Disneyland to Remove ‘Negative Representations of Native People’ from Jungle Cruise Tour – Orange County Register

Jungle Cruise tours at Disneyland and Walt Disney World will undergo major narrative updates to remove “negative representations of native peoples” as Disney continues to address issues of diversity and inclusion in its theme park attractions.

Walt Disney Imagineering will update Jungle Cruise scenes featuring shrunken chief trader Sam and a rhino chasing a group of safari through a tree, while adding a new scene with a half-sunken boat overrun by chimpanzees.

“Imaginers are constantly looking for opportunities to enhance experiences, and when it comes to updating classic attractions, they take a very careful and thoughtful approach,” Disney officials said in a statement. “In this specific case, Imagineers created a story that is based on what people love most, while simultaneously addressing negative representations.”

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Imagineering has yet to determine when work will begin at the Jungle Cruise attractions at Disneyland in Anaheim and the Magic Kingdom in Florida. The reinvented attractions are expected to open later this year. Disneyland plans to continue work on the Jungle Cruise attraction while the park remains closed during a prolonged coronavirus closure.

Disneyland is unlikely to return to full operation by spring or summer, according to the state-issued COVID-19 health and safety reopening guidelines.

Updates to Jungle Cruise tours follow changes to Pirates of the Caribbean and a future renovation of Splash Mountain, with the goal of addressing outdated cultural representations at Disney theme park attractions.

Disney Parks President Josh D’Amaro said during a speech at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo in November that the company plans to integrate more diversity and cultural inclusion into existing attractions.

“We believe that a truly inclusive environment is essential to promote everyone’s ideas to help us grow, innovate and create the best possible stories,” said D’Amaro during the exhibition.

Imagineering’s Inclusion and Creative Development Strategies executive, Carmen Smith, said the latest updates on Jungle Cruise attractions will address how Trader Sam and other native peoples and their culture are represented on the classic boat ride.

“Like Imagineers, it is our responsibility to ensure that the experiences we create and the stories we share reflect the voices and perspectives of the world around us,” said Smith in a statement. “With Jungle Cruise, we’re bringing more of what people love to life – the humor and wit of our amazing skippers, while making the necessary updates.”

Imagineering constantly evaluates ways to make Disney theme park attractions respect the diverse world in which we live, Imagineering creative executive Chris Beatty told Disney’s D23 fan club.

“When you look at Jungle Cruise, as it is today, there are only a few scenes that don’t do that and need to be updated,” Beatty told D23. “But I want to make sure that people know that we are not changing the entire Jungle Cruise. This is not a new view of the whole attraction. It’s the Jungle Cruise you know and love, with the captains still leading the way, and at the same time, we are addressing the negative representations of ‘natives’ ”.

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The renewed tours will not be linked to the next epic action-adventure film starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the captain of a boat and Emily Blunt as an intrepid explorer. The stars of “Cruzeiro na Selva” will not be portrayed on the tours, although subtle narrative nods are made for the film.

Jungle Cruise updates will build the story of Disneyland’s opening day attraction with new adventures that remain true to history and pay homage to the captain’s culture. More wildlife and humor will be added to the river trip, along with a new story following a Jungle Cruise captain whose journey goes awry.

“When we consider making changes to a classic attraction, we focus on ways to ‘add’ the experience,” said Beatty in a statement. “Jungle Cruise captains bring irreverent humor to guests of all ages, and we are excited to contribute to this legacy – along with a new animated figure of the captain – by celebrating his adventures and influence.”

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Concept art shows a culturally diverse group of boat passengers trapped in a tree – including a photographer, painter, bird watcher and butterfly collector. Nearby, five chimpanzees took over a half-sunk boat – splashing paint on the steamboat’s roof and releasing butterflies from a cage. A chimpanzee with a parasol sits on the roof of the boat while another takes over the captain’s helm and microphone. Some of the new figures will feature animatronic movements.

“As part of this story update, we are going to follow a captain and his passengers while their journey goes wrong,” Imagineer story editor Kevin Lively said in a statement. “That’s right, for the first time, the role of skipper will not only be that of a live, experienced and witty guide, but also represented by a showman within the attraction itself. In fact, the expedition will climb a tree (literally!) After its shipwreck separates and the chimpanzees embark on the wreckage, with what follows.

Lively, a former Disneyland Jungle Cruise captain who became Imagineer, worked on the Jingle Cruise vacation tour at Disneyland’s Tropical Hideaway restaurant and Magic Kingdom’s Skipper Canteen restaurant.

The captains of the Jungle Cruise will expand their repertoire of jokes with the new changes to the tour, while maintaining classic jokes about the “back side of the water” and other jokes in their routines.

David Marley, a former Jungle Cruise captain who became a Cal State Fullerton history professor known as Dr. Skipper, likes the new story planned by Imagineering and thinks the new scenes will provide a lot of new comedy material for his fellow captains.

“For everyone who is tempted to freak out and shout about the PC police, wait until we get a chance to see it before you go crazy,” wrote Marley on Facebook. “The Jungle Cruise at Disneyland has changed more than any other original attraction. Change is good and keeps things fresh. If the jungle can be more fun and less offensive, then let’s go. Furthermore, I firmly believe that the only thing that should be offensive in the jungle is the captains. “