Thursday, September 8, 2011

How to adapt a movie into a ride.

A lot of movies would make great rides, but we have to be careful.

If we faithfully translate a movie into a ride, it’ll be redundant. We’ll spend the whole ride remembering the movie, instead of being immersed in the movie.

It would be like if we went to a concert, hoping to hear this...


...but instead of hearing this...


...we heard this.


A ride that’s based on a movie must provide new insight into a familiar story.

It should use our foreknowledge as a shortcut. Since we already know the story, the ride doesn’t have to waste time explaining it. Instead, it should make us experience the movie from a different perspective.

That’s not an easy thing to do. There are two common mistakes, and there are two effective approaches.


Let’s discuss the mistakes first.


Knock-Off Rides.

If a ride provides insight into the movie that it’s based upon, but that insight is irrelevant or nonsensical, it’s nothing more than a knock-off.


"Teppich Fliegen," from Dingo Pictures' Aladin.

It’s impossible to be constructive with a Knock-Off Ride, because it’s based upon a flawed premise. The most constructive solution is to scrap everything and start afresh.

What a zany firing squad!!

Toy Story (Midway) Mania! is a Knock-Off Ride.


In the ride, we shrink down to toy size, and play carnival games with Andy’s toys.

It’s impressive how much that one sentence defies the Toy Story movies.

In the movies, humans don’t shrink down to toy size.

Naturally, it would be neat to to shrink down to toy size. We could see the world from a toy’s perspective. That’s part of what makes the movies so appealing.

But that’s all the thought that Toy Story (Midway) Mania! puts into it. “Wouldn’t it be neat if we shrank?!”

The ride--which adheres to the reality of the movies, despite ignoring their rules--never explains why we’re suddenly allowed to shrink.

More egregiously, it doesn’t follow through with the premise. It doesn't show us the world from a toy’s perspective. Instead, we play carnival games, which is a waste of our shrinking, because we don’t need to shrink to play carnival games.

It would be like if Universal made a Jurassic Park ride where we’re enlarged to dinosaur size so that we can play carnival games with a tyrannosaurus. It’s an interesting concept, but it has nothing to do with Jurassic Park.

Even if we could shrink, the toys of the Toy Story movies are forbidden from coming alive around humans. They can break this rule, but only if they have to escape from Sid’s yard, and it's time for the movie to end, and the screenwriters have run out of ideas.


At least when the movie cops out, it uses a sheriff.

Even if we could shrink, and the toys could come alive around us, they wouldn't play carnival games. We’ve seen the toys' recreational time, and we know how they entertain themselves.


Playing Strip Battleship.


Going for the record time.


Pumping Tinker.


Trolling for pussy.

It’s possible--and we’re bending over backwards to justify the ride, here--that we’re supposed to be toys, and not shrunken humans. That would get rid of the first two problems (we’re toy-sized because we’re toys, the toys come alive around us because we’re also toys), but we still wouldn’t play carnival games.

The link between the Toy Story movies and a carnival-themed ride is tenuous, at best.

Presumably, the ride's rationale is, “Hey, we can play with toys, and we can play carnival games! According to the transitive property, we can play carnival games with toys!!”

It could just as easily be a Bug’s Life (Midway) Mania!, because there are circus bugs in a Bug’s Life, and sometimes circuses and carnivals travel together.

Or it could be Tarzan (Midway) Mania!, because Tarzan is about a feral child learning how to behave like a human, and humans attend carnivals, and as soon as Tarzan acts like a human, he’ll probably really enjoy attending a carnival.

The Toy Story movies were not adapted into Toy Story (Midway) Mania! The Toy Story movies were wallpapered over a carnival-themed ride.

The movies can absolutely be adapted into an attraction--and we have ideas, for future articles--but Toy Story (Midway) Mania! isn’t the way to do it.


Other Knock-Off Rides.

Dinosaur, Countdown to Extinction.

Here's a synopsis of the 2000 film, Dinosaur: an iguanodon leads some other dinosaurs to a land that’s safe from predators and meteor showers.

Don't remember it? Don't worry, neither does the ride.

In Animal Kingdom’s ride, Dinosaur, Countdown to Extinction, we’re sent back in time to rescue the iguanodon because [OF SOME VERY GOOD REASON]. Unlike the movie, the iguanodon is mute, and he’s not with any of his friends because [OF ANOTHER VERY GOOD REASON].

