Subsonic Radio

I'm sitting here listening to the full audio of the TGMR (thanks Casrin! ), and got to thinking about riding it a few weeks ago, and how 'tired' it seemed. We were talking about how it was in need of an update.

Over the course of the audio track, though, I started thinking about what kinds of updates would be neat in there, and what possibilities there might be without the tie-ins to MGM (for whatever influence that had).

I think, apart from updating some/most of the AA figures, the Star Wars movies have a number of scenes that'd make good ride-throughs. Maybe even change up the early part of the ride, so that instead of a gangster or cowboy/girl taking over the ride, you'd have a Jedi (okay, maybe not...). I think Pirates of the Caribbean would have been a excellent fit, had they not already shoe-horned Jack et al into the Magic Kingdom.

I think the Footlight Parade part could be replaced with something a little more active. Maybe Tarzan could be swapped out. Certainly they could do better justice to Mickey & Disney than the sad movie screen Fantasia part they have now. Part of me would love to see something involving Gone With the Wind, or a ride-through of Citizen Kane's basement...

I'm curious; if you were in charge, and licensing and money were no object (yay fantasy! ), what kinds of movies would you add? What would you most like to see updated in there? Or do you think it's fine the way it is?

Well don't know how much they will want to tie-in to MGM after officially changing the name.

It would be cool to introduce some new scenes into the TGMR. I feel it has gone stale.

I would like to see a more diverse selection to the movies represented in the TGMR. But I'm sure some of that is hampered by the licensing, and politics.

Rich

Disregarding money and the MGM contracts (whatever they may entail)...

I really like the genres the GMR uses now because it covers many types of movies. I have come up with two approaches that I might use. The first would be not to make scenes about specific movies, but just include many films pertaining to a genre in the scene (similar to the gangster and western scenes). The second way I would update the ride would be to replace dated scenes, but still keep the replacements within the same genre. Some ideas include...

Musicals - Grease, Phantom of the Opera, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, High School Musical (just kidding ) Mary Poppins would definitley stay

I don't know many good Gangster or Westerns so I'll leave that to someone else . Godfather maybe? Or is that already in there?

Science Fiction - hmm... Universal has a monopoly on this one. This is tougher than I thought

Indiana Jones would stay

Tarzan could become Narnia or Lord of the Rings or something. I don't really know what type of genre Tarzan is to begin with. This is really falling apart in my face.

Ah! Phewy! I don't know. Maybe they should just update the narration.

Wait Wait! Awesome idea for Fantasia! Intead of just small film clip of Sorcerer Mickey, why not a whole room to depict the Animation genre. The walls could be made of the same stuff Animator's Palate is made of and as the vehicles move through the Animation covering the walls could transform to color .

I think it would be neat if they redid the animatronics and made them all life like. Like the Wicked Witch scene in the Wizard of OZ. I know it would cost money, but imagine how cool it would be if the animatronics moved, spoke and acted out a scene in their famous movies instead of the repeated action only.

"Audio-Animatronics are just another dimension in the animation we have been doing all our life."
---Walter Elias Disney

I think a good start would be to change the movie montage at the end of the ride. This should not be too difficult, especially for a movie studio. You would think that they would want to showcase their own movies a little better. I'm not saying that they should eliminate anything because most of the movies highlighted are classics but a few new ones could be added and the overall presentation made to look a little fresher.

I'm sitting here listening to the full audio of the TGMR (thanks Casrin!)

No problem; anytime!

I wonder what it must be like to ride TGMR and be the younger generation now. While Aliens vs Predator is out in theatres and would then provide some context for the original film, Alien, it does all still feel a bit "dated." 1980s and older films... they're all great, but...

But then again, it's the GREAT Movie Ride. So shouldn't the films included automatically be "great"? I don't see many movies these days, but from previews alone, I'm not sure many more recent films are deserving of being immortalizing in animatronic Disney goodness!

It just makes me laugh, when listening to this track, as the ride vehicle says, "Please remain seated while your guide is away. Your guide will return momentarily." As if the ride would know the guide could veer out at any moment!

But then again, it's the GREAT Movie Ride. So shouldn't the films included automatically be "great"? I don't see many movies these days, but from previews alone, I'm not sure many more recent films are deserving of being immortalizing in animatronic Disney goodness!

True, it seems that "GREAT" movies are few and far between now days. Even some of my favorites would not necessarily be considered worthy of TGMR.

I'm not sure that any new scenes are needed. I can't think of a recent movie I'd single out for inclusion in GMR. They just need to go in and spruce it up a little. Fix the broken effects.

Realistically, they aren't going to put new ARs in an old ride unless a sponsor decides to fott the bill in like they did for Spaceship Earth.

