Originally Posted By dshyates So it seems the high brow Head of Creative Entertainment has left the DisCo. I am putting this in this section because because Aladdin seems to be the most successful of her many contributions. I really like that they brought in someone of her level, and while some of her offering went over the casual theme park crowd's head, I like that they took the chance to raise the bar by having actual broadway style productions in a theme park environment. That said, I think she completely missed the mark on some of her attemps for a theme park setting. She had a panchant for pretention, and it showed. She didn't really know how to bring it down a notch for the lesser venues (Cough***Cinderellabration***cough). But she did some really great work for the Co. and will be missed by many. <a href="http://micechat.com/2008/08/anne-hamburger-disney-exit/" target="_blank">http://micechat.com/2008/08/an...ey-exit/</a>
Originally Posted By leemac <<That said, I think she completely missed the mark on some of her attemps for a theme park setting. She had a panchant for pretention, and it showed. She didn't really know how to bring it down a notch for the lesser venues (Cough***Cinderellabration***cough). But she did some really great work for the Co. and will be missed by many.>> Firstly it would be entirely unethical and inappropriate for me to comment on anything relating to Anne. Secondly I need to point out that you obviously have no idea what you are talking about - Anne was not responsible for ALL of the entertainment output for Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. To use your example - Cinderellabration! was put together by WDW Entertainment. WDI-CE just don't have the scale to be able to work on every single piece of entertainment from streetmosphere to shows and parades and special events. They have varying degrees of input but their focus was the bigger stuff. Anne's legacy will be shows such as Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular, Finding Nemo - The Musical, The Golden Mickeys (both DCL and Hong Kong), Toy Story - The Musical, Twice Charmed, Legend of the Lion King (Paris), Festival of the Lion King (Hong Kong) and Snow White (DL). Then factor in every major parade over the past seven years - from TDL's current Jubilation! to TDS' Legend of Mythica to Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams (DL) to Disney's Once Upon A Dream Parade (Paris) and all of the big fireworks shows like Wishes and Remember...Dreams Come True. That to me looks like an incredible resume.
Originally Posted By dshyates "Cinderellabration! was put together by WDW Entertainment." I was under the impression that WDI-CE was responsible for both Tokyo Disneyland's Cinderella's Coronation Ceremony and the VERY similar Cinderellabration. Who woulda thunk WDI-CE wouldn't be involved in such large scale shows with international cross pollination. You work there so you would definitely know more than I. I'll have to take your word on it.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Who woulda thunk WDI-CE wouldn't be involved in such large scale shows with international cross pollination.>> That particular show does not meet the definition of marquee show. It is a castle forecourt show for a seasonal event (or was). It was picked up for WDW by the selection team responsible for the Happiest Celebration on Earth. They wanted something from Tokyo and that event for MK seemed like a good fit. Some of the folks from WDW worked on the original Tokyo show (typically in music and production). Almost without exception the seasonal shows at any of the five resorts are produced locally. Occasionally you get something like HKDL's Mickey's Waterworks Parade (directed by Steven Davison) that does have WDI-CE involvement on some level.
Originally Posted By leemac <<international cross pollination>> There is now a group that is responsible for this type of synergistic roll-out but it didn't exist for Cinderellabration (and the Tokyo show was not designed with WDW in mind). They have worked on things like High School Musical.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>That to me looks like an incredible resume.<< That's one way of putting it ...
Originally Posted By LindsayC Anne’s contribution has changed the park (and cruise line) entertainment product for the better to the power of 10 if not more. I think her legacy has been to bring a “must see” value to shows, parades and spectacles by demonstrating their worth to the powers that be and fighting for as much money as possible to support the ideas. That we wouldn’t have something like Nemo (and just that dreadful Tarzan show it replaced) or DLP’s Legend of the Lion King or Mythica at TDS without Anne’s drive for this kind of product is a really sad thought.
Originally Posted By DlandDug On this and another thread devoted to Anne Hamburger, there seems to be a lot of misperceptions. Whether one loved, hated, or felt ambivalent about the entertainment offerings she created, it is wrong to assume she was "just another" of the Pressler era outsiders who was in over her head. It is true she did not have a background with Disney, and in early comments didn't seem to have a great affinity for the Disney product. (Translation: She wasn't "in" to the "magic.") But she was (and is) a very creative and talented theatrical producer whose resume, past and present, shows a great passion for excellence and innovation. Excellence was something that had taken something of a hit during the Pressler regime. There seemed to be a greater devotion to the bottom line. Innovation has always been problematical for the Disney audience. Ever since Walt died, there have been two factions within the company, often at war, but absolutely necessary for each other. One faction remained loyal to Walt's creative legacy; the other was devoted to his spirit of innovention. When the question, "What would Walt do?" was raised, the first group would simply look to the past and select the appropriate response; the other would attempt to figure out what his response would be. Of course, both approaches are legitimate. But the problem was when members of one group or the other prevailed absolutely, it usually harmed Disney offerings. New films, shows, or theme parks either looked like throwbacks to the 1950s, or were presented as if "Disney" was a dirty word. But when both Walt's creative legacy and spirit of innovention were balanced, the results were (in Disney parlance) magical. I did not personally know Anne Hamburger, although I met her a couple of times at Disneyland. With the exception of the revised Steps in Time and Snow White: An Enchanting Musical, I feel her productions were wonderful. And as has been pointed out above, her drive for excellence raised the bar for future production in the theme parks and on the Cruise Line. I do not know the circumstances surrounding Anne Hamburger's departure. My hope, always, is that entertainment offerings will continue to be the very best at the Walt Disney Company.
Originally Posted By tonyanton With regards to the shows Lee mentioned, they were all first rate, the only real duds IMO were Snow White and Toy Story, which I really hope they do not bring to DCA. A 5 year old Aladdin show is a better option.
Originally Posted By mousermerf I think Mrs. Hamburger's (I'm not calling her Anne, I neither know her personally nor work for Disney with the first-name policy) contribution to WDI-CE was a new way of thinking. She is known (well, some would notorious) in theater for pushing new ways of doing things. She was experimental. Ever hear about her show recreating Little House on the Prairie with the youngest child depicted by a live goat in a crib? That's in college textbooks on theatrical theory, in case you doubt the validity. I feel she brought something good to the parks, even if it was sometimes out of left field.
Originally Posted By dshyates I think she did some very great things. And I think that at first she didn't really understand the theme park environment. But I think that her not "understanding" the envoironment lead to some great stuff to raise the bar as to what can be done in a theme park environment. If you don't understand the box, you are not even aware you are thinking outside the box.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>Anne’s contribution has changed the park (and cruise line) entertainment product for the better to the power of 10 if not more. <<< Absolutely, Anne's legacy of work brought accessable theatre to the parks. And for me, it means I have been able to safely test the water to see that my son is now ready to go to a reputable West End Show. The Lion King at DLP and Aladdin are worthy of Broadway and the West End, as is Nemo. This is a sad day for me too.
Originally Posted By leemac <<And for me, it means I have been able to safely test the water to see that my son is now ready to go to a reputable West End Show.>> And in a succinct nutshell that is exactly what Anne wanted to achieve at Creative Entertainment. Bring Broadway-caliber production values to the theme park environment.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< And in a succinct nutshell that is exactly what Anne wanted to achieve at Creative Entertainment. Bring Broadway-caliber production values to the theme park environment. >>> <<< Anne's legacy will be shows such as Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular, Finding Nemo - The Musical, The Golden Mickeys (both DCL and Hong Kong), Toy Story - The Musical, Twice Charmed, Legend of the Lion King (Paris), Festival of the Lion King (Hong Kong) and Snow White (DL). >>> <<< Then factor in every major parade over the past seven years - from TDL's current Jubilation! to TDS' Legend of Mythica to Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams (DL) to Disney's Once Upon A Dream Parade (Paris) and all of the big fireworks shows like Wishes and Remember...Dreams Come True. >>> Incredible indeed. I've seen most of these things, and it's interesting how much they vary. I do have to give a demerit for DL's Snow White. Like many other people have observed, I thought it came off as way too pretentious for its own good. The talent involved appeared to think way too highly of themselves, and performed almost as if they were doing us a favor by bringing their talent into a theme park. The fact that others have independently said more or less the same thing tells me it's just not a quirk particular to me. I realize that each production is very much a team effort, and with different teams involved with different projects, it's not surprising that some would turn out with different tones than others. Having said that, I think this aspect of Snow White should have been caught and corrected before it made it into the park, or at the very least afterward. As someone that never much cared for in-park entertainment, but now am really into it, I can certainly say that Ms. Hamburger has had a huge influence on me and has changed the way I view the Disney park experience, and very much for the better.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: Having seen much of what Anne Hamburger has done, my sisters and I have to say we really liked about 75 percent of her work. (Was she responsible for Mickey's Detective School? If so, that's one of her bombs.) But--over all--we've enjoyed her work; especially the spectacular ALADDIN show at DCA. ORWEN: I even liked the Snow White stage show she had done for Disneyland. It had a few weak spots, but was--over-all--a nice tribute to Snow White.
Originally Posted By leemac <<(Was she responsible for Mickey's Detective School? If so, that's one of her bombs.)>> No - shows of that scale are produced locally by Disneyland Entertainment - like Mickey's Detective School, the Pirate's Lair show, Jedi Training Academy, Disney Princess Fantasy Faire, Drawn to the Magic and Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stone Tiger. Similarly scaled shows at WDW are also produced by the local team.
Originally Posted By Disney Vault Was she responsible for the talking characters at WDW? And why does DL not have any of those yet?
Originally Posted By leemac <<Was she responsible for the talking characters at WDW? And why does DL not have any of those yet?>> No - and DL doesn't have them as they don't have any character-based entertainment at present. WDW has Festival of the Lion King and Dream Along with Mickey.