We have to rescue the iguanodon during the Extinction Event that killed the dinosaurs because [OF A DOWNRIGHT GREAT REASON]. We can’t travel back to a safer time to rescue the iguanodon because [OF A REASON THAT’S EVEN BETTER THAN THE LAST REASON].

The iguanodon shows up at the end of the ride, but instead of rescuing him, we travel back to the future. When we return to the present, we learn that the iguanodon followed us [SOMEHOW, DOES IT REALLY MATTER, STOP ASKING QUESTIONS, THEY’LL ONLY MAKE YOU SAD].

"I will follow you through the Space-Time Continuum
until you explain this damn ride to me!"


Pirates of the Caribbean, post-2006.

Before 2006, Pirates didn’t have a plot or recurring characters. It was kinda like a movie montage...a collection of scenes that got increasingly grander. The resulting ride was fairly well-received.

In 2006, several of the characters from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies were installed into the ride.

Quite the likeness, except the real Johnny Depp
has a circumcised neck.

The movie's characters slathered a story over a ride that didn’t need one. To make matters worse, the story was gobbledygook.

In the ride, Captain Barbossa and his crew invade a Caribbean village. They’ve come to capture Jack Sparrow...except most of them ignore this, in favor of holding an auction, taking a mud bath with pigs, and wearing lots of hats.

The few pirates who remember their mission must face villagers who would gladly drown in a well before they’d betray Jack Sparrow. Because if the movies tell us anything about Jack Sparrow, it’s that everyone loves him!!


Meanwhile, Jack Sparrow sneaks through the village, steals a key, and barricades himself inside a treasure vault. He has no food, and there’s no indication that the pirates will ever leave the village ever, but Jack celebrates anyway, and then the ride ends.

Oh, and as we disembark, Davy Jones vows to kill us if we ever ride again.

Oy.


DVD Commercial Rides.

If a ride rests on the laurels of the movie that it’s based upon, it’s nothing more than a DVD commercial.

Everyone in the civilized world has seen Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

It's one of the most influential movies in the history of cinema. It’s also one of the highest grossing movies of all time.

Why, the seven dwarfs even guard Michael Eisner's tomb!

The Magic Kingdom and Disneyland both have rides based upon Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Both of these rides are called Snow White’s Scary Adventures, but they are not identical.

The Magic Kingdom’s version is a DVD Commercial Ride.

Let’s review the movie, and then take a look at both of the rides, to see how they adapt the source material.


Here’s an outline of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I’ve only included the parts of the movie that the rides adapt.

THE QUEEN’S CASTLE
1. We enter the Queen’s Castle.
2. The Magic Mirror says that Snow White is fairer than the Queen.
3. Snow White chats with pigeons on the Castle’s steps.
4. The Queen glares at Snow White, jealous.

THE FOREST
5. The Huntsman begs Snow White to run away and never return.
6. Evil trees attack Snow White.
7. Evil eyes watch Snow White.

THE DWARFS’ COTTAGE
8. Snow White arrives at the Dwarfs’ Cottage.
9. Snow White cleans up the Dwarfs’ Cottage.

THE DWARFS’ MINE
10. The Dwarfs dig jewels in their Mine.

THE QUEEN’S CASTLE
11. The Queen resolves to disguise herself and go to the Dwarfs’ Cottage.
12. The Queen transforms into a Witch.

THE DWARFS’ COTTAGE
13. The Dwarfs sing “the Silly Song.”
14. Snow White goes upstairs to bed.

THE QUEEN’S CASTLE
15. The Witch poisons an apple.
16. The Witch passes a long-forgotten skeleton.
17. The Witch gets in a boat and rows out of the Castle.
18. Two Vultures leer at the Witch.

THE DWARFS’ COTTAGE
19. The Witch offers Snow White the poisoned apple.

THE FOREST, A MOUNTAIN
20. The Dwarfs pursue the Witch.
21. The Dwarfs pursue the Witch up a mountain.
22. The Witch tries to flatten the Dwarfs with a boulder.
23. Lightning strikes the cliff.
24. The Witch falls to her death.

THE FOREST
25. Prince Deus Ex Machina kisses Snow White.
26. The Dwarfs celebrate.
27. Prince Deus Ex Machina leads Snow White to the Emerald City.

It’s refreshing how much Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs lives up to its hype. Its environments are rich, its story is vibrant, and its stylization is impossibly sophisticated.

