Week 7 Story: Splash Mountain Adventure

Splash Mountain Entrance source

 Splash Mountain Adventure

    I am in Disney World celebrating my sister's 18th birthday and high school graduation strolling around Adventureland in Magic Kingdom. I hear the crash of waves and smell the fragrance of heavily chlorinated water as well as joyous screams. I am waiting in line for my favorite ride, Splash Mountain. Finally, the seemingly endless line comes to an end and it is my family and I's turn to hop in the damp mechanical log. I was excited to see the scenes from Brer Rabbit Stories play out on 20 year old animatronic characters as the log floated by. The ride kicked off and as we turned the corner approaching the first turn that reveals our first animatronic scene, everything goes dark. 

    When the lights come back on the mechanical log seems rougher and even more uncomfortable than usual. They were real logs! I look around and no one seems phased. I take a closer look and realize the scenery is real grass and trees, then, sure enough an actual furry rabbit and fox pop out of no where. This seems so real but it can't be, I am on a ride based on the Brer Rabbit parts of  Song of the South, this is only in my head. Right?

    The other passengers suddenly fade away as the first story seems to begin, Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Bear. I see Mr. Fox planting a peanut patch while Brer Rabbit watches from his porch singing:

Ti-yi! Tungalee! I eat 'em pea, I pick 'em pea.

It grow in the ground, it grow so free;

Ti-yi! Them goober pea.

    Then the scene fades to Rabbit sneakily digging peanuts from the freshly ripe peanut plants, and quickly hopping away before Mr. Fox approaches. Mr. Fox is frustrated by the seemingly repetitive assault on his peanut patch. He set a trap with a tree sapling tied to the broken part of the fence Rabbit snuck out of. He walked away pleased with his work and the lights faded in and out again. When the light comes up Rabbit is sneaking into Fox's garden again and is swung up into the air in the trap filled with fear. He mumbles to himself seemingly thinking up an excuse for when Fox arrives when Brer Bear appears with a sticky beehive in hand.

"Howdy Bear!" said Rabbit
"Oh hello Rabbit, are you stuck?" Brer Bear replied.
"No, no, I am acting as a scarecrow for Mr.Fox's peanut patch. I am making $1 a minute. You have kids, maybe you would like a turn to earn some extra?" Rabbit suggested.
"Oh that sounds mighty swell Rabbit. You sure you want to give up this deal?" Bear responds.
"Oh it is no trouble for a friend Bear, help me down and you can take my place." Said Rabbit.

    The two switched places and Rabbit ran to Fox's den, knocking on the door and pointing toward the patch when Fox answered. He was telling Fox that Bear had been sneaking into the peanut patch. Fox rushes over with a hiking stick and starts hitting the dangling Bear like a piñata. All the while, Rabbit hops away pleased with himself. 

    The lights go out again but this time when they flash back on, Rabbit is being dangled from his ears in the grasp of Brer Fox. Fox is licking his lips hungrily while staring at the frightened Rabbit:

"I would roast you but that would be too much work to start a fire" suggested Fox
"Whatever you say just don't throw me into the Brer Patch!" replied Rabbit.
"Maybe I'll skin ya! Oh, I don't have my knife" Fox thought aloud.
"Sure thing, Boss. Just not the Brer Patch!" Rabbit Said.
"I'd drown ya but there ain't enough water" Brer Fox threatened.
"Sure beats the Brer Patch" stated Rabbit.
"Hmm seems like you really don't like that Brer Patch? Why don't I just chuck you there?" said Mr. Fox.
"Oh please not the Brer Patch! Anything but that!" Rabbit Pleaded.

    Suddenly there was a flash and I wasn't in the log anymore. I felt small and hungry for carrots. I turned and I was eye to eye with Mr. Fox! I took Rabbit's place! In moments I was flying through the air directly toward a real briar bush! I shut my eyes fearing the worst. Suddenly I was drenched in water and opened my eyes. I was back, the plastic mechanical log was back, the creepy animatronics were singing amongst faux flora and fauna. I have no idea what happened but it sure was something, but I think I am good on Splash Mountain for a while.

