Disney Imagineer Charita Carter comments on leading the Princess and the Frog remake of Splash Mountain

Jun 16, 2022 in "Splash Mountain"

Posted: Thursday June 16, 2022 3:23pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

In an interview with Essence, Walt Disney Imagineer Charita Carter comments on the Princess and the Frog overhaul of Splash Mountain beginning soon to Walt Disney World and Disneyland.

“I am extremely honored to have this responsibility,” she says. “It’s hard work. And yes, I am nervous because I feel every day the weight of what it is that we are doing. But we have put together an amazing team of people. We are working with so many consultants and just really encouraging everybody who is touching this attraction to be curious, and to be humble and be open to learning, expanding on ways that we can tell this story.”

She adds, “We are building upon what was done with the animated film. We’re telling a next chapter story. We have this beautiful opportunity to give the character of Tiana depth and a dimensional space. I’m honored and excited. And I just feel like, ‘Yes, I’m ready. Let’s do this.'”

“When I think about what this project means to my parents, there’s that aspect. And then when I think about the young people, there’s just the full gamut, multi-generational impact. We are taking our responsibility very seriously,” Carter says. “I feel privileged and honored to be in a driving seat where I can help influence the choices that we make because like I said, we have a big responsibility and we plan to deliver.”

You can read the full interview at Essence.

Disney has said that it plans to release more information about the Splash Mountain re-theming to Princess and the Frog in July. The voice of Tiana, Anika Noni Rose recently responded to a question about Disney making a ride about "The Princess and The Frog," and that it is coming in 2024.

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Bocabear6 days ago

I had forgotten about that, and the first one was cute... but none of the other live action remakes seem to be that great...it feels like all the sequel movies Disney was churning out in the late 90s, early 200s... Cinderella 2? Those were serious garbage...and now these live action remakes seem the same to me...

mickEblu6 days ago

So are we finding out Dr. Facilier is making an appearance in TBA tomorrow or will it be just another mind boggling marketing decision from Disney when it comes to this attraction? Having a whole segment devoted to Keith David/ Facilier at the same event where they are doing a deep dive on the attraction would make zero sense unless he's in it.

James Alucobond6 days ago

Cinderella is better, I think, but it’s really the only one, mostly because it didn’t concern itself with following the original story. The others are either unasked for facsimiles or weird attempts to make evil characters sympathetic (though I chuckle at Maleficent glossing over the fact that her name is literally meant to invoke the opposite of “beneficent”).

brb10066 days ago

I really enjoyed the 1996 live-action adaptation of 101 Dalmatians.

Bocabear6 days ago

I can't think of one live action remake that was better than the original...I won't count Cruella because that was really something different.... There were things to like about the Cinderella and the BATB... but in general they never quite did it for me...Both of those movies had a dress problem... Cinderella's garish blue dress was so immense it wore her, and Belle's Golden gown was completely wrong period...Looked more like 1940s and way too demure... Actually Cinderella's Godmother gown was much prettier than what she conjured for Cindy...Almost like they made the white one for Cinderella and then changed their mind and decided to match the blue dress that was sold as Halloween costumes... The other live action remakes I think have all been terrible...

Rich T7 days ago

Yes. And the remake isn’t strong enough (IMO) to be particularly memorable in script or visual style to stand out in its own. As lightweight as the animated classic is, it is very entertaining and memorable. That’s the whole problem with the remakes. Instead of presenting something original, cohesive and memorable, they’re chained to the curse of having to hit mandatory nostalgia-check-boxes even if doing so maybe isn’t the wisest move. Disney wants to have its cake and eat it too. And so we get a Little Mermaid remake with hideous CGI sidekicks and a Jungle Book where CGI characters are forced to perform clumsy, forgettable versions of songs that were wonderful in the original animated film.

Rich Brownn7 days ago

Of course the cartoons are recognized more. The remake featured animals that looked like.. well, animals. They aren't a funny sketch version of them.

Rich T8 days ago

I think the Jungle Book remake was definitely one of the better ones, certainly helped by the original animated film being so comparatively (and intentionally) lightweight. That said, the remake in retrospect (IMO) now seems kind of bloated, style-less and forgettable. Certainly, the CGI characterizations of Baloo, Bagheera, Shere Kahn, Louie and Kaa have not left even a tiny blip on the pop culture landscape, while the 1960’s hand drawn versions are still recognized and embraced. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out Disney actually is aware that the remakes don’t have the staying power of the originals, and is perfectly content to just let them serve their purpose as short-lived cash-grabs. It sure would be nice if all that time, money and talent went toward the creation of something original and wonderful.

Rich Brownn8 days ago

I think "Jungle Book" was much better. But then it hewed closer to its source material and didn't try to be cute and funny most of the time

Disney-Universal Fanboy9 days ago

Yeah, The Live action Alice is entertaining, But it made the whole ending of the animated movie redundant

Rich T9 days ago

They are all vastly inferior to the originals, IMO. They’re not bad, and are somewhat entertaining, but none of them match the artistry and great storytelling of the animated classics. I do have a beef, in particular, with Burton’s Alice. ‘Cause, Y’know, when a movie is called “Alice in Wonderland,” it helps if the story being told is actually “Alice in Wonderland” and not a completely different story that seems to have more in common with a Narnia tale. And don’t get me started on “Through the Looking Glass”….

Rich T9 days ago

Not a single remake, IMO, has been better than the original. At best, they’re sometimes not-completely-awful. And the OG PatF is a fine movie (beautifully drawn) with a couple of flaws. Not looking forward to CGI frogs and gators.

Rich T9 days ago

Yes, but I will acknowledge that Big Thunder was a necessary change for the park, even though the loss of Nature’s Wonderland killed Frontierland’s depth. I love Big Thunder, but I also lament that—experience-wise—the park exchanged an epic, beautiful 15 minute adventure for a two minute family coaster. Times change. Sigh.

mickEblu10 days ago

Haha but plenty of people complained about Mission Breakout and still do. As far as Mine Train our very own @Rich T still laments the loss.