The movie can be--and has been--adapted into an evocative ride. We’ll see how in the next section. But first...


...let’s check out the Magic Kingdom’s version of Snow White’s Scary Adventures, a DVD Commercial Ride.


THE QUEEN’S CASTLE
4. The Queen glares at Snow White, jealous.
3. Snow White chats with pigeons on the Castle’s steps.
1. We enter the Queen’s Castle.

THE QUEEN’S CASTLE
2. The Magic Mirror says that Snow White is fairer than the Queen.
12. The Queen transforms into a Witch.
15. The Witch poisons an apple.

THE FOREST
5. The Huntsman begs Snow White to run away and never return.
6. Evil trees attack Snow White.
19. The Witch [plots to offer] Snow White the poisoned apple.
7. Evil eyes watch [us].

THE DWARFS’ COTTAGE
8. [We] arrive at the Dwarfs’ Cottage.
13. The Dwarfs sing “the Silly Song.”
19. The Witch offers Snow White the poisoned apple.

THE DWARFS’ MINE, A MOUNTAIN
18. Two Vultures leer at [us].
20. [We] pursue the Witch.
10. [We see] jewels in the Dwarfs’ Mine.
21. The Dwarfs pursue the Witch up a mountain.
22. The Witch tries to flatten [us] with a boulder.
23. Lightning strikes the cliff.
24. The Witch falls to her death.

THE FOREST
25. Prince Deus Ex Machina kisses Snow White.
26. The Dwarfs celebrate.
27. Prince Deus Ex Machina leads Snow White to the Emerald City.

There are a few quibbling points (Why is the Dwarfs’ Cottage cast in uninviting shades of neon green? Why do we tour the Dwarfs’ Mine when we’re pursuing the Witch, and don’t have the time to appreciate the jewels’ pretty colors?), but let’s focus on the largest issues.


The Point of View.

We like being part of a story.

Sure, we're in a theme park, so we’re immersed in the environment, but we want to be in the story, too. The simplest way to do this is to give us a role.

But who are we in this ride? It's hard to tell.

Sometimes the actions are directed at us. We pursue the Witch through the Dwarfs’ Mine, the Witch tries to flatten us with a boulder, and so on.

But most of the time, we’re hovering around Snow White, and we’re unable to help, defend, or even warn her. Finally, we get a nice juicy action: the Dwarfs beg us to capture the Witch...

...and then the Witch tries to crush us with a boulder, and we’re saved by a convenient lightning bolt, and then Snow White is saved by a convenient Prince, and then we exit.

Whatever our role is, we’re inconsequential.

It's like a Legend of Zelda game where we play as Navi,
and we can't communicate with Link.

If the story’s not interested in us, we probably won’t be interested in it.


The Chronology.

The Queen transforms earlier in the ride than she does in the movie. Otherwise, it’s a pretty faithful adaptation. The ride knows that the movie isn’t broken, so it doesn’t try to fix it. It prioritizes telling the story.

Unfortunately, it’s the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a movie that everyone in the civilized world has seen.

Story is important, but it’s impossible for a ride to cover as much ground as the movie that it’s based upon. If the ride includes everything, we’ll scroll through the plot so quickly that we won’t have time to care about anything that we see.

"...y'remember when you were in that movie,
and that Witch came to that Cottage,
and she offered you that apple, and then you ate it?
...that was awesome."

If we want to see the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, we can watch the movie. It's only eighty-three minutes long, and every library in the civilized world has a copy.

Anyone who doesn’t know the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by now isn’t going to learn it from a three minute dark ride.

And even if they would, fuck ‘em! We shouldn’t enable the illiterate! We should reward the literate!


Other DVD Commercial Rides.

There's no point in synopsizing a synopsis, is there? If you're curious, watch the ride-throughs. If you get bored, watch the movies they're based upon.

Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue!



Journey of the Little Mermaid, Ariel's Undersea Adventure Under-the-Sea.


Alright, enough negativity. Let’s discuss the two effective approaches to adapting a movie into a ride.


Fantasyland Rides.

A Fantasyland Ride doesn’t tell us the story--it places us inside of the story.

We experience scenes from the movie, but not verbatim. Instead, the ride takes liberties with the source material, which helps us to experience the movie on a more visceral level.