Bibliography

Joel Chandler Harris, Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings  (1881), Text Source

Authors Note

    Splash Mountain was one of my favorite rides at Disney World so I decided to make a sort of fever dream adventure where I was sucked into the Uncle Remus stories featured in the ride. On another topic to address is that the ride is being re-themed because of the racially insensitive nature of Song of the South, the Disney movie which the representation of Brer Characters in the ride are derived. The movie is live action story of slaves and masters living in harmony, white washing history, but featuring animated cut-aways of Uncle Remus Brer Rabbit stories. The ride only features parts from the animated scenes which bring to light African American folklore but due to the connections to Song of the South, commonly viewed as racist and offensive, Disney had decided to remove all connection from it by changing it to a 2009 Princess and the Frog theme.

Reading Week 7 B: Brer Rabbit continued

 Mr. Fox and the Deceitful Frogs

• this picks up where Mr. Tarrypin left off
• Turtle is bubbling at the bottom of the pond when Bull Frog starts making sounds
• Frog responds "knee-deep" and BullFrog says "dont believe him" Then Turtle makes more gurgles
• Frog says "wade -in" as if he is translating for Turtle. Bull Frog tells Fox "there youll find your brother"
• Fox did see another Fox across the pond and reached across to shake his hand and fell in he didnt die and managed to scurry away but had he stayed any longer and the Mud Turtle wouldve gotten him

Old Mr.Rabbit, He's a Good Fisherman

• Rabbit finally got some peace and Bear Fox, Coon, and Rabbit all were working on a new roasting area by clearing the Briar and Rabbit was tired but feared he would be called lazy so he kept going and then pretended to have a brer stuck in his paw
• He left and found a well that seemed cool and sat in the bucket but began sinking in scared, Fox was following him and was confused and thought Rabbit either had his money there, found a gold mine, or something else that Fox would find out
• Fox crept close but didn't see nor hear anything. Rabbit stayed still so he wouldn't spill into the water saying his prayers over and over then Fox yelled down and asked who Rabbit was visiting.
• Rabbit said he was fishing for suckers. Fox asked how many were there, Rabbit said tons and that he needed help getting them out. 
• He got out of the bucket and held the rope and told Fox to hop in and grab the suckers then he will pull him out. Fox did, lifting Rabbit back up. 
• On the way up Rabbit sang :Good-bye, Brer Fox, take care your clothes;For this is the way the world goes; Some goes up and some goes down, You'll get to the bottom all safe and sound.
• Then he told the owners of the well that Fox was down there muddying up the water, then went back and told fox that a man with a gun was going to pull him up and that when he does he better run
• So half an hour later the two of them make it back to the clearing and work harder than ever, Rabbit occasionally laughing and Fox smiling embarrassed

Mr. Rabbit Meets His Match Again

• Buzzard and Rabbit went together on a crop and it did really well but Rabbit cheated Buzzard out of his share
• The crop was gone and Rabbit pretended to be more sad than Buzzard to throw him off the trail Buzzard knew and planned 
• one day Buzzard told Rabbit he found a gold mine across the river but Rabbit had to find a way to cross the river because whenever he got wet the whole family caught cold
• Buzzard said he would fly him across and he flew him to the tallest pine on an island in the river Rabbit caught on and told Buzzard since he was so nice he would show him his gold mine first and that they should head back
• Buzzard laughed because he didn't believe this Rabbit told him not to laugh because when he shakes it shakes his wings then they both will fall. 
• Buzzard starts going down and Rabbit explains what happened to the crops and agrees to divide it fair and Buzzard takes him home but Rabbit walked weak in the knees for a month

A Story About The Little Rabbits

• The Lil Rabbits were really good kids and if they were to ever misbehave they wouldve been harshly punished
• one day Fox came by and didn't see Rabbit who was out raiding a collard patch, or Miss Rabbit who was doing quilting with someone in town, Just the Lil Rabbits playing Hide n Switch
• The Lil Rabbits (I am calling them Bunnies from now on) were fat and tasty looking but Fox didn't act yet remembering what happened to Wolf
• the Bunnies huddled in the corner with fear while Fox came up with an excuse. He noticed a sugar cane in the corner and asked the Bunnies to break him off a piece but they couldn't no matter how hard they tried.
• A bird told sang a song of advice: 

Take your toothies and gnaw it,

Take your toothies and saw it,

Saw it and yoke it,

And then you can broke it.

