Welcome to Extinct Attractions. This week, I looked back at a Parisian attraction that was very in touch with Indian culture.
This weekend, Deadpool & Wolverine debuts in theaters, with the movie expected to provide another win for the box office. This summer has been filled with hits from Inside Out 2 to Twisters, helping provide some much-needed life to the theatrical industry. By 2025 or 2026, the box office should get back to pre-pandemic norms, which is impressive since it’s a tough bar to reach because of Disney’s insane year at the 2019 box office, with seven movies reaching $1 billion or more at the worldwide box office, a feat that will likely never be matched. The big winner that year was Avengers: Endgame, but coming in second was the “live-action” reimagining of The Lion King.
It’s hard to believe that it has now been five years since that juggernaut of a film was released. To tie with the film as well as the 25th anniversary of the original film, there were celebrations and experiences at many of the Disney Parks, with Disneyland Paris putting on The Lion King & Jungle Festival. They threw in some things based on The Jungle Book for some reason, though that actually worked out for today’s attraction, The Jungle Book Jive, which opened with the festival on June 30, 2019.
Via Disney WIki
For The Lion King & Jungle Festival, Disneyland Paris added a show called Rhythm of the Pridelands as well as a few meet and greets, so of course, a parade was missing. Given that the other experiences were themed around The Lion King, it made sense to base the parade around The Jungle Book, though The Jungle Book Jive ended up as more of a streetmosphere show than a prototypical parade.
The experience started with some simple transportation-themed floats working their way down Main Street U.S.A. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy were all in cars (along with a driver) that were themed around planes and trains. I’m not 100% sure why this was, but I think it had to do with the fact that they were in their safari outfits and looking for adventure. The introduction song of “We’re On Our Way” really helped get that point across as they continued their (slow) journey down the street.
Once they reached the central hub, everything started to become clear as it seemed that we had made our way into the jungle with some floats that had paper mache looking animals on top. The floats were simple but did a nice job setting the mood that we were entering the world of The Jungle Book, especially as our two power couples made their way to the stage set up at the center of the hub and began to look around for their missing buddy, Goofy.
After a quick search, Goofy emerged triumphantly from Sleeping Beauty Castle with a ton of drummers, part of the group of over 70 performers in the show. These drummers immediately increased the scope of the show and justified the fact that the show’s creators had taken the time to visit India and immerse themselves in the culture to help make The Jungle Book Jive as authentic as possible.
I’ll be honest, the rest of the show was a little lost on me as much of the dialogue was in French. But what I did get was that amongst Goofy’s entourage was an Indian singer, who performed for the vast bulk of the show. She primarily sang a medley of songs from The Jungle Book, but remixed to have a bit more of an Indian flair to them.
Via Soundcloud
Along with the singer, Chip and Dale also got in the mix, with their love interest Clarice getting in on the action as well. Her performance was especially notable for being a bit saucy, but she kept things PG for all those around her. They weren’t the only characters to join the fun as Baloo and Louie popped in for their songs on a big float from Disney Magic on Parade, which had gotten a whole new facelift for this parade. I feel like the two of them always show up anytime The Jungle Book is represented, and they did help the show feel a bit more lively as it had slowed a bit during the singing portion and ultimately fell a bit flat for me.
On the whole, it just lacked the general energy of a Disney parade, so it wasn’t surprising that it only lasted for a summer, ending on September 30, 2019 along with the rest of the festival. What was surprising was that it briefly reopened in 2020 on the Moteurs … Action! Extreme Stunt Show stage to provide some activities for people to do during the height of the pandemic. But it hasn’t been seen since and barring The Jungle Book 2 happening (no, not this one), I wouldn’t bank on it returning in the future.
Via My EBeat
As always, don’t forget to check out my interactive maps of the Disney Parks throughout the years where you can watch or learn more about all the attractions from every Disney park around the world.
Thanks for reading and have a magical day!