Tiana’s Bayou Journey speeds in direction of completion in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, getting into the house stretch of the transformation earlier than the reimagined experience’s Summer season 2024 opening. With the transformation wrapping up, Imagineering has shared names and backstories for the cute animals within the attraction. Now we have particulars & idea artwork, plus our personal proposed new names for the critter crew.
Let’s begin with the official particulars through Disney. Within the bayou, Princess Tiana is on the brink of throw an enormous get together, however there’s been a little bit of a mix-up between Prince Naveen and Louis. Uh oh — the princess instantly finds herself in want of a band. All-new Disney characters are being created for Tiana’s Bayou Journey and that’s the place the critters are available in.
Even with the richest roux in your gumbo and probably the most scrumptious beignets, a real Mardi Gras celebration isn’t full with out music. We’ll comply with Tiana and Louis into the bayou in a last-minute seek for this important lacking ingredient for her get together — musical critters!
Within the first critter encounter, we’ll uncover a gaggle of critter musicians taking part in a rendition of one in all our favourite songs from “The Princess and the Frog,” “Gonna Take You There.” This raucous Zydeco musical recipe of fiddle, accordion, washboard, and different instrument voices may have you singing alongside as you float down the river below dancing fireflies.
The acquainted melody is being performed on charming makeshift devices constructed from pure supplies and a few human-made discovered objects. However who’s behind this critter band? Meet a few of the cute musicians and get to know them somewhat extra.
Byhalia the Beaver – Byhalia doesn’t simply construct dams; she helps construct musical devices utilizing pure supplies from the bayou. As a strong-willed percussionist, it’s protected to say Byhalia is the gutsbeat of the band, in addition to a pure designer and engineer.
Gritty the Rabbit – All the time prepared to dig somewhat deeper to assist others, Gritty performs the washboard (a discovered car license plate) with a high-energy aptitude. It’s the right instrument for somebody who’s usually overzealous and digs to alleviate her nerves.
Beau the Opossum – Seeing limitless prospects, nobody finds extra marvel within the bayou and the sounds of zydeco music than Beau. All she is aware of is magnificence, particularly her personal. You will discover her plucking out the low notes together with her upright gourd bass, which in fact, entails some musical dexterity together with her tail.
Apollo the Raccoon – Apollo loves remodeling deserted objects into works of musical artwork – like his squeezebox. He’s stuffed with power and storytelling, particularly concerning the objects he finds within the bayou. He’s notably shut with Rufus and appreciates Rufus’ calm demeanor.
Rufus the Turtle – Rufus could also be a turtle, however he’s fast to leap into rhythm along with his harmonica. He’s additionally the primary to hitch in on new adventures! He’s real and honest however might come throughout as somewhat sarcastic at occasions along with his ordinary sighing. Rufus loves happening adventures with Apollo.
Timoléon the Otter – He’s the eldest of the band, however Timoléon’s fiddle-playing is impressed by all of the ‘children’ he spends his time round whereas within the bayou. When he’s not sawing out a jig, he’s well-known for telling tales of days way back about his explorations of each nook of the bayou.
Along with these gifted new associates, Tiana wonders who else we would uncover within the bayou. Extra on that quickly, within the second installment of brand-new unique Disney characters coming to Tiana’s Bayou Journey. Extra excellent news: if you want you had a critter good friend of your individual, you’re in luck–Beau, Apollo and Rufus will quickly be obtainable within the type of huggable plushies so that you can buy.
There are lots of Imagineers and companions who’re bringing these cute critters to life.
Meet Laura West, a lead idea designer with Walt Disney Imagineering, and the creator of those cute critters:
In collaboration with Walt Disney Animation Studios, Laura fastidiously crafted the brand-new characters that you simply’ll see within the attraction.
Take a look at her detailed artistic course of under:
In the case of commentary, you may assume “information” like this wouldn’t warrant a lot evaluation. And also you’d be very improper. To start with, we’ve got additional elaboration on how the stage-setting within the queue will tie into the attraction’s story. As a reminder, the new backstory for the queue of Tiana’s Bayou Journey was first introduced final 12 months.
Throughout the queue, friends will uncover that she continues to develop her enterprise with Tiana’s Meals, reworked an growing old salt mine, constructed a beloved model, and are getting ready to throw a tremendous get together throughout Mardi Gras season. There’s been a little bit of a mix-up with the get together preparations, Tiana invitations us to fulfill her at Tiana’s Meals to assist with the lacking ingredient for the get together. From what it feels like, that’s principally the catalyst for the experience.
Many followers expressed concern or disappointment about this backstory. Whereas it doesn’t get me in the slightest degree excited, I additionally don’t assume it actually issues. It sounds just like the backstory shall be largely relegated to the queue of Tiana’s Bayou Journey, setting the stage for the motion to come back. As with different queue backstories, it’s one thing most friends will in all probability miss.
From its reveal over a 12 months in the past, the “lacking ingredient” story conceit struck me very a lot as a MacGuffin. That means that it could not matter to the moment-by-moment motion on the experience, and would find yourself being friendship or household or love or magic or one thing silly that didn’t actually matter (to the experience, not in life). Let’s simply hoping the lacking ingredient will not be Beau the Opossum within the literal sense. This story is ready in Florida, not [insert state you don’t like where people eat possum]!
Joking apart, it now appears doubtless that the lacking ingredient is the musical critters, however within the figurative sense. We’re not going to eat them in a gumbo. (Proper…?) No less than in line with this announcement. It’s all the time doable that there are extra lacking elements, within the literal sense, however that appears uncertain. Sorry, turmeric followers.