Disneyland’s version of Snow White’s Scary Adventures is a Fantasyland Ride. Let’s check it out, and then contrast it with the Magic Kingdom’s version.


THE QUEEN’S CASTLE
4. The Queen glares at [us], jealous.
1. We enter the Queen’s Castle.

THE DWARFS’ COTTAGE
8. [We] arrive at the Dwarfs’ Cottage.
9. [We] clean up the Dwarfs’ Cottage.
14. Snow White goes upstairs to bed.
13. The Dwarfs sing “the Silly Song.”
11. [Outside,] the Queen resolves to disguise herself and [return] to the Dwarfs’ Cottage.

THE DWARFS’ MINE
10. [We tour] jewels in the Dwarfs’ Mine.

THE FOREST
18. Two Vultures leer at the Witch.

THE QUEEN’S CASTLE
1. We enter the Queen’s Castle.
12. The Queen transforms into a Witch.
16. [We] pass long-forgotten skeletons.
15. The Witch poisons an apple.
17. The Witch gets in a boat and rows out of the Castle.
19. The Witch offers [us] the poisoned apple.
6. Evil trees attack [us].

THE DWARFS’ COTTAGE
8. [We] arrive at the Dwarfs’ Cottage.
19. The Witch offers [us] the poisoned apple.

A MOUNTAIN
21. The Dwarfs pursue the Witch up a mountain.
22. The Witch tries to flatten [us] with a boulder.
23. Lightning strikes the cliff.
24. The Witch falls to her death.

The Point of View.

Notice how we’re immersed before we set a single foot inside.

The Queen glares at us from a window above the ride's entrance. As in, outside of the building.


Whether we’re emerging from Sleeping Beauty's Castle, standing in line for Peter Pan’s Flight, or just ambling through Fantasyland courtyard, the Queen is glaring at us.

"Everything the glare touches is my kingdom."

The detail is not only evocative, it also casts us in a role. When we see the Queen, we remember the part in the movie when she glares at Snow White. Since she’s glaring at us, we know that in the ride, we will play Snow White.

And we know this without even riding the damn thing!

We certainly aren't playing Snow White in the Magic Kingdom's version. Snow appears in five different rooms, blocking us out of the story like a princess-shaped fourth wall.

"Move aside, dearie! I'm trying to poison those spectators!"

In Disneyland’s version, Snow White only appears once. The rest of the time, we’re in her shoes. Most of the action is aimed at us.

Granted, we see some scenes that Snow White doesn’t see in the movie, like when the Witch poisons the apple, or when the Dwarfs chase the Witch up the mountain.

Nevertheless, the scary parts are all aimed at us, and no one else. Since we’re the ones who are in danger, we’re engrossed in whether or not there’ll be a happy ending.

The movie does not--cannot--directly immerse us in its story. A dark ride can.


The Chronology.

Notice how the ride rearranges the movie, so that we travel from the lightest scenes to the darkest.

We start in the Dwarfs’ Cottage. It’s a safe haven, warm with silly music and candlelight.

The Queen is outside, which forebodes worse to come. She hasn’t yet transformed into a Witch, so she’s only menacing, and not horrifying.

Then we tour the Dwarfs’ Mine. It’s much darker than the Cottage, but we’re not scared, because the jewels are so pretty.

When we exit, we see vultures, who remind us of the lurking danger. As we enter the throne room, the Queen finally delivers on her menace by transforming into the horrifying Witch.

We descend from the austere throne room into the severe dungeon. The musty colors take an alien tint. The Witch poisons the apple in front of us.

As we escape the dungeon, she leaps out us! We veer off into a forest that’s so evil, even the trees are grabbing at us! It’s horrible! Finally, we return to our safe haven, the Dwarfs’ Cottage...

...only to find the Witch inside, waiting for us with the poisoned apple!

The Dwarfs chase the Witch, but they’re too slow! The Witch is gonna crush us with a boulder!

We’re saved by a convenient bolt of lightning, and its flash segues us back into the soft colors of the unload dock.


That’s it.

Disneyland’s version establishes its thesis and sees it through. We are Snow White, and we experience her story, moving from the least scary scenes to the most.

Everything else is excess.

There’s no Magic Mirror, because it’s not relevant to scaring us. There’s no Huntsman, because he protects us, and it would take too long to explain his arc. There’s no Prince Deus Ex Machina, because the ride is about Snow White’s fear, not her romance.


