30-year-old Disneyland rides, why it suddenly became controversial

Since the'George Floyd' incident, black discrimination has emerged worldwide. The protests against black discrimination that started in Minnesota, USA, have spread all over the world, and racist statues from around the world are being demolished.

There is one more controversial atmosphere. It is the ride of the Disney theme park. This ride is claimed to be'discriminating the black people'. What kind of play equipment is the problem?

In early June, Disney fan Alex O. filed a petition on the world's largest online petition site, change.org. It was to get rid of the “Splash Mountain” rides in Disney World, Disneyland, and Tokyo Disneyland, and to make rides based on the Disney animation “Princess and Frog”.

Splash Mountain is a great thrilling attraction in a short time. It is about a rabbit going on an adventure in search of a kingdom of laughter. First, I'm going to take a log to see the swamps of southern America. At the last moment, the logs fall down the waterfall and you can enjoy a cool stream. 

The problem was the animation that became the motif of this attraction. It was Disney's live-action animated musical film <Song of the South>, released in 1946. At the time of its release, it made a profit of $226,000, and when converted to present value, it is said to have been a big hit with about $28.3 million and about 3.34 billion won with our money. The theme song ``Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah'' here also won the Academy Award that year. The Song of the South depicts the situation after the American Civil War and slavery was abolished. He claimed that the portrayal of the black character in the work was racist because he could not escape the prejudice against black people. 

At the time of release, there was controversy. At the time the film was released, the National Association for the Promotion of the National Colors (NAACP) also revealed that the film's directing skills and music have beautiful artistic values, but unintentionally beautify slavery. There was also criticism that the setting that blacks and whites became equal immediately after the Civil War did not match the era.

Splash Mountain does not exactly reflect this movie, but it is set in the farm in this movie, and the characters, songs, and backgrounds of the rides are all taken from the movie, which is a problem.

Alexo asked me to make a ride with <Princess and Frog> as a motif instead of demolishing'Splash Mountain'. What does <Princess and Frog> mean to black people? That's because Disney's first black princess, Princess and Frog, was Tiana. Alexo said that there are many demands for the diversity of theme parks, and that the rides with the motif of <Princess and Frog> meet this demand. This is a princess movie that is loved by many people, but the reason is that it cannot be seen in a theme park.

This petition is currently a hot topic with over 20,000 people agreeing. Disney has yet to respond to this petition.

Disneyland's Splash Mountain first appeared in July 1989 and has been operating for over 30 years. As people's wishes, attention is focused on whether the splash mountain will turn into a ride with the theme of <Princess and Frog>.