With this information, I hope it turns into painfully apparent to everybody that the “lacking ingredient” completely is a MacGuffin, and is a superbly acceptable one. (If MacGuffins are adequate for Hitchcock, they’re adequate for Disney boat rides.) Who doesn’t need an excuse to board a ship and rock out with musical mammals?!
This additionally is sensible and is unsurprising to me, given how distinguished random ‘cute critters’ with no Music of the South affiliation had been within the unique Splash Mountain. This makes full sense because it doesn’t mess with the components of the underlying attraction all that a lot, and retains quite a lot of what followers thought made it particular.
Tiana’s Bayou Journey recycling quite a lot of the present Brer Critter Audio Animatronics makes full sense–quite a lot of these Audio Animatronics in Splash Mountain had been recycled from America Sings at Disneyland and cloned for Magic Kingdom; they’d nothing to do with Splash Mountain’s supply materials.
We’ve been saying all alongside that these AAs are doubtless be given new life as a part of an “expanded universe” for the Princess and the Frog. (Recycling may be the improper phrase right here–I wouldn’t be stunned if the previous AAs had been so antiquated that they’re being changed solely. It’s my understanding that Imagineering has been/shall be swapping out quite a lot of Audio Animatronics for modernized ones throughout the parks.)
Beforehand, I wrote that one of many issues I cherished about Splash Mountain was all the critters, completely unrelated to the story being instructed, who inhabited Chickapin Hill. Why had been they there? What was their deal? They weren’t simply nameless animals that spontaneously gathered to observe Brer Rabbit’s try kidnapping.
The truth is, the alligator band–The Swamp Boys–had a live performance poster within the queue. It could’ve been nice to know extra about these critters, even when wholly immaterial to the attraction itself. Whereas wholly pointless, it could’ve been added coloration, world-building particulars for the keen fan. (I additionally vividly recall inspecting all the birdhouses as a child, questioning who/what lived inside.) I actually hope Tiana’s Bayou Journey tells extra of the story of the expanded universe of those critters.
So it in all probability goes with out saying that I’m fully on board with giving these critters names and backstories. If any of you’re towards this, my view is that you simply’re simply nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking, greedy at straws looking for something to hate about this. It’s not just like the animals having title and so forth that’ll be unknown to 99% of friends hurts something. It’s simply lore and element for diehard Disney followers to savor–nothing extra.
With that stated, I’ll do some “nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking” of my very own. I’m sorry, however quite a lot of these names are simply not good. All people is aware of that cute animals want cuteness and cadence. Listed below are my proposed new names:
Gritty the Rabbit – Gritty is the title of the mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers. He has taken such full possession of the title Gritty and embodied its persona that, henceforth, no character shall be named Gritter. May as properly name this “Oprah the Rabbit.” As an alternative, I’d suggest Rufus the Rabbit.
Beau the Opossum – Beau will not be an opossum title. It’s simply not. Have these Imagineers even met an opossum?! Apollo the Opossum is an efficient match if we’re searching for a script-flipping title. Peyton or Paisley the Possum are additionally good ones.
Apollo the Raccoon – The one choice right here is Rackety Racoon, carrying over the Critter Nation Cinematic Universe from Tokyo Disneyland, the place Rackety Racoon is a former moonshine maker who had an unlucky brewing accident (thus creating the entire space, per lore) and now operates a scorching canine and ice cream stand. What a baller.
Rufus the Turtle – One other apparent one: Timoléon the Turtle. It’s unbelievable what number of good names Imagineering got here up with…after which assigned to the improper animal. Timoléon is simply objectively higher as a turtle (or chameleon) title. That is frequent information.
Byhalia the Beaver – This one is ideal as-is, assuming I’m saying “Byhalia” accurately–no assure there. I’d additionally settle for Beau the Beaver.
Timoléon the Otter – Apollo may be a powerful otter title–has an excellent movement to it. However I’d go together with Ozzie the Otter or Outlaw the Otter. (You’ve heard concerning the otter stealing surfboards, proper? They’re actual jerks.)
These are simply off the highest of my head after just one cup of espresso this morning. I’ll revisit this essential subject sooner or later with even higher names, particularly for the turtle (a troublesome one since Yertle and Squirtle have already got laid declare to the perfect turtle names).
In the end, I’m very excited by this information. Maybe way more than is merited. However I really like lore and critters, in addition to the thought of Disney elevating supporting gamers into greater roles. Because of this I’m such a fan of Lieutenant Bek in Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. It’s additionally why I really like the Tokyo Disneyland model of Critter Nation, which already does this with ‘kawaii creatures’ having nothing to do with Music of the South. And it’s why I needed extra of that with Tiana’s Bayou Journey from the outset.
There’s one other new wrinkle for me, personally, and that’s having an animal-obsessed (stuffed and actual) daughter. I’ve truly been searching for a raccoon plush for her, and might’t imagine I didn’t assume to do the identical with an opossum! My solely criticism on the stuffed character entrance is that there’s no love for Byhalia the Beaver or Outlaw the Otter. Even so, we’ll completely be shopping for these characters for Megatron. Her stuffed rabbit, Benedict the Bunny, at present is working time beyond regulation and will use some reinforcements.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Ideas on the lovable critters coming to Tiana’s Bayou Journey? Any new title proposals for the added animals? Does this make you are feeling higher, worse, or about the identical with the “lacking ingredient” MacGuffin? How a lot of the present attraction (e.g. random musical critter AAs) are you anticipating to seem within the reimagined model? Excited for Tiana’s Bayou Journey? Agree or disagree with our assessments about this venture? Preserve the feedback civil, as this isn’t the place for politically-charged arguing, tradition wars, antagonism, private assaults, or low-cost photographs.