Other Fantasyland Rides.

Peter Pan’s Flight.

A Fantasyland Ride can adapt a feature-length story, like Disneyland’s version of Snow White’s Scary Adventures, but it can also adapt something as small as a single scene.

Peter Pan is a seventy-six minute movie, but its ride, Peter Pan’s Flight, places us in the scene where Peter leads the Darlings from London to Neverland.

I'm surprised (and endeared) that guests don't
drop pennies in the pirates' lake.

The ride uses models and a vehicle that hangs from the roof, which makes us feel like we’re dangling above the locations. There are a few more scenes which bring closure to our feud with Captain Hook, but the bulk of the ride is about the journey.


Dumbo the Flying Elephant.

A Fantasyland Ride can be very simple. With the the right amount of subtext, it doesn’t need animatronics--or even scenes--to place us in its movie.

In Dumbo, everyone in the circus makes fun of Dumbo’s big ears. With the help of a “magic” feather, Dumbo redeems himself by using his ears to fly. In the end, he not only realizes that he can fly without the feather, but also that he can be happy without the circus’ approval.

In Dumbo the Flying Elephant, we ride on Dumbo’s back. And that’s it. That’s the whole ride.

A kiddie carousel...or the Ninth Wonder of the Universe?

There isn’t much space for subtext, but rest assured, we are experiencing a part of the movie. The clues are subtle, but important.

Notice that we’re outside, and not in a circus tent. Also, Dumbo isn’t holding his “magic” feather. There’s only one scene where he flies outside, and without the feather: at the end of the movie.

"Feathers? We don't need no magic feathers!"

In this scene, he’s realized his self-worth. He’s flying for himself, for the sheer joy of it, and we’re experiencing it with him.

Poetic for a kiddie carousel, no?


Pocahontas’ Colors of the Wind.

Cheap plug! Here at Pure Imagineering, we put the "me" in "shameless!"


Movie Rides.

A Movie Ride is basically a sequel.

It places us in the world of the movie, but unlike a Fantasyland Ride, it does not place us in the movie, itself. Instead, it builds upon an idea presented in the movie.

A successful Movie Ride functions on three levels. It succeeds its movie with consistence. It distinguishes itself from its movie. It explains why it's a ride, instead of another movie.

MuppetVision 3D is a Movie Attraction.


It succeeds its television series with consistence.

MuppetVision is a new episode of the Muppet Show. It adheres to the show’s format, tone, and characters.


There are backstage plots in-between (and often, interrupting)
the on-stage acts.



There's a Muppet Labs sketch.



There's a characteristically modest song from Ms. Piggy.



It breaks the fourth wall almost as much as the theater, itself.


But it’s more than a new episode of the Muppet Show. Part of the attraction’s ingenuity is that it distinguishes itself from the Muppet Show while explaining why it belongs in a theme park, and not on a television set.


It distinguishes itself from the television series.

When MuppetVision opened, the Muppet Show had been off the air for ten years.

Kermit and friends have re-opened the theater for a special occasion: this is the first episode presented in 3D. In every scene, the Muppets display, test, or suffer 3D effects.


It explains why it belongs in a theme park, and not on a television set.

I don’t care for 3D movies in theme parks, because they’re not immersive. If we want to see a 3D movie, we can go to a movie theater.

MuppetVision is an exception, because it insists that it’s a live performance. It feels as immersive as going to the theater, where anything can go wrong (and in this case, anything does go wrong).

Furthermore, the attraction doesn’t depend solely upon its movie to immerse us.

There are physical characters that interact with the movie.

Sweetums has a cameo!

Look at that shaggy creature! And look at Sweetums, too!

Statler and Waldorf insult us from a balcony!

"Look at the guy in the Goofy mask!"
"That's not a mask."
"...oh. Sorry, lady!"

The Swedish Chef and some penguins have a firefight above our heads!

"I do two things: kick ass and eat halibut...and I'm all out of halibut."

It’s a 3D movie, but it’s combined with live Muppetry, animatronics, special effects, and all the cheap 3D gags you can fit on a flat surface that's pretending to have depth.

When Fozzie uses his squirting flower, we’re sprayed with water. When Beaker activates the giant vacuum, air blows on our backs. When Sam salutes all nations (but mostly America), fireworks are projected on the ceiling above the screen.

It’s schlocky, but self-aware schlock is a signature of the Muppet Show. It’s hard to imagine a medium more suited to a Muppets attraction.


