Disney World has removed a beloved character that has been a staple of its theme parks for more than 50 years, saying it is “insensitive, outdated” and could upset alcoholics.
River Lips McGrowl, one of 18 robotic bears featured in Magic Kingdom’s Country Bear Jamboree, won’t be making a grand return with the other robotic mammals when the attraction reopens Wednesday after a seven-month hiatus.
The name McGrowl is considered offensive and offensive, and is associated with alcohol abuse and the associated liver damage. Disney Blog Inside the Magic Said.
The term is also seen as a derogatory and offensive stereotype used to describe the shape of black American lips as diseased or unhealthy. Go to Street.com.
Instead, McGrowl is replaced by Romeo McGrowl, a bear with the same surname and similar features as River Lips, but with a James Dean-style drinking spout.
Romeo joins his furry friends Harry, Big Al, Wendell and Teddy Barra, Ernest the Dude, Terence Shaker, Trixie and the “Five Bear Rugs.”
The removal of River Lips McGrowl is part of a larger trend at Disney, in which the park is “committed to addressing and remediating outdated or culturally insensitive elements within our attractions,” the blog post said.
The “knee-smacking good times” attraction, housed inside the rustic theater Grizzly Hall, is reopening in Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland as “Country Bear Musical Jamboree.”
The River Lips are credited with just one song during their time on the show, which spanned from 1971 until January 2024: “My Woman Ain’t Pretty (But She Don’t Swear None).”
Reddit user Recorded a video He is scheduled to sing the song on January 26, 2024, the venue’s last day of operation before renovations begin.
According to the post, the attraction was packed with fans who came to say goodbye to the beloved music-centric show.
“To say the show was amazing would be an understatement,” the caption read. “I last sat in for the show a few hours later, and it was one of the last shows before it broke down. As you can imagine, the crowd was even louder, and the singing along almost drowned out the bears.”
In addition to the character changes, a new script and soundtrack will also be released. According to Variety.
Country singer-songwriter Mack McNally, best known for his decades of work with Jimmy Buffett, produced and arranged the new score.
McNally’s voice also appears in the country-inspired versions of Disney hits “Bare Necessities” and “Fixer Upper.”
The new soundtrack includes songs from “The Jungle Book” and “Frozen,” as well as the original song “Country Bear Musical Jamboree” and country music versions of classic songs from “The Little Mermaid,” “Mary Poppins” and “Aladdin.”
After the renewal, only the ending number “Come Again” will remain from the original soundtrack.
