Every now and then, a theme park attraction comes along that illustrates the warning that one can have too much of a good thing.
Consider Disney’s announcement last week about its plans for a new animation class experience at Walt Disney World. Disney stages Animation Academy attractions at many of its theme parks around the world, including at Disney California Adventure. In each, a cast member leads a step-by-step drawing class where guests learn how to sketch a Disney character.
Sign up for our Park Life newsletter and find out what’s new and interesting every week at Southern California’s theme parks. Subscribe here.Guests get to keep their drawings, and those have become beloved free souvenirs for countless Disney fans around the world. Now, Disney is planning to bring animation classes back to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida this summer, in the form of a new production called “Olaf Draws!”
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Disney fans love Olaf. I also love the idea of Disney showing fans more of the creative geniuses who help bring their favorite characters to life on screen. But putting them into an Animation Academy show runs the risk of over-producing what has been a brilliantly simple concept.
The whole point of Disney’s animation class is to show guests that, in a place of multi-million dollar wonders, the art at the heart of it all is simple. It starts with just a pencil, and piece of paper … and you. With the right instruction, each of us can create a character that delights all of us.
That might be the most empowering message in any Disney theme park, which is why Animation Academy has become a cult favorite among Disney fans. But wrapping this lesson with an expensive animatronic and a pre-recorded show with a Hollywood insider distracts from that message.
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Anyone can watch a pre-recorded drawing class online. But having a live instructor helps Disney’s theme park animation classes feel like a special and unique experience. It promotes the idea that art starts with something personal and handcrafted, to borrow the title of the recent making-of-Disneyland documentary.
Animation Academy does not need plussing with animatronics or fancy videos. Its simplicity makes it magical. Here’s hoping that the Disneyland Resort will leave its animation classes alone and never send its live instructors packing.
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