With Tiana’s Bayou Adventure failing to delight the majority of Disney fans (and, really, failing to even function at all during long stretches of just about every day since officially opening to the public) many have been left wondering what went wrong. Why is this ride, a replacement for one of the most beloved rides of all time in Splash Mountain, such a letdown for so many?
Concept art for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Well, The Hill’s Mark Pinsky thinks he knows the answer. Is it the fact that the attraction doesn’t work? Is it the racist undertones in the happy-go-lucky depiction of the Avery Island Salt Mines and its history of abuse and slave labor? Is it the lackluster music or the fact that an attraction teeming with more than 70 animatronic critters has been turned into an experience with less than 50 (in reality, less than 20 actual) animatronics?
Nope. It’s Christians.
Specifically, white Christians.
Concept art for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
READ: Disney World Works to Prepare Crowds for a Broken Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Public Release
In his article, titled “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure: The racial and religious politics of Disney’s new theme park ride,” Pinsky praises Disney’s decision to replace Splash Mountain, an attraction based on a film that he (a very, very white man) claims is “deeply offensive to many African Americans.”
He then goes on to say that Song of The South presented, “an idealized, historically inaccurate portrayal of African Americans in the region before and after the Civil War,” before adding, “It was also criticized for its cultural appropriation — the white 19th-century author Joel Chandler Harris first heard many of the Black folktales about Br’er Rabbit that informed his novel in a Georgia plantation cabin that housed enslaved people.”
Splash Mountain is a ride in Disneyland based on the movie Song of the South. Photo Credit: Cd637 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Pinsky then takes a break from virtue signaling to get to his actual point.
“Discussion of the ride’s new incarnation has so far — justly — focused on the dramatic racial symbolism for Disney theme parks,” he said, getting a little more virtue signaling in there for good measure. He also ignores that most of the discussion surrounding this attraction has centered on the fact that it doesn’t work for long stretches of each day. “While it is the first Disney theme park ride based on an African American character, it may also represent a retrospective effort to sanitize The Princess and the Frog.”
Yes, you read that right. We’re “sanitizing” The Princess and The Frog. How, you might ask? Well, let’s ask Mark.
Felipe the Frog, Mayra the Frog, Isabel the Green Tree Frog, and Mondo the Frog inside Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
READ: Disney World Adds Many New Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Themed Menu Items Ahead of Opening
“Not content with erasing racism from its theme parks, Disney has apparently sought to use its magic to make the film’s positive but controversial rendering of voodoo in The Princess and the Frog disappear,” Pinsky said. “Literally out of sight, in typical Disney fashion, the company has virtually eliminated the film’s voodoo portrayal, which offended some evangelical Christian theatergoers. In fact, the dark voodoo depiction, central to the plot of The Princess and the Frog, appears almost nowhere on the 10-minute ride.”
While it’s true that the film’s inclusion of voodoo may have offended the religious sensibilities of some back in 2009 and 2010, to believe that Disney is sanitizing attractions to appeal to conservative Christians in 2024 doesn’t add up with a lot of the company’s activities.
A screenshot from The Princess and the Frog (2009), Walt Disney Animation Studios
Recently, Disney made headlines for allowing biological men (with beards) to wear dresses and make-up while working in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (where young girls receive princess makeovers). That Park Place also broke a story earlier this year regarding a biological male playing the role of the Evil Queen from Snow White at a Walt Disney World Resort restaurant experience.
The company also goes above and beyond to acknowledge LGBT Pride Month throughout June and got embroiled in a messy and costly legal battle with the state of Florida over opposition to the Parental Rights in Education Bill. That legal issue will reportedly cost the company more than $1 trillion over the next century.
The Evil Queen poses with a family at Wilderness Lodge Resort in Walt Disney World Resort
READ: Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Faces Largest Backlash in Recent Disney Parks History
It’s not the intention of this reporter to pass judgment on the company for its actions in this news article. Rather, we’re merely pointing out that one would logically look at this and surmise that these aren’t the actions of a company concerned with offending the sensibilities of conservative Christians.
While Pinsky might be reaching with his reasoning, he is correct in saying that there is no mention of voodoo in the attraction. The character of Dr. Facilier, the “Shadowman” villain from The Princess and The Frog is a practitioner of voodoo. He is completely absent from the attraction. Mama Odie, the “Voodoo Queen of the Bayou” makes a few appearances. However, Disney has described her in official materials now as a “Bayou Fairy Godmother.”
While it seems as though this change was intentional and made to avoid offending people, it’s unlikely that Christians were the group Disney was trying to avoid angering. We’ve seen Disney depict other pagan religions in properties, from Norse gods in Marvel’s Thor movies to Greek gods in the recent Percy Jackson and the Olympians series on Disney Plus. Not to mention that Disney is going to be presenting a live action remake of its classic animated film Hercules in the near future.
James Woods as Hades in Hercules (1997), Walt Disney Pictures
So, why do you think that Disney pulled all mention of voodoo from this IP? Do you think it was intentional? And will we see it anywhere else?
Marvin The Movie Monster is a YouTube Commentator, Puppeteer, and Comedian with channels dedicated to movies, TV, and professional wrestling. Check out his channel Tooney Town TV and Tooney Town Wrestling. He is also a regular contributor to That Game Place, the video game channel for That Park Place.
