u k fan Thu 5/1/2008 7:05a	<<<Stitch is far from a historical figure and/or from a famous literary masterpiece.>>> Who said he had to be? <<<Who wrote Stitch? The author is a famous Hawaiian author??>>> Chris Sanders is credited with creating Stitch. Unless I'm mistaken he is an American. Hawaii was one of the 50 states at the point that Stitch was created and he is therefore an American character as much as Hawaii is part of America. Stitch embodies several Hawaiian principles and therefore is an acceptable representation of Hawaii. <<<Stitch exists firmly in the realm of Pop Culture.>>> As do Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. Age ain't nothin' but a number (to quote Aaliyah). <<<And I don't feel that what IASW needs is not a giant shot of Pop Culture.>>> I assume the "not" was accidental and if so I agree 100%. I'm just saying that Stitch in Hawaii is less out of place than Bambi in the North Pole or even Donald in South America!!!
115	mawnck Thu 5/1/2008 7:29a	Pato Donald gets my vote for the most egregious character inclusion. He's one of the "Fab Five," he represents nothing related to South America (other than a US tourist), AND his "doll" looks like it came straight from the Emporium windows - bearing no resemblance whatsoever to the Mary Blair/IASW style.
116	FerretAfros Thu 5/1/2008 8:56a	"Stitch embodies several Hawaiian principles and therefore is an acceptable representation of Hawaii." Except that the story could have taken place literally anywhere. It could have been in China, New York, Kansas, Africa...anywhere! They just happened to pick Hawaii because it allowed for pretty watercolor backgrounds, and the shoehorned idea of 'ohana' as a train of thought. I've read that the early versions of the story took place with a boy in Kansas, so Stitch really has nothing to do with Hawaii, other than that being the random location decided upon for the film. The story has nothing to do with the setting, unlike some (Bambi) that depend entirely on their setting.
117	u k fan Fri 5/2/2008 5:09a	I agree with this to a point, but several other stories that several people seem to have less issues with could have happened anywhere. The Aristocats could have been set in Outer Mongolia, but it wasn't. Stitch was originally intended to land in Kansas, but after visiting Hawaii the film-makers realised that Stitch and his plight sat very well with the concept of ohana and changed the location. As Disney legend goes L&S was not moved just because of the opportunity for pretty visuals with ohana tacked on for good measure, but rather because Stitch was a good fit with an existing Hawaiian priciple. Gosh, I never thought I'd be defending Stitch being included in IASW. Look what you people have driven me to!!!! :)
118	dshyates Fri 5/2/2008 5:52a	I will repeat once again, the theme of the souce material is irrelevant. Not one of the additions to IASW has anything to do with the theme of the source material. It has to do with the fact that in the movie visually Stitch appears to be in Hawaii. So there he goes. That is as deep as it goes. Pocahantas in the Canadian Rockies because its the Americas. Bambi in the North pole, Hell, its not even in the Americas, the forest, or any logical context for that matter. The mental gymnastics are entertaining by all, but the bottom line is this is about pushing commercial product. And artistic integrity doesn't matter in the least on this decision. Marty couldn't tell us why they ARE doing it. But he told us definitively NOT why they are doing it. As this seems to be to only logical reason this would be happening. It was the only reason mentioned and forcefully denied. Disney is now a company so concerned with shaking down its customers that artistry is nonexistant unless it seperates the marks from their money.
119	danyoung Fri 5/2/2008 7:28a	Ridiculous hyperbole. Profit is a motive, certainly. Buy you can't state with even a shred of certainty that profit was the primary motive for these changes. I can (and have) make an equally strong case that the primary motive is the desire to update a refurbishing attraction with new additions that will delight the riders and be an attendance driver for at least a year or two. If they sell some plush along with that, terrific - more power to them and the stockholders who will benefit. Disney is still an entertainment company, and money will keep on coming as long as they're still entertaining people. When they do things that the public rejects (like the flood of direct to dvd releases in the past), they'll curtail that and try something else.
120	dshyates Fri 5/2/2008 7:35a	"I can (and have) make an equally strong case that the primary motive is the desire to update a refurbishing attraction with new additions that will delight the riders and be an attendance driver for at least a year or two. If they sell some plush along with that, terrific - more power to them and the stockholders who will benefit." That is still a purely profit motive. And I will believe it is "Strictly Commercial" until someone, anyone, comes up with a logical motive other than profit. Artistic would be a really good one. Saying that they have to add Stitch to make it more relevant to my kids is really insulting to my kids.

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