In the two-and-a-half-minute video, Rohde talks about the mission of Disney's Animal Kingdom, for which he was one of Disney's creative leaders back when the company was developing the park in the 1990s.
"If you think about the intrinsic value of nature, transformation through adventure, and personal call to action — these are the value of Animal Kingdom," Rohde said. "But if you say them again, those are the themes of the film Avatar. So Avatar and Animal Kingdom will nest into each other very, very neatly."
In addition to creating an immersive practical environment for the moon of Pandora, which was depicted through digital animation in James Cameron's 2009 film, Avatar, the new land will offer two attractions for visitors: Flight of Passage, a Soarin'-style flying theater attraction where visitors will fly on mountain banshees, and Na'vi River Journey, an indoor boat ride through a bioluminescent forest, complete with a Na'vi animatronic.
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And if you do not like the IP, just treat it as an excellent original land. You do not need an IP to create a fantastic attraction or land (see Splash Mountain, POTC and to some extent Carsland). Judging from the pictures, Avatarland will be one of the visually most impressive lands that Disney has ever built. As long as the attractions deliver, it will be a big hit.
Pandora is a natural fit in DAK requiring no further explanation - but I enjoyed the interview nonetheless. Rohde must be fired up to be finally putting the finishing touches on the park he started building back in the early 90's - and hopefully he is looking forward to doing something about that broken down Yeti next!
Personally, I've been excited to visit the world of Avatar since Disney announced the expansion years ago. I won't deny that I loved the movie when I saw it a half dozen times on the big screen, and I am very much looking forward to loving the new land at DAK (and the film sequels). CANNOT WAIT!
WWoHP Diagon Alley set the bar nice and high on immersion. You don't have to love the Avatar movie to feel wonder at a bio-luminescent natural wonderland. It fascinates me to think there is so much I don't already know. The unknown will be a nice change and I'm looking forward to exploring and discovering this new land one day.
I Reply: Show him the two teaser videos that Disney dropped and explain he can experience a 3D Imax flight on the back of a banshee and a journey down a river on another world. I imagine that would clarify things quickly. Thus, not really a hurdle.
I'm thrilled that James Cameron and Avatar can bring attention to environmental issues, while making it fun, colorful, and full of adventure. That's the best way to get young people involved in things that will affect them much more than it'll affect someone like me, who won't be around long enough to see the planet's destruction.
I still haven't seen Avatar.
Now as far as merchandise goes, if they start selling ponytail wigs with the hair sex piece I'm gonna lose it...
Huh? Avatar was a medorcre, over long ripoff of Disney's Pocahontas. I don't see why if you don't like the film it makes you a "climate-skeptic". That is a silly conclusion, it just wasn't a vey good movie, that's all. Sheesh!
Honestly I can't believe so many people are so against this and why they doubt the IP. Like someone else pointed out, it was the highest-grossing film of all time. When the movie came out it was everywhere and it was not usual to hear from people who had seen the movie over 10 times. I don't see how anyone can watch Avatar and not be sucked into the amazing visuals and the amazing story.
Also, I love the comment about detractors being climate skeptics from Gabriel above. In addition though, there are always contrarians to anything new. There will always be those that hate any form of success, that enjoy seeing efforts like this fail, and will go against anything main-stream for no apparent reason.
"VIEIRA: Yeah there's a love story and also there's a message about, you know, greed and when people want a lot of things, imperialism. All of that.
CAMERON: And how that tends to destroy the environment and so on. And here they are doing the same thing on another pristine planet that we've done here on earth. So it's a way, sort of looking back at ourselves from this other world and seeing what we're doing here."
Still, it wasn't unenjoyable as a movie and it was more love story as he also said.
"All of my movies are chick flicks. I can't, I can't help it. Aliens was a chick flick. So was, so were the Terminator films, you know? And this film is no different because I love strong female characters. I love writing complex women. And even though this is Sam Worthington's character's story and we follow him, we have these amazing women in the story as well and there's a love story."
Avatar is Love at times of War ;)
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The success or failure of this land has very little to do with the movie. The movie helps, but doesn't doom or praise this land.
Lets be honest as well. There was nothing of real value in the area that is now Pandora (except Festival of the Lion King which is in its rightful place)
Also, it fits in "now" (the after-the-year-2000 Disney reality), because serious edutainment is dieing all over. It's step by step scrapped out of Epcot (both parts of the park), it's scrapped out of the "Studios" (fake anyway, if you think you'll (still) learn something about moviemaking there), and DAK is no different in this respect.
Movie IP is taking over EVERYWHERE. Not even "Disney" movies.. because Disney is no longer the respected filmmaker it once was, it's rather the biggest distributor of productions from "whatever franchise they can grasp upon". These franchisers do have the FINAL decision power at the theme parks, now. Signing franchising contract equals also receiving an "important" theme park section. (Read : win-win) Thus, they are dumped anywhere you can find/make space.
Avatar > quite a lot of space left over in DAK ? > perfect, drop it there. End of the story.
:-)
Huge cities unable to feed themselves anymore ?
(Ref. "..their massive city dwelling populations.." )
Have a look at data from in depth archeological demographic field studies, like with the Astec.
http://www.public.asu.edu/~mesmith9/1-CompleteSet/MES-EtAl-94-YauSize.pdf
> pg 8
Exageration is excellent for best seller books (making money always is easier with fantasy..), but does not hold a tie with scientific research reality.
etc.
Apart from plain fantasy, be more carefull with hypotheses as well. Pinning down un-proven hypotheses as truth, is exactly what scientists are NOT doing...
Cheers
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