It's a Sad World After All.

"Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money." —Walt Disney

I'm heartbroken upon hearing the sad news that Disneyland is in the process of giving the It's a Small World ride a very unnecessary re-"imagineering", which entails adding Disney film characters into all of the scenes, and tragically doing-away-with the gorgeous Papua New Guinea rain-forest vignette altogether, to be replaced  by some kind of "Hooray for the U.S.A" atrocity. Gossip-behemoth TMZ took a poll to see what people think about the plan to re-design the ride, and nearly 20,000 people wrote in, passionately opposing the plan. 

 It's a Small World was designed by the brilliant conceptual artist Mary Blair, and if you had to name the most aesthetically influencial person in Walt Disney's life, it would be her. More than just his muse, she was an extremely gifted painter and creative visionary, who singlehandedly defined Disneyland's bright,  pop, and mystically enchanting look.

Mary worked for Disney from 1942 to 1970, never ceasing to dazzle, yet during most of their time together she felt creatively stifled, especially since Walt had promised on several occasions to give her free-reign over the creative direction of major Disney films, like Cinderella and Alice and Wonderland . . . promises that never materialized. When Mary presented Walt with her storyboards, though he personally loved them (he was her #1 fan), he feared audiences wouldn't understand her sophisticated yet exaggerated style, as she was always eons ahead of her time. Walt would give her storyboards to his animation dept. simply as inspiration, and the animators would then commercialize her concepts. It has even been said that in the '60s, Disney's art dept. dubbed her "Marijuana Blair", due to her psychedelic use of color.

Walt used her storyboards as inspiration for many films, but it wasn't until 1964, when he asked Mary to design an installation for the New York World's Fair, that Mary really got a chance shine. Mary's large-scale piece was called Children of the World, and the attraction was so popular, that Disney decided to make it a permanent fixture in Disneyland, in partnership with UNICEF. Mary was elated that she was finally able to give the cute, round-faced, wide-eyed, multi-cultural children she so loved to draw, a permanent home inside a kooky, cartoony, fairy-tale castle with a giant ticking clock-face. This ride was also Mary's love letter to craft, and how just some painted papier mache and loads of glitter can make anyplace into a wonderland.

 

Hundreds of thousands of people who have loved It's a Small World since they were children (including myself, who first experienced it in 1979), have deeply nostalgic feelings for it, so this will be a negatively received plan around the world (which, everyone knows by now, is small). I'd love the Los Angeles Conservancy to get involved in fighting to protect Mary Blair's original artistic vision, and preserve this important piece of L.A. history the same way they would a historic hotel, or Art Deco neon sign. We should propose that they do the same thing as they do for The Haunted Mansion, where for the months of Nov.-Dec. they deck the entire ride out with Nightmare Before Christmas characters, and dub it The Haunted Mansion Holiday, creating an air of excitement that lasts the whole year. Why not make it the "It's a Small U.S." ride centered around the 4th of July, and deck the ride out in Toy Story vignettes for a month? Touch up the paint, if you must, re-fresh the glitter, get newer boats, but leave the original ride alone!  

 It is obvious, especially to today's savvy children, that the only reason for adding newer Disney characters to the classic ride is purely so they can sell more merch. Yet their plan stems from totally lazy, uninspired thinking . . . If the licensing team for Disney parks were really using their noggins in a truly Walt-Disney-centric way, they would restore the ride so it was as sparkly as the day it opened, and introduce Mary Blair's lovable Small World characters to a whole new generation, who would undoubtedly embrace them . Disney could make Small World products as hot as they previously were in the '70s, when Avon produced an adorable line of bath and cosmetic products based on the ride, which would sell like hotcakes if re-relased today (they are now highly sought after collectibles on eBay).

It's a Small World should be considered as a priceless piece of art, as important to modern culture as the Mona Lisa, or the Eiffel Tower . . . an American icon representing joy and hope for children and adults  around-the-world since its opening day. Changing its face would be like saying "Um, i've noticed the museum hasn't been selling enough of those Jackson Pollock postcards, so I guess we should go add some fluorescent pink or a baby bunny to the painting" . . . it's that absurd. 

And if media backing is what they require in order to have a vested interest in their properties, then I wonder why Disney's TV dept. hasn't pitched an animated show using Blair's iconic characters, especially since the retro-cute look of the kids is totally on-trend at the moment . . . and you can see their influence of everything from MTV promos to Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers clothing line.

In the recent decades, Mary's art has been treated less than kindly by Disneyland's Imagineers, to say the least. Preservationists, and Blair fans the world over, were made furious in 1987, and then again in 1998, when her hand-painted Tomorrowland tile murals were covered over by more "futuristic" crap. Luckily, Disney Parks were too cheap to actually creak-down all the tile work, so they merely covered them up with the new murals on dry wall. So hopefully Mary's brilliant murals will once again see the light of day! 

It's a Small World was Walt's promise to Mary, and you can be sure that if this plan goes through, he will be rolling in his grave (or cryogenic chamber, depending on what you believe).

Go to SAVETHESMALLWORLD.COM for the latest media coverage, as well as info about ways that you can protest this heinous plan.

Here is a very heartfelt piece lamenting the re-design, along with this powerful letter written by the family of Mary Blair, and here is a great piece from KPCC  radio's Off Ramp show, where both Kevin Blair, (Mary's son) and Jade Gordon of the L.A. performance art group, My Barbarian (who produced a musical about the life of Mary Blair at Disney Hall in 2004) , speak about opposing the plan.

The above photo is of baby J.B. Taylor (age five), on It's a Small World, gazing up at all the dazzling, glittery Mary Blair beauty (I think my expression pretty much says it all).

And here's a sneak peek of what I wrote about the ride, for the Disneyland chapter in my upcoming book, Vintage LA (click to view larger).

Photos: imagineerebirth.blogspot.com (W.D. quote also found here), neato coolville (flickr), snaggs (flickr), xie kitchen (flickr),  the owls go (flickr)

Comments

[Amanda Kobritz]

OMG! First off, this is the most amazing entry. Second off, that picture of you is unbelievable!!! This is terrible. They can't change It's a Small World. They changed the Submarine ride and trust me, it's terrible. Went on it with your sis and Hodgepodge, WORST!

xo

[J.B. Taylor]

I know. Sorry to quote No Doubt, but it truly is a Tragic Kingdom now : (

I love your blog too, and the next time I order something from amazon, i've already put "You are What you Eat" in my shopping cart. Hope to see you cats when i'm in L.A. in June!

[Social Anxiety Disorder]

great images... the first one the best...

all of us miss Walt Disney (father) the same as we are going to miss hug hefner the day of he die...

a big master... hiux kids lover.. amazing character

[Free Affiliate Program]

the Peter Pan in a human version... if someone ask me Whic death charactetr you would know? my answer is Mr Disney.., he got that vision and that inocence... no one can been comparate with him

[George]

nteresting topic and well worth reading. You might want to look at this gal's mosaic tiles she does awesome artwork.

http://makenatile.com/