Come to think of it... no movie studio has made any GREAT original movies lately (except for pixar's). Most of the stuff is either based on books or a remake of a movie.

i would love s atar wars scene!!! I do think there have been some great movies in the past decade or so that can be added. There are so many movies and opinions of movies it would be impossible to please everyone, but some updates and changes can definetly be made here.

Cheshire Cat wrote:Musicals - Grease, Phantom of the Opera, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, High School Musical (just kidding ) Mary Poppins would definitley stay

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory would be a really cool room .. riding through the first part of the movie, where Augustus gets sucked up the tube? That has a lot of potential for a really vibrant scene.

Tarzan could become Narnia or Lord of the Rings or something. I don't really know what type of genre Tarzan is to begin with. This is really falling apart in my face.

I don't know about Tarzan's genre (adventure films? hmm), though I have to say a Lord of the Rings area would be really cool too. Lots of lush environments to recreate there. Though I suppose there's a danger of updating things too much, in terms of making the films too contemporary. I think LotR series should stand the test of time, though. I also can't think of a better adventure movie (or better looking one) at the moment. Plus, Aragorn animatronic!

Wait Wait! Awesome idea for Fantasia! Intead of just small film clip of Sorcerer Mickey, why not a whole room to depict the Animation genre. The walls could be made of the same stuff Animator's Palate is made of and as the vehicles move through the Animation covering the walls could transform to color .

I hate to say it, but the first thing I thought here was that'd be a really good place to put in a bunch of Pixar stuff. Sort of goes against the grain of the usual threads on Subsonic, but really if the ride is the history and development of movies, then the transition from Snow White to Toy Story should probably be in there somewhere.

Blackie Pueblo wrote:I think it would be neat if they redid the animatronics and made them all life like. Like the Wicked Witch scene in the Wizard of OZ. I know it would cost money, but imagine how cool it would be if the animatronics moved, spoke and acted out a scene in their famous movies instead of the repeated action only.

This'd be good enough for me, really. I still like a lot of the scenes as is, but some of the animatronics look pretty horrid these days. Sigourney Weaver's in the Alien part is particularly ratty. The alien's looking a little rough himself... though he did to start.

Having more variety in their actions would be good too. When we rode in December, the ride stopped when we were in the Casablanca scene; great movie and one of my favorites but hearing that same sequence over and over is a tad grating. Props to our guide for trying to come up with new trivia every time through though.

casrin wrote:But then again, it's the GREAT Movie Ride. So shouldn't the films included automatically be "great"? Wink I don't see many movies these days, but from previews alone, I'm not sure many more recent films are deserving of being immortalizing in animatronic Disney goodness!

I think we've hit on a few in here... though not all of them are newer than the ride itself, lol (Star Wars, Willy Wonka, etc). Lord of the Rings is probably the only one newer, really. And possibly Toy Story, if we're looking for ground-breaking entries only.

When I rode the ride last summer, we broke down in Munchkinland, so I got a gander of all the effects that could use some "sprucing." If it's worth it to show the love to the tiki birds, I think they should also do more than put band-aids and WD-40 on "The Great Movie Ride." Some of the animatronics need some serious updating (I've seen the new Capt. Jack, so I know what they're capable of now).

Oh, and I'm totally on board with updating the final clip reel - it really ages the ride.

Assuming the movie hasn't changed in some time, the montage at the end is still one of the best things at the ride. I suppose they'd have to add some stuff I object to, just so the kids have something to relate to, but since it's a survey of all movie history, the majority of it has got to be "dated". I can think of some decent candidates from recent blockbusters that are actually great films...Spider-Man 2 comes to mind. Less Disney is better than more if they insist of shoehorning in garbage like Sister Act.

I can't argue that at least a couple Pixar movies shouldn't be referenced there, although a little Ghibli love wouldn't kill them.

Updated AAs are a no-brainer. I might do something about the hijack business, if only because the CMs usually look so bored. And also because "surprise" gags only work once (twice in this instance if both sides are going).

Most of the scenes are still fine. It's not like Casablanca is any less good, popular, or important. Probably a new one should be added just to keep the kids interested, but I don't really trust them to pick a legitimately great film. I fear more pirates.

Frankly, I'd like it if they just fixed all the broken effects, cleaned everything up, and spruced up the tech, although that's all basically heresy these days.

In my opinion...
Most of the really good movies that have come out over the last decade or two have been made by Disney! And, most of the really popular ones are animated. So, I don't know how I would incorporate Hercules, Toy Story, or the Little Mermaid into the ride.

So, maybe it is best just to leave it the way it is!

Less Disney is better than more if they insist of shoehorning in garbage like Sister Act.

Agreed 100%. There were others in there that seemed out of place, but can't think of any now. Sister Act doesn't fit in with all of the classic films they cover in the montage. It was a good movie at best...

Might help to improve the quality of the film at the end as well.