This commercial for Hong Kong Disneyland’s version of “it’s a small world” is Pop-tastic! I mean who hasn’t dreamed of shooting a rock video inside IASW. I hope it helps to bring guests into the park.
The video is obviously highly produced, but the presence of Disney characters instead of children from around the world is just as counter-message as ever. The message of IASW is world peace and harmony, not commercialism. Disney has gone too far.
I saw Pinnochio, Abu, and Mushu.
I was appalled.
Argh, I am trapped in cognitive dissonance! My fondness for cute Japanese girls playing guitar is at odds with my extreme discomfort seeing branded characters in IASW!
I would like to see if I could resolve this situation by actually riding through the attraction in Hong Kong. Sadly, my current frequent-flier mile balance doesn’t seem to support such an experiment.
Not to be completely hated by everyone, but I have to say: the characters in the ride might not be so bad. After all, the Disney movies themselves like Mulan and Aladdin are about representing different countries and cultures within the world. The addition of those characters to “it’s a small world” may help children better identify with the diverse cultures in the world. For instance when I saw Aladdin as a child, I had no concept that the setting of Aladdin was a real place. Seeing Aladdin and friends in the Middle East or Mulan and Mushu in the Asia scenes may help kids realize that the places they know from the movies are real places where kids just like them live.
I don’t know.. that’s just my 2 cents.
Don’t forget that Pinnochio teaches the dangers of speaking to strangers in Germany.
LOL
and @ Jennifer,
I wonder if they have the cute Chinese girls in the ride…
I’m wondering if the girls replaced some of the children dolls in the video? I don’t mind the addition of characters so long as they aren’t scene stealers, but I’m thinking that the shots of the girls were replacing shots of the dolls. It may not be as extreme as the video suggests.
Is it weird that I’m a straight chick, and I watched the video thinking “gee, I wish the’d come over here and do a commercial for WDW”?
Oh, give it a rest already, would you? Of the characters that I saw in that ad, they were put into the ride tastefully, and in a way that is true to the style and spirit of the original attraction. In no way does any of that overshadow the rest of the attraction.
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