Other Movie Rides.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye.


This is a straightforward example. It’s a new Indiana Jones serial. We’re Indy’s sidekicks, and he saves us from a bunch of evil setpieces. It’s a ride, and not movie, because, Jesus, look at it.

(Honestly, I think the franchise works better as a ride than it ever does as a movie.)


Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.

At the end of Monsters, Inc., we learn that human laughter is a powerful energy source for the monsters’ city, Monstropolis.


Monsters Inc., Laugh Floor takes place after the movie. We visit a comedy club in Monstropolis. A cast of monsters performs live stand-up for us, because they want to harvest our laughter.

It belongs in a theme park, and not in a movie theater, because the monsters are actually live comedians who perform for us from backstage. They operate the monsters on-screen via digital puppetry.

Hand gestures go in, characters come out.


Afterword.

Attractions can--and often do--qualify under more than one category. Disneyland’s Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage manages to be all four, at once!


It’s a Knock-Off Ride, because we use something called “sonar hydrophones” to translate the fish’s dialogue into English, and what the hell are you talking about.

It’s a DVD Commercial Ride, because it regurgitates scenes from Finding Nemo.

It’s a Fantasyland Ride, because it literally takes us underwater to experience these scenes.

It’s a Movie Ride. At the end of Finding Nemo, the Tank Gang escapes Dr. Sherman’s aquarium. In the Submarine Voyage, we find the Tank Gang free, chanting around an underwater volcano.


These categories are guidelines, not rules. If there was a surefire way to adapt movies into rides, Star Tours would never have existed.

Nothing says "Star Wars-themed ride" like a madcap airline!

But there are two commonalities: an effective adaptation respects both, us and the movie, and it includes us in the telling of its story.

6 comments:

  1. Interesting read, Ian. I did my own piece on adapting licensed material into the theme park and came up with five categories. I'll post a snippet from my notes:

    -----

    Retelling (Chronological or Restructured) – The story as we know it is retold in a manner appropriate to the theme park. The retelling may either be chronological, following the structure and sequence of events of the original, or restructured, with important elements re-ordered to suit the theme park medium.
    Examples: Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Monsters Inc. Mike & Sully to the Rescue, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular, Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough.

    Moment – A single moment (either event or location) from the original story is plucked out and expanded into a full attraction (or ocassionally grouped with moments from other source material).
    Examples: Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Les Mystères du Nautilus, Swiss Family Treehouse, Mad Tea Party, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, The Great Movie Ride (heck, it was originally going to be called Great Moments at the Movies).

    Expansion – The universe from the story is expanded on and explored (with new places and/or events) in a manner that wasn’t depicted in the original source material.
    Examples: Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye, Star Tours, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

    Characters – The characters from the story are plucked out and used in a manner inconsistent with their original story-world. They are depicted interacting with the audience or surroundings in a way that would have been impossible in their source material. At its most simple, this can be Associative Theming.
    Examples: Mickey’s Fun Wheel, It’s Tough to Be a Bug, “it’s a small world”, The Mickey Mouse Revue, Mushu in The Magic of Disney Animation.

    Behind the Scenes – Rather than portray the fictional world, we step back and are presented with how the source material itself came to be (particularly popular in Studio Parks).
    Examples: Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux, TWISTER… Ride It Out.

    Of course, many attractions are combinations of these elements. Both the Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye and Star Tours: The Adventures Continue are Expansion adaptions, but both are populated by a number of rejigged moments from their source material.

    -----

    My categories seem to overlap somewhat with your own as far as I can tell:

    Retelling Adaption <-> DVD Commercial Ride
    Moment Adaption <-> Fantasyland Ride
    Expansion Adaption <-> Movie Ride
    Character Adaption <-> Knock Off Ride

    Great minds and all that!

    I wouldn't necessarily agree that a good adaption needs to include us however, and I actually seperate the adaption forms from how the guest is positioned in relation to the source material (it seems you may conflate the two, although that may just be me misreading your explanations?). It's very often better, yes, but Mickey's PhilarMagic for example has some wonderful adaptions of great movie moments without the audience being involved very much at all.

    Of all the ways guests can be positioned in relation to the source material, I would say only one way is unique to the adaption, and that's giving the guest the role of a specific, known character (like Snow White in the original attraction), which we now know really doesn't work all that well.

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