Post #207718 by aquarj on Sun, Jan 15, 2006 9:56 AM

I'm always sorry to hear opinions that Small World is too un-cool for the modern audience, or that there's something creepy about it. When we've lost the ability to appreciate something optimistic, positive, colorful, and sentimental for the innocence of childhood, then it seems like we've also lost the ability to enjoy a great deal of Walt Disney's original goals for The Happiest Place on Earth.

By forcing a lens of modern cynicism onto one's view of everything, I guess it's possible to miss the fantastic abstract and stylized artforms in Mary Blair's design of the Small World ride. And it's also possible to have a negative reaction to the simple, positive message. But I guess that's one of the realities of modern culture (sadly) that Disney has tried to cater to at different times over the years, spelling the demise of some great original rides and shows, and also resulting in kind of a weird split personality in the parks at times.

But I would think the ETR falls into the same category as Small World in that sense, so it's a little surprising to see such a contrast in opinion about the two in the same thread. Beware, these are the same forces that drove the awful redesign of the ETR in the Orlando Disneyworld! I sure hope we don't someday get the "new and improved" Small World with a hip hop soundtrack and "up-to-date" characters. THAT would be a horror movie!

-Randy