How “Happily Ever After” Inspires Pro-Activity Through Classic Storytelling
On May 11, 2017, Disney presented its final showing of “Wishes”, a show that has been kissing guests good night for a good thirteen years, enough to solidify it as a favorite among many Disney Parks fan. Right out of the blue, Disney has announced the conclusion of this show in favor of a brand new show that would be on-par with the other state of the art nighttime extravaganzas around the world at both Disney parks and even rival theme parks. This was, obviously, met with a lot of mix reactions as fans both mourned “Wishes” and reminisced about all the memories they created around that show, but were also ecstatic to see what Disney could create with all the new technology and modern stories they had at their disposal.
Just a mere 24 hours after “Wishes” bid us farewell, “Happily Ever After” made its grand debut to near universal acclaim. While there were still many detractors that claimed the show had too much flair too it and lacked the warmth and nostalgic sincerity of “Wishes”, the overall reaction has been beyond positive, with guests quickly embracing the show as one of the best Disney has created in recent years.
As someone who was there to witness its grand debut, I sense that the overwhelmingly positive reaction deals with more than just nostalgia, extraordinary technology, and that trademark Disney showmanship; “Happily Ever After” may just be one of the most inspiring shows yet, presenting us a Disney that celebrates pro-activity in achieving life goals and ambitions through the celebration of classic and modern stories and characters. It’s a show that doesn’t just represent modern Disney as a whole but also the lofty goals and ambitions its guests carry in their hearts and souls each day as they pass through the main gates of the park.
This matters a lot because for decades, Disney has received more than their share of criticisms for indirectly implanting unrealistic expectations about life goals in children; from making ANY sort of dream a reality, despite how impossible they may seem, to obtaining true love with just a dance and a kiss. Critics have stated that setting up high expectations at such a young age may create a frustrated adulthood due to the realization that life-long terms and goals take more than just wishing for them.
Many may balk at the idea of fiction influencing youth, but it has been proven that we are emotionally impacted by the stories and characters we are introduced to, especially at such a young age. We tend to admire fictional heroes more than real world ones. This can become a double edged sword in that while we can gain significant life lessons from these characters, and fiction often draws a lot of inspiration from the real world, we can also take them for granted and only see them at surface level (ie, they are pretty, they gain what they want, therefore it’s what we want, too).
Disney’s modern-day productions, though, have caught onto that, and have slowly evolved to represent that; films like “Frozen” have celebrated love beyond just between a man and a woman, showing us a female lead that becomes queen without being forced into marrying a significant other. “Moana” also showed us a young lead that endures a dangerous journey to save her home. Even Merida from Pixar’s “Brave” represents the universal bond between mother and child, something that has been presented in fiction as the evil queen and beautiful princess trope in fairy tales.
These stories have shown us how far we as a society have come; we draw far more inspiration from characters that brave the worst just to get what they want out of their life, often facing many failures before reaching success. That’s not to say that Disney’s classic staple of characters like Snow White and Cinderella can’t be inspiring. On the contrary, they also teach us that compassion and forgiveness are very important. But their stories are, if you were to ask a modern scholar, are about being a passive participant in what you want out of life. Not necessarily a bad thing, but don’t represent what audiences believe in nowadays or what society as a whole wants out of them.
With all of that being said, what does all of this have to do with Disney’s two nighttime shows? Well, “Wishes” represented the passive Disney that once told us that believing in wishes and faith could be strong enough to make things a reality, all drawing inspiration from Walt Disney’s masterpiece, “Pinocchio”. The show relished itself in its nostalgic and innocent views on life, with beloved characters wishing out loud their biggest desires, the key word being WISHING, not proactively getting out there to make it happen themselves.
As stated earlier, Disney has shown more progress in how its themes and characters are presented to a more discerning audience. With 2009′s “The Princess and the Frog”, Disney finally stated that it takes more than wishing to make dreams and goals a reality; it also takes courage, determination, sacrifice, and most importantly, pro-activity, and that sometimes even that doesn’t guarantee success. So it makes more than enough sense that a new fireworks spectacular would reflect that new, forward thinking Disney, and “Happily Ever After” more than succeