スプラッシュ・マウンテン、黒人プリンセス映画で改装へ　米ディズニー

【ロサンゼルスＡＦＰ＝時事】米ウォルト・ディズニー・カンパニーは25日、米国内のテーマパークの人気アトラクション「スプラッシュ・マウンテン」を、同社史上初の黒人プリンセス映画をテーマにリニューアルすると発表した。同アトラクションについては、テーマとなっている映画が人種差別的な内容を含むとして、改装を求める署名が行われていた。（写真はディズニー映画『プリンセスと魔法のキス』の主人公の声を務めた女優のアニカ・ノニ・ローズ。米カリフォルニア州バーバンクで開かれた同作のワールドプレミアで）
　発表によると、カリフォルニア州のディズニーランドとフロリダ州のディズニー・ワールドのスプラッシュ・マウンテンが、黒人プリンセスのティアナを主人公とする『プリンセスと魔法のキス』（２００９年）を基に「完全に再創造」される。
　同社は「新しいコンセプトはインクルーシブ（包摂的）で、ゲスト全員が共感でき、触発されるもので、当社テーマパークを毎年訪れる数千万人の人々の多様性を反映したものだ」と表明した。
　これまでスプラッシュ・マウンテンのテーマとなっていた『南部の唄』（１９４６年）は、南北戦争後の米南部での暮らしを人種差別的なステレオタイプと共に描いたとして長く批判されてきた。
　米国では５月末、黒人のジョージ・フロイドさんが警察の拘束下で死亡した事件を機に、人種差別に抗議する大規模なデモが全土に拡大。人種差別の歴史を直視する動きが広がり、各地で歴史上の人物の銅像や記念碑が撤去されている。
　ディズニーは「スプラッシュ・マウンテンのテーマを変えることは、現在特に重要なこと」としつつも、リニューアルには昨年から取り組んできたと強調。長年にわたり各アトラクションの改装を行ってきたと説明した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/06/26-14:25）

Splash Mountain rides at Disney theme parks will be rebranded with a film featuring the company's first black princess, it said Thursday, after petitions drew attention to the log flume's racist history
The popular Splash Mountain attractions at Disneyland and Disney World are based on the controversial 1946 film Song of the South -- a movie long accused of peddling racist tropes about the post-Civil War South.
They will be completely reimagined to tell the story of 2009's The Princess and the Frog, which starred an African-American Princess Tiana.
The new concept is inclusive -? one that all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by, and it speaks to the diversity of the millions of people who visit our parks each year, Disney said in a statement.
The move comes at a time when historic statues and monuments are being removed across the country, as Americans grapple with the legacy of racism.
Vast nationwide anti-racism protests followed African American George Floyd's death in police custody last month.
Disney said the retheming of Splash Mountain is of particular importance today, but emphasized that it had been working on the changes since last year, and has a long history of updating attractions.
For instance, a scene depicting women on the auction block was recently removed from Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.
It is important that our guests be able to see themselves in the experiences we create, said Carmen Smith, creative development and inclusive strategies executive at Walt Disney Imagineering.
No timeline was given for when the changes at Disney's California and Florida parks will be completed. Both are currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Disney World in Orlando is set to reopen mid-July, while the return of Disneyland near Los Angeles was indefinitely postponed Wednesday.
Song of the South, best known today for its Oscar-winning tune Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, has never been released on home video in the United States. It was excluded from Disney's recently launched streaming platform Disney+.
In March, then-CEO Bob Iger said that even with a disclaimer the film was just not appropriate in today's world and likely to cause offense.
The animation is accused of glorifying the plantation world of the old Deep South, and crudely stereotyping its black characters.
An online petition calling the film's history and storyline extremely problematic, and demanding the Splash Mountain ride be rebranded, drew over 21,000 signatures.
The ride's new storyline will be set immediately after the final kiss of The Princess and the Frog, Disney said.
Anika Noni Rose, who voiced Princess Tiana, said it was really exciting to know that Princess Tiana's presence in both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom will finally be fully realized.