Disney Characters...Maybe We Should Rethink a Few Things

Characters characters and more characters.
By Lilly.

Youʼre ready for a Day at Walt Disney World with your two little girls and youʼve got every minute planned out with reservations and everything. You canʼt wait for the rides, but youʼre most excited to see your most beloved characters.

You start right before the park even opens with breakfast at Cinderellaʼs Royal Table in Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom, where your two little girls meet all the princesses including their favorite, Belle.  Because Belle is their favorite, you rush over to catch the first Storytime with Belle show right outside the castle, with the same Belle you saw at breakfast? Nope.

Your two little girls havenʼt had their fill of princesses just yet, so you pop over to Mickeyʼs Toon Town Fair and meet Belle again–yes a different Belle from both the Belles youʼve already seen. Then you camp out to get a good spot for Magic Kingdom's mid day parade “Celebrate a Dream Come True” where your daughters wave to yet a different Belle.

Now itʼs time to take the monorail over to EPCOT where you have dinner reservations for the Princess Storybook Dinner at Norway's Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. But youʼre a little early, so you mosey around France and meet....Belle. And who do you meet at dinner? You guessed it, Belle again.

How is it possible that you can come home with pictures of six different Belles in one day? It comes from the same silly mentality that flows throughout all the parks. More is better. I would like to propose the concept that more is not better. Walt Disney proved it time and time again. Quality is more important than quantity especially when it comes to Disney Characters.

Evidence of this is very clear when you observe the performance of these characters. Clearly auditions have not been selective enough nor has training been very specific. I have seen more hyper Plutos and snippy Snow Whites than I ever thought possible. Have these characters ever seen their original animation? More importantly, have the casting directors, trainers, and managers seen them? Clearly real talent isnʼt drawn to the job because it doesnʼt pay well enough.

My suggestion: less characters with higher pay.

CONCEPT: Carrying the Banner (A Newsies Welcome Show)

Concept by Lilly

Itʼs 8:55am on Main Street USA. The park opens at 9:00. Hundreds of excited guests are streaming through the turnstiles, hustling through the arches and town square, until they meet a rope draped across main street just before from the Emporium, keeping them from the excitement of the park for just five more minutes.

A couple of Newsies have wandered out of the Emporium and other nearby buildings, just getting ready for a day of selling “papes.” Some of them are just tucking their shirt in, one is just drying his face with a towel, others are arranging their newspapers getting ready to sell them.

They have the demeanor you would expect from a Newsie, pushing each other around, cracking jokes, talking about the girl they met last night. They donʼt acknowledge their audience just yet. At about 8:55 one of them sings “Try Bottle Alley or the harbor,” another Newsie adds, “Try Central Park itʼs guaranteed,” and the song continues. There are only three lookalikes in this show from the Disney film. One is Jack “Cowboy” Kelly, and he sings his own lines from the film. Eventually the Newsies bring in the audience and interact with them during the number. In the appropriate place in the song (we cut the part with the nuns), the Delancey brothers, Oscar and Morris, enter. These are the only other two lookalikes from the film. One of the Newsies states “Dear me! What is that unpleasant aroma? I fear the sewers may have backed up during the night,” and the scene continues up until Jack says “That's right. It's an insult. So's this!” Instead of knocking the hat of Morrisʼ head, he steals it and a choreographed fight scene/keep the hat from the Delancey brothers/Jack hiding from the Delancey brothers proceeds as the Newsies continue to sing around this scene up until the end of the song.

As the Newsies finish the musical number the Newsies then explain to the crowd how the rope drop will work. They form a line of Newsies in the front and then walk the guests to each land, mingling and interacting with them as they go. When they get to each land, various cast members take over and lead the guests to the most popular attractions. The Newsies stick around Main Street and sell papes.

The best part is that the papers the Newsies have are actual papers filled with never before seen articles about the Walt Disney Company. Essentially, they are collectors items and the Newsies actually sell them for whatever they can get. The Newsies donʼt advertise the papers for what they are, they just sell like Newsies would sell, but they only place you can get one is from a Newsie.

After the morning set, Jack and maybe the Delancy Brothers will continue to do sets throughout the day on Main Street, continuing to sell papers and to interact with each other and the guests.