From Mickey Mouse to the Disney princesses to Pixar, Disney parks are full of classic characters, and more are being added all the time. There are actually three distinct types of Disney icons, depending on where their origins lie.
Let’s take a look at the different kinds of iconic characters that populate Disney theme parks.
1. Original Creations
Image © Disney
At the center of all the Disney theme parks is, of course, Mickey Mouse. His symbol appears all over every corner of the parks, and he is THE most popular Cast Member. Mickey first starred in Walt Disney’s silent animated short film Plane Crazy, but he didn’t become a massive success until the sound-infused short Steamboat Willie. Disney even received an Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse on November 18, 1932.
In 1935 the series switched from black-and-white to full-color, and spin-offs followed for supporting characters like Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. They, along with Mickey and Minnie Mouse, are arguably the central stars of Disney parks everywhere. Though the Walt Disney Company has launched numerous franchises since Mickey, Walt’s first major creation and his supporting characters remain the most significant icons of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and all the rest.
2. Adaptations
Image: Disney
Disney didn’t create its princesses from scratch, but it might as well have, for copyright purposes. Starting with its first full-length feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1938, Disney began adapting popular fairy tales into animated movies. Films such as Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Cinderella soon followed.
Even though they were adaptions of public domain stories, the fairy tales brought to the screen by Disney have become firmly associated with the Mouse. The movies were only loosely adapted from the original fairy tales; the Magical Chip Bag Blog describes how radically different the original Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, etc. were from their Disney cousins. For Cinderella, it explains:
Cinderella was a French story from 1634. The original story did not have pumpkins, glass slippers, or a fairy godmother. Some say that in the second installation the slippers were supposed to be fur but the English translated it wrong, into glass and it just stuck. In the first story Cinderella would visit her mothers grave where a tree grew. It gave her three wishes, same as the ones she got from the godmother, She has to leave the ball and leaves the slipper behind. The prince goes around and gets to her house. Her step sisters try cutting off their heels and toes to get their feet into the shoes. Birds from the wishing tree try to peck out their eyes and warn the prince. He goes back to the house and Cinderella finally gets to try the slipper which fits. Disney later added mice to the story.
Even though they weren’t the original versions, the Disney animated films are what people identify with. When somebody mentions Cinderella, most think of a rated-G movie containing pumpkins and fairy godmothers, not the French short story from 1634.Perhaps more important than story details is how Disney defined the appearances of the Disney princesses and other fairy tale characters. Compare the Cinderella from Grimm’s Fairy Tales and the Cinderella from the 1950 Disney film:
Left image public domain. Right image © Disney.
The changes are drastic. And which do children and adults alike consider the real Cinderella? I’m willing to bet the majority of people would point to the right picture. That is extremely beneficial to Disney. They have come to own Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, etc. as much as anyone can own public domain characters. There is no chance that you’d see Cinderella at Universal Studios because, if she were to have any appeal to park-goers, it would have to be at least partially inspired by the 1950s movie Cinderella. And that Cinderella is firmly under the control of the Walt Disney Company.
Fairy tale characters are completely ingrained in the Disney parks experience. Fantasyland is home to most of the rides inspired by them, such as Peter Pan’s Flight, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, and Snow White’s Scary Adventures, among other attractions. And what little girl goes to Disneyland and doesn’t meet her favorite Disney princess? Walt Disney’s feature films animating fairytales along with movies Disney made after his passing like The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Beauty and the Beast defined important roles in the Disney parks.
3. Acquisitions
Image © Disney
In the past 10 years, Disney has placed itself in the business of owning icons. It bought Pixar in 2006 at a value of $7.4 billion, famously making Steve Jobs the majority shareholder. Since Toy Story was released in 1995, computer-animated films began dominating the film animation market, and characters like Woody and Buzz Lightyear and Nemo and Wall-E were becoming favorites of children. Disney recognized the shift and began to first distribute and then buy out Pixar.
Now Pixar characters and concepts are major attractions at the parks, with themed areas like A Bug’s Land, Cars Land, Pixar Place, and Toy Story Playland. Not to mention one of my favorite attractions as a child, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at the Magic Kingdom!
Marvel and Star Wars are more recent acquisitions. Marvel Entertainment was purchased for $4.24 billion by the Walt Disney Company in 2009, after Disney saw the success of franchises like Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America. Since the purchase Marvel Studios has gone on to make two billion dollar movies (The Avengers and Iron Man 3) and two other major successes (Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier).
However, the Marvel Universe journey to the Disney parks has not been a smooth one. At last, Marvel Characters have started appearing at the parks. Also, as Theme Park Tourist covered recently, the Iron Man Experience is being built in Hong Kong Disneyland for a late 2016 debut and The Marvel Experience is touring around North America this year.
The Marvel icons, from Iron Man to Thor to Spider-Man to the X-Men, will have a significant impact on the Disney parks whenever they arrive. Their presence is highly anticipated and will bring a big boost to the Disney theme park experience.
In 2012, the Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, mainly to gain ownership of the Star Wars franchise. Not only will that result in a new Star Wars trilogy, but the saga is already influencing the Disney parks. Tomorrowland is being remodeled based on Star Wars, so we’ll probably be seeing Luke, Leia, Han, Yoda, and more in Disneyland, Walt Disney World, etc.
Disney owes its success in large part to its iconic characters. Mickey Mouse and company, the Disney-fied fairy tales, and the Pixar characters have defined much of the Disney parks so far. It will be exciting to see how new stars like the Marvel and Star Wars characters will acclimate to their new home. It’s clear that Disney is intent that its parks be filled with the world’s biggest icons, and that suggests a bright future.
