Credit – Disney
Snow White is canceled. Cancel culture has reared its ugly head again with an article from SFGATE by Katie Dowd and Julie Tremaine. Disneyland reopened this past Friday after 400 days of being closed due to Pandemic restrictions. Snow White’s Enchanted wish, which is an upgraded and revamped attraction from the original Snow White’s Scary Adventures, is one of two rides that saw remakes during the closure. The Jungle Cruise is also getting a remake and will probably be open sometime later this year. But, according to SFGATE’s Julie Tremain, is:
“A ride that has long been criticized as racist and problematic.”
I will have a more in depth article on how Disney’s diversion, inclusivity, and cancel
Credit- Disney
culture will back them into a financially unsurvivable corner in a future article. According to the SFGATE article, Snow White’s Enchanted Wish attraction was the most visited as lines
“were consistently the highest in the park all day because people were so excited to see something new at the park’s opening.”
As you start to read this article, you can already sense that the two authors have an agenda as they begin with:
“The attraction preserves much of the charm of what originally opened in 1955 at the park’s debut, but gives it a more cohesive storyline that’s true to the 1938 movie. It also adds in the movie’s biggest problem — but we’ll get to that in a minute.”
Rut Ro, Shaggy. I wonder what that could be. It couldn’t be something problematic or divisive, could it? Heavens to Betsy! The article continues on as the authors compliment the technical aspects of the attraction but then start to give you hints of their ultimate goal. They write how the previous attraction, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, was divisive for small children.
“The “scary” in Snow White’s adventures was a divisive tone for a kiddie ride. Some felt it was much too scary for small children, especially because many scenes were very dark and used jump scares. The sight of screaming, crying children exiting the ride was not uncommon, and perhaps was part of the reason Snow White often had some of the shortest lines in Fantasyland.”
Credit – Disney
I’m sorry but, in whose opinion was that attraction divisive. Is there any evidence to back that claim? I’ve read a few articles from this publication, and have yet to find evidence, that they site from fans, that the rides were problematic. It seems, in my opinion, that the authors themselves have a problem with it and not the fans. This is often the case with promoters of cancelling things, through social media, they deem divisive, problematic, or non inclusive. I think it would be beneficial for SFGATE to have a comment section to see what the fans think. The article continues and gets to the crux of the problem that is Snow White’s Enchanted Wish.
Credit – Disney
“The new ride includes a more comprehensive storyline — but that’s also the problem. The new grand finale of Snow White’s Enchanted Wish is the moment when the Prince finds Snow White asleep under the Evil Queen’s spell and gives her “true love’s kiss” to release her from the enchantment. A kiss he gives to her without her consent, while she’s asleep, which cannot possibly be true love if only one person knows it’s happening.”
Seriously? They do know this is based off a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm in 1812, right? Apparently not. It’s a fairy tale folks…that’s it. We shouldn’t want to exorcise history because a very minuscule amount of triggered people have a problem with it. Don’t go on the attraction then. Leave it up to the fans, who, by the way, I haven’t heard clamoring for Disney to remove the scene. I’ve actually only read really positive reviews about the ride. But, they continued:
“Haven’t we already agreed that consent in early Disney movies is a major issue? That teaching kids that kissing, when it hasn’t been established if both parties are willing to engage, is not OK? It’s hard to understand why the Disneyland of 2021 would choose to add a scene with such old fashioned ideas of what a man is allowed to do to a woman, especially given the company’s current emphasis on removing problematic scenes from rides like Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain. Why not re-imagine an ending in keeping with the spirit of the movie and Snow White’s place in the Disney canon, but that avoids this problem?”
Snow White is canceled
So, is Snow White cancelled? Probably not. Does Disney have controversial issues in their attractions and movies? Probably, but that should be left up to parents and fans to decide what’s right and what’s not right for them or their children to see. Again, if you don’t like it that’s your right not to like it. I don’t look through the lens of how it could be offensive to someone now, I look at it through the lens of history and when it was made. I then decide whether I need to share with my kid what might be considered right or wrong with it. Things were different at different times in our history, whether right or wrong, but we have learned from those instances every time. Stop trying to cancel everything around you and take the fun out of it all. The SFGATE article concluded with this:
“Still, with the twinkling lights all around and the gorgeous special effects, that final scene is beautifully executed — as long as you’re watching it as a fairy tale, not a life lesson.”
I can’t remember the last time I went to Disney World thinking I was going to learn a life lesson. I went there to have fun and a good time…to escape to “The Happiest Place on Earth.”
