Disney Splash Mountain ride to be rebranded due to controversial film connection

Disney had revealed it is rebranding one of its theme park rides
AP
Ellena Cruse26 June 2020

Disney is to rebrand its Splash Mountain theme park ride due to its ties with the 1946 movie Song Of The South, which many view as racist.

Officials said the ride would be recast and based on The Princess And The Frog , a 2009 Disney film with an African American female lead.

The changes will be made at Disneyland in California and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, the company said.

With racist stereotypes and Old South tropes, Song Of The South is a mix of live-action, cartoons and music featuring an old black plantation labourer named Uncle Remus who enchants a white city boy with fables of talking animals.

Aerial view of the Disney park in Florida
REUTERS

The rebranding had been in the works since last year, but the announcement comes as companies across the US are renaming racially-charged, decades-old brands in the wake of world-wide protests for racial justice following the death of George Floyd in police custody.

"The new concept is inclusive – one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year," a Disney Spokesman said.

The ride will be rebranded on the 2009 movie The Princess and The Frog
AFP via Getty Images

The Walt Disney Company also pledged $5 million this month to support nonprofit organisations that advance social justice, beginning with a $2 million donation to the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) to further their work eliminating disparities and racial discrimination through their advocacy and education programmes.

Chief Executive Officer, Bob Chapek said: “The killing of George Floyd has forced our nation to once again confront the long history of injustice that black people in America have suffered, and it is critical that we stand together, speak out and do everything in our power to ensure that acts of racism and violence are never tolerated.

“This $5 million pledge will continue to support the efforts of nonprofit organisations such as the NAACP that have worked tirelessly to ensure equality and justice.”

The ride first opened at Disneyland in the late 1980s.

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