ORLANDO (CNN) – Disney has announced that it is rethinking a classic theme park attraction after years of criticism from fans.
The Jungle Cruise tour, where a playful captain takes guests along a river, is one of the last attractions at theme parks personally supervised by Walt Disney himself. The tour is at both US theme parks – Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida.
However, Jungle Cruise has not aged as well as some other attractions. Although the tour was inspired by nature documentaries, one of the tourist spots along the river’s route is a scene of “natives”, who portrays them as wild, primitive and threatening.
In a press release, Disney confirmed the next review of the tour. Among the changes will be a new animated character of the captain.
“As Imagineers, it is our responsibility to ensure that the experiences we create and the stories we share reflect the voices and perspective of the world around us,” said Carmen Smith, executive of inclusion and creative development strategies at Walt Disney Imagineering, in a communicated.
A “Jungle Cruise” film starring Emily Blunt, Jesse Plemons and The Rock (as the captain) is due to be released in late 2021. However, Disney has not confirmed whether there will be any overlap between the film and the trip.
Exciting enhancements are coming to Jungle Cruise at Disneyland Park in @Disneyland Resort and Magic Kingdom Park in @Walt Disney World Resort later this year! Here’s a first look at Walt Disney Imagineering in part of the “wildebeest” magic being added: https://t.co/B8HF1peLdFpic.twitter.com/2mWI8RPl3K
– Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) January 25, 2021
Jungle Cruise is one of several Disney attractions called in recent years for bad taste images.
The popular Splash Mountain log ride originally featured characters from “Song of the South”, a story set in the south before the war, whose descriptions worthy of blacks kept it almost always hidden in the company’s safe. Last year, Disney announced that it would reconfigure the tour to include characters from 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog,” the first Disney movie featuring a protagonist black princess.
The Pirates of the Caribbean tour, which inspired the film franchise of the same name, was also analyzed for its animatronic scenes of pirates selling captive women. In 2017, the main figure “prostitute” was converted into a female pirate, and pirates are now auctioning non-human items.
What’s your favorite Disney attraction?
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