Disney has announced (via the Disney Parks Blog) that a joke from the 1960’s about pirates selling off women is “no longer funny” and is being removed from Pirates attractions across the world, starting with Paris this year, then in 2018 in California and Florida.
The scene in question has been around since the attraction opened in Disneyland in 1967. It depicts a group of women on an auction and a pirate yells “we wants the redhead!”
So, Disney is turning the scene from one where the woman is being auctioned off, to one where she’s a pirate herself. The concept art depicts the redhead as a pirate doing the looting and pillaging as well. This is a great move because Disney will also be able to sell merchandise featuring the new female pirate (in a ride that currently, features only women cooking, smiling, dead or being sold off).
Many people believe this scene is one of the most iconic scenes in all the park, and that 2017’s hyper-sensitivity is to blame once again. What do you think, OMG? Is Disney right to change the animatronics?
There were female pirates during the “Golden Age” of piracy including some very famous captains. Why not reflect that in the ride?
It’s about time. Eff Disney, but they’re right. It’s not funny. Not with the prevalence of current modern-day slavery where most of the slaves are women and children.
Hasn’t anyone ever heard of Mary Read, Anne Bonney, or Grace O’Malley? Rachel Wall, Ching Shih, Sister Ping? Successful pirates all, and you didn’t mess with those bi*ches.
I’m thrilled they are changing this. Selling ugly women to be raped and enslaved, which is what the ride shows now, is hardly something I would want any female in my life to think on as entertaining. They already took out the naked woman in the barrel with the pirate threatening her. Jack Sparrow is in there now. So change is good in this case and not unprecedented.
Good on Disney for making the change. Though I’m with @Rad, I loved the ride until everything became about Jack Sparrow scenery and animatronics. It’s a light-hearted, fun ride and this change will keep that intact.
I don’t see a problem with the change, but I’ve never been on the ride myself so I don’t really have any real attachment to it.
Good to know.
LOVED the ride… until they added the “Johnny Depp/Jack Sparrow” movie tie-in.
In the words of the Almighty Yogurt; “Moichandising! Moichandising! Moichandising!”