‘Will Disney Abandon Book-Lovers for Pirates 2.0?’
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 10.04.06 | 4:14 PM ET
That’s the question Robert Niles poses at Theme Park Insider, reacting to word that Disneyland officials are apparently considering closing Tom Sawyer’s Island, a half-century-old fixture at the theme park, to build another Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. “[A]s much as I love Pirates, it is entertainment, not art,” Niles writes. “In Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain created the most compelling, debated and beloved characters in all of American culture. If today’s kids do not know of them, why, that’s a pretty damning indictment of the rest of us, as parents, educators and artists. That Disney’s failed these characters, and their story, by allowing Tom Sawyer’s Island to fall into decay does not speak to an inherent lack of appeal in the characters, but to a lack of foresight by Disney.”
Niles sees the central issue as one involving media—books vs. film and television.
He writes:
Not every corner of a theme park must be devoted to the hottest flavor from the cineplex. Great theme parks find a place to appeal to the kids, and parents, who find their inspiration from books, not just movies and video games. That’s why I, and my kids, adore Seuss Landing at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. And the Fairy Tale Brook at Legoland. And Tom Sawyer’s Island.
Yeah, I’m a freak. We don’t have cable or satellite TV in our home. And my kids are not allowed to watch any TV or DVDs on a school night. (Looks like that was a good call, BTW.) So my kids read a look of books, and don’t much care about the newest characters on Nick or the Disney channel. They love Tom Sawyer. And “Treasure Island.” And Heidi. And Dr. Seuss.
If Disney wants to reinvigorate Disneyland by purging it of literary influences in favor of pop culture, well, that’s Disney’s right. But I hope someone else in theme park industry remembers that there are families out there who find joy and inspiration in the pages of great books. Even in elementary school. And that they make an effort to build a great new, interactive and imaginative attraction for them.
Because if Disney closes TSI, this family likely won’t be visiting Disneyland as often anymore.
Whatever you think of Tom Sawyer’s Island, Niles and MiceAge.com raise the notion that many kids today just aren’t familiar with Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.
Reports MiceAge.com:
A few years ago Disneyland was forced to go in and remodel some of the play areas on the Island to bring them up to code and pass muster from Disney’s own safety department. During that physical rehab and freshening the Disneyland Entertainment department also added live Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn characters to the Island, young men dressed up in 1800’s clothing who wandered the island telling stories and jokes as written by Mark Twain. The response from some of the older parents was of bemused interest, but the 7 to 12 year old crowd whom the entertainment was aimed at couldn’t figure out who the guys were dressed in the funny clothes and why they kept talking about whitewashing a fence. Does Home Depot even sell whitewash? Is Mark Twain available on a PodCast?
Considering Tom and Huck’s place in the history of American literature, that’s just sad.
(Via LA Observed)
Related on World Hum:
* Disneyland’s ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Ride to Close for, uh, Synergy
* What Would Mark Twain Make of Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer’s Island?
* Top 30 Travel Books: ‘The Innocents Abroad’ by Mark Twain
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
McAvoy Layne 10.05.06 | 5:15 PM ET
It seems keeping Mark Twain’s memory green is more of a challenge than keeping Walt Disney’s park green, yet it’s vastly more important to America…
TambourineMan 10.06.06 | 4:25 PM ET
For my job, I’m forced to follow the doings at the criminal Disney parks here in SoCal.
For laughs, follow that miceage link and check out the message board. Some of these Disney freaks are outraged and do bring up some good points I hadn’t considered.
If they’re really gonna re-theme the island, are they going to deforest the place and truck in sand and palms?
Also, how will the Mark Twain paddlewheeler fit into a pirates theme?
Mike 02.20.08 | 5:28 AM ET
Is it still there? Thought it was the coolest when I was a kid. Hope my kids get to at least experience it…
George T, 03.24.08 | 4:36 AM ET
Sorry to be a downer, but I deplore Tom Sawyer’s Island. I wish this report would have come true. We visit Disney 4 times a year, and we always skip the island now.