• The Bunnies chewed it off just in time to give it to Fox who had to think of another excuse, he saw a sifter and told them to go to the creek and get him some water with it
• The Bunnies were sad because they couldn't get water with a sifter then a bird told them:

Sifter hold water same as a tray,

If you fill it with moss and dob it with clay;

The Fox get madder the longer you stay—

Fill it with moss and dob it with clay.

• They did and brought Fox water, which made him mad, so he told them to put this ginormous stick on the fire
• Bunnies couldn't do it so the bird sang again:

Spit in your hands and tug it and toll it,

And get behind it, and push it, and pole it;

Spit in your hands and rear back and roll it.

• They got the wood on the fire just as their dad came home, the bird flew away and the Fox tried to dash away but Rabbit asked him to stay for a snack as he gets lonely since Wolf no longer stops by to visit. this scared Fox and he went home

Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Bear

• One day Fox said he should plant a Goober patch and he went to work immediately
• Rabbit watched this and sang to his kids:

Ti-yi! Tungalee! I eat 'em pea, I pick 'em pea.

It grow in the ground, it grow so free;

Ti-yi! Them goober pea.

•  The goobers sprouted up soon enough but every time Fox went to check them, they were all torn up and he suspected Rabbit but Rabbit was so good at covering his tracks, there was no proof.
• one day Fox saw a crack in the fence where the rail had run smooth and set a trap. He bent down a hickory sapling and tied plow line to it and then a slip knot and trigger and attached it to the crack 
• Sure enough the next day Rabbit was stuck in the trap and was afraid he would fall while dangling but also was afraid of what would happen if he didn't get out. he started to think of an excuse for Fox when Bear came by after getting into a bee hive. He greeted Bear
• Bear asks how Rabbit is, Rabbit says he is fine, Bear asks why he is up there. Rabbit tells him he is making a dollar a minute acting as a scarecrow for Fox's goober-patch, and if Bear wanted to take his place since he has all those kids. 
• Bear and Rabbit switch places. Rabbit then runs and tells Fox someone is caught in his trap. Fox sees Bear and before he could explain Fox hits him in the mouth with his walking stick, this goes on anytime Bear opens his mouth
• meanwhile Rabbit runs away and hides from Bear, sure enough Bear runs down the road and asks Frog if he's seen Rabbit, Frog tells him he went that way, as Bear passed Rabbit got out of the mud hole he was hiding in and dries off then goes home like nothing happened.

Mr. Terrapin Shows His Strength

• I am calling Terrapin Turtle
• Miss Meadows and her gals are making Candy one evening and everyone comes and helps out in peace since there is a rule about fighting there
• Bear gets firewood, Fox tends fire, Rabbit greases plates so candy doesn't stick, Wolf keeps the dogs away and Turtle keeps the molasses from boiling over
• Rabbit starts bragging about he is the fastest, Fox he is the most clever, Wolf says he is the most servigorous, and Bear the strongest
• Turtle says they left him out and that he knows he is faster than Rabbit as he beat him before, but he also is stronger than Bear. And everyone doubted him and he said if they have a rope Bear can try to pull him up from the river
• The guys say they don't have rope so Turtle says then he must be stronger than Bear since Bear is chickening out. 
• Miss Meadows offers up her rope and says the guys can go down and settle the bet while the candy cools
• Turtle goes down to the river and tells the guys to bring the rope back to the woods up hill while he gets ready and he will hollar when he is
• Turtle ties the rope to a tree root in the water instead and hollars. Bear pulls on the rope winking at the ladies but the rope doesn't budge
• he tries harder with the rope over his shoulder, same result. Wolf helps, same thing. Turtle asks why they haven't started
• Turtle feels they quit pulling and unties the rope from the root and sits casually and tells Bear that that last pull was pretty strong and a little more and he would have had him , and that he had a bit of advantage on him being in the water
• Bear took well to the sweet talk and suggested they go get their candy and they did

