February 14, 2007 - It sounded odd enough when it was first announced: Disney was turning its Pirates of the Caribbean ride into a movie. The studio was trying the theme-park-attraction-to-movie-conversion with other properties as well, such as the not very successful The Country Bears and Haunted Mansion films. But when Pirates was released, it wasn't just successful — it was huge. As was its sequel last year, and as no doubt will be its third entry this summer.
So now Disney has plans to make its Jungle Cruise ride into a movie, with Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar reportedly in the running to write the screenplay. But what other Magic Kingdom theme park attractions could be turned into movies? There are plenty to choose from, but — as anyone who's actually seen The Country Bears can attest to — it's not necessarily an easy conversion. We've picked five of our favorite rides below, and when you're done checking out our take on how to make them into films, e-mail IGN Movies and let us know what you'd like to see!
"it's a small world"
The Ride: The most famous of the Disney rides, it's a small world's eponymous theme song (written by the Sherman brothers) is said to be the most performed and translated tune on the planet. The ride takes park visitors on a boat cruise "around the world" as different regions of the globe are on display with animatronic international cutie-pies singing the song, oftentimes with localized and "native" spins (in Spanish for Latin America, with indigenous instruments for Africa, and so on).
The Movie: Most Disney films based on the company's rides tend to be family fare securely grounded in the action-comedy realm, and it would seem that's the safest bet to continue with if the studio wants to draw the big crowds who remember their theme park rides with such affection. Fully aware of the ride's cheese factor, the makers of the it's a small world film might go the Agent Cody Banks route, with an elite band of secret agent kids from around the world — known only as "The Small Ones" — teaming up to take down a global threat (go for something "topical," like an anti-environmentalist for example).
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The Crossover: The obvious international flavor of the ride can be a main through-line in the film, while the big action set piece finale can take place during a "Youth Day" event where kids from all over come together in their native garb, playing native music, sharing native food, and so on. The Small Ones are hidden among these children and use region-specific weapons hidden beneath their nationalistic and ceremonial garb to fight the cartoonish henchmen of the bad guy (Japanese nunchucks, Native American bows and arrows, etc). Of course, all this fighting would be very PG-rated and quite harmless to all involved. Think battle scenes that end with lots of falling off of high precipices and landing undamaged in trucks full of feathers.
The Cast and Crew: Who better to play lead agent Sherman than hot-kid-actor-of-the-hour Abigail Breslin. And lots of "international" celebrity faces can show up in cameos to illustrate the film's message of global unity (Penélope Cruz, Kal Penn, Jackie Chan, Djimon Hounsou, etc.) Of course, the infamous song might be rerecorded by Justin Timberlake and scaled down to be called simply "smallWorld." JT does know a thing or two about working with Disney, after all.
"Big Thunder Mountain Railroad"
The Ride: An Old West themed ride, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a "runaway" railcar rollercoaster that takes its participants through rock slides, over mountains, into caverns, and around floods — all while seemingly out of control. The setting is patterned after Arizona's Monument Valley, where sites such as big horned sheep, dinosaur bones, and sulfur pools can be glimpsed as the ride careens over hills and into valleys, with no "conductor" onboard!
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The Movie: The film would obviously have to be a Western, but perhaps it could take its cue from a picture like Buster Keaton's The General which spends a portion of its running time devoted simply to an extended train chase sequence. One character, a passenger with a hidden agenda, turns out to be the cause of the out-of-control train, while another passenger takes it upon himself to save the day. Of course, the movie could go one of two ways here: It could take the classic Western approach, with a John Wayne style hero and a basic action-adventure premise, or it could be more of a comedy a la Wild Wild West.
The Crossover: The Monument Valley locale would be the natural setting for the film, while many of the iconic sites from the ride itself would have to be recreated in the film (the sheep, bones and so on). And of course, an Old West themed soundtrack would also tie things together nicely.
The Cast and Crew: If Disney could land Brendan Fraser in the hero role, then why not bring in his old Mummy director Stephen Sommers to helm? If that were the case, then obviously the picture would take on a huge, heavily CGI aspect. And for the title song, hire recent Grammy winners the Dixie Chicks, who have more than proved their crossover appeal to mainstream, non-country music audiences in recent years.
