Just watched the last episode and I literally burst out laughing when the narration called Flight of Passage “Soarin’ Over Pandora”
I wish they had the more thrilling version in one of the theaters. Too bad James Cameron tamed it down.Just watched the last episode and I literally burst out laughing when the narration called Flight of Passage “Soarin’ Over Pandora”
Just watched the last episode and I literally burst out laughing when the narration called Flight of Passage “Soarin’ Over Pandora”
Tbh, FLE, should’ve been covered in Episode 5. I understand skipping TSL, but there was a lot of behind the scenes controversy with FLE that would’ve been interesting to hear about.Remember when some argued that FoP shouldn't be compared to Soarin'? I remember.
I dug the honesty from Rhode during that segment, admitting the difficulty of bringing the property to life in a theme park.
Also - I chuckled on how they ignored Toy Story Land and FLE.
Tbh, FLE, should’ve been covered in Episode 5. I understand skipping TSL, but there was a lot of behind the scenes controversy with FLE that would’ve been interesting to hear about.
Although, I think Staggs had a lot to do with that if I remember and he sure as hell wasnt doing an interview for this.
Interesting hearing them talk about the left over content. I could see lots of little spinoff docuseries' happening undering The Imagineering Story name. Something Like The Imagineering Story: Disneyland (or any number of things). It would leave the original series as an overarching look at Imagineering while these series would be able to do more of a deep dive/focus on Disneyland, WDW, DLP, TDL, HKDL, SHDL and DCL all individually.
More Imagineering Content Coming to Disney+? Podcast Hints at New Episodes - Inside the Magic
Are we getting more epsiodes about Walt Disney Imagineering on Disnney+? Leslie Iwerks and Bob Weis hint that another series could be coming.insidethemagic.net
It's funny that they can admit in the past where they went wrong but can't admit anything within the last ten years (like Pixar Peir), its all great to them which I guess money wise it is but I feel like the period from after Carsland until Rise of the Resistance was pretty meh for most parks...things now were about to heat up but with everything happening who knows where it goesI finally marathoned this whole thing.
For the bulk of its extensive running time, it's an absolutely fantastic look at the design and execution of the most storied theme parks and attractions on the planet, presented in a glossy -- but relatively frank and honest -- way. The amount of archival footage here is nothing less than a goldmine for fans, and the way it highlights the numerous personalities who had their hands in the creation of Disney’s themed entertainment is very important for posterity. The evident passion and emotion on display from these folks is quite heartwarming to see.
Things do sputter out in the last two episodes, however, where it becomes clear that making Bob Iger’s decisions look as good as possible was a major goal, to the detriment of the overall package; Iger’s legacy with the theme park side of Disney’s business will (in time, I believe) be viewed as incredibly mixed, not the resounding triumph of wisdom and good taste which it is depicted as here. The fluffery starts to come out in full force, and any discussion of internal conflicts is buried. Obviously, nobody should have been expecting this to slam the regime that greenlit this project, but a bit more objectivity -- and fewer pulled punches -- would have been greatly appreciated. The multi-billion dollar boondoggle of “Next Gen”/"My Magic+” and the stagnation of the Florida parks from 2009 to 2017 should carry at least as much weight as the discussions of the creative and/or financial underperformance of the two Paris parks and California Adventure, but since the latter can be pinned on Michael Eisner and not Bob Iger, the former are ignored.
So that closes things out on a more sour note, but everything leading up to the mid-2000s through 2010s section of this massive documentary highlights the superb fusion of creativity and practical application that has defined the very best work of the Imagineers since the 1950s.
Overall, essential viewing.