Deluge

• Not really a Brer story but the Uncle Remus version of the great flood with african animals
• Back a long time ago animals used to have the same amount of cognisance as humans and would meet and settle their affairs
• Lion was there as the King, so was Rino, Elephant, even down to the Crawfish and they would argue and yell and sort our their dealings
• Elphant put his foot down while arguing and squished a Crawfish who squished whatever was under him. The Crawfish were mad now and took off with a big speech calling out the Elephant but no one heard except for Mud Turtle and Lizard who had no real say
• Lion and Unicorn were arguing and Elephant stomped again squishing another Crawfish almost getting Mud Turtle too. The Crawfish called Elephant out again but they may as well just been singing 
• No one paid attention to the Crawfish who waited nervously then not wanting to get squished, winked at Lizard and Mud Turtle and began boring holes in the ground
• They kept going until the reached the fountains of the earth and all the water rose out and drowned the other animals all because the bigger animals wouldn't listen

Plantation Proverbs

• I read these but they are all self explanatory so I did not denote them

Joel Chandler Harris, Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings  (1881), Text Source

Brer Bear Caught in Brer Fox's Goober Trap From Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Bear  on the Disney World Ride, Splash Mountain. Source

Note:

I have been to Disney World 3 times and love Splash Mountain but it wasn't until I went when I was 16 that I knew the origins of the ride were not just from Song of the South but rather the Brer Rabbit Stories that the movie was based on. Recently Disney has made the decision due to concerns that the ride was too outdated and racially insensitive. They instead will be changing the ride to be in the theme of 2009 film Princess and the Frog which highlights black culture in early 1920's New Orleans.

Reading Week 7 A: Brer Rabbit Stories

 The Calamus Root

• Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox constantly quarrel with Rabbit Evading Fox
• Fox tells Rabbit one day that Bear thinks that they don't get along well so Rabbit invites Fox to dinner to squash that rumor 
• Fox doesn't show but Rabbit sees him lurking outside. Fox then calls out sick the next day and asks Rabbit to join him for dinner.
• Rabbit joins but sees no food and asks if they are having chicken and Fox says yes. Rabbit says okay but I only eat it with Calamus Root so let me find some and runs out the door knowing Fox planned to eat him.
• He told Fox he put the root on the stump and while Fox was distracted assuming he would be by the stump, Rabbit got away

The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story

• the day after Calamus Root story takes place, Fox gets tar and turpentine and makes a tar child and places it in the road.
• Briar Rabbit greets it and asks what is wrong but getting no response he goes to grab it and take it with him to teach it manners and gets stuck
• Rabbit then argues with it fruitlessly and keeps threatening to physically discipline it and gets more and more appendages stuck.
• Fox watches this hidden until Rabbit is stuck then tells him he will have to join him for dinner now and this time he has calamus root

Why Mr. Possum Loves Peace

• Racoon and Possum were hanging out then went on a walk and saw Dog they discussed what they would do when he approached
• Raccoon said he would fight and Possum said he would be behind him
• sure enough Dog charged and Possum played dead and Raccoon fought him off
• Raccoon left and would not speak to Possum until Possum finally asked why and Raccoon said it was because he was a coward
• Possum explained that he is super ticklish and knew that in a quarell with Dog he would be tickled and would be useless so he played dead instead knowing Raccoon could handle it. Not because he was scared but because he was smart

How Mr. Rabbit Was Too Smart For Mr. Fox

• Fox intends to cook Rabbit after being stuck in the Tar baby
• he says he is always running around and getting in everyones business
• Rabbit replies with whatever Fox proposes with "as long as you dont throw me in the Brer patch"
• Fox decides not to build a fire bc it is too much work, He decides to hang Rabbit but he has no string, then he decides to drown him but there is not deep enouogh water, then he decides to skin him but there is no knife
• finally he chucks Rabbit into the brer patch thinking that will do him most harm since he begged not to be thrown there. 
• Rabbit frees himself and runs of saying "born and bred in a brer patch"

Mr. Fox is Outdone by Mr. Buzzard

• so while Rabbit was hiding in a hollow Buzzard agreed to help Fox and watch the hollow
• well Rabbit got away under his watch and when Fox came back Buzzard lied and said Rabbit was in there napping and played along while Fox tried to cut down the tree
• Fox caught Buzzard laughing so he got him to look in the hollow and grabbed his neck and held him down and told him how he caught him even though he kept denying it. 
• Fox told him he knew it was a lie bc he saw rabbit fur from the other direction
• Buzzard then begs for his life and fox threatens to burn him in fire but he says he will just fly off 
• so Fox starts beating him against the ground until he has almost no feathers and then flies off

Mr. Wolf Makes a Failure

• Fox's Failure with Rabbit is talk of the town, Wolf sees him moping and after greeting he asks what is wrong 
• Fox says nothing is wrong but Wolf knew otherwise and said he had a plan 
• the must trick Rabbit into Fox's house. Fox is going to play dead while Wolf tells Rabbit 
• Rabbit goes to check it out but is suspicious when no one is there and talks to himself figuring out a way to find out if Fox is dead
• he says dead people lift their legs and yell wahoo when people visit them
• Fox does this so that is how Rabbit knows he is not dead and he runs away

Mr. Fox Tackles Oldman Terrypin

• So in a previous run in turtle and rabbit bested fox 
• turtle is hanging out in pain when fox greets him super nice and ask what is wrong with turtle's eyes. Turtle explains that fox doesnt know what suffering is
• Fox asks again what happened and this time turtle tells him that a man set a field on fire when he was in it and he just waited it our and said it scorched his back and smoke got his eyes. 
• Fox says it got your tail too and turtle says no it didnt and shows him. Fox grabs him and while turtle pleads for his life he says not to burn him because he is used to it
• so fox goes and throws him in a spring and turtle tells him repeatedly to let go of the root and catch him instead and Fox keeps telling him he is holding turtle not the root. he finally lets go and turtle sinks to the bottom and is right at home

The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf

• wolf was always getting in everyones business and got tied up with Mr. Fox and his going after Rabbit
• Rabbits house was raided and he lost a child, he built a house out of straw and that got raided, then pine tops, again raided, then a bark house, same thing. each time a child was taken
• finally rabbit got pissed and got some carpenters to build him a true house with solid foundation and he finally had peace, he also had a hole in the cellar for his kids to hide
• One day wolf comes in covered in mud saying the dogs were after him and rabbit needs to hide him
• he tells wolf to hide in the chest and after a long while wolf asks if the dogs are gone and rabbit lies and says he hears one sniffing around
• so rabbit goes to boil tea in a kettle and wolf asks why and rabbit says, I am making some tea for you. Then he drills holes in the chest, wolf asks why, rabbit says so you can breathe.
• rabbit makes a fire for the tea wolf asks why, rabbit says to keep you warm
• then rabbit gets his kids and wolf ask what he is doing, rabbit says he got his kids and told them what a nice man wolf is while the kids hold back laughter
• rabbit then starts pouring tea in the holes, wolf asks what that noise is, rabbit says the wind
• as burning tea hits his skin wolf asks what that is, rabbit says flees and to turn over and see if that helps, wolf thinks they are biting really hard and turns over while rabbit pours more tea and thinks more flees are biting him. then the tea does the job and drowns/burns wolf
• everyone celebrates and rabbit hangs his hide up 

Joel Chandler Harris, Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings  (1881), Text Source

Brer Fox, Rabbit, and Bear at Disney World's Splash Mountain ride Represented as they were in the Disney film Song of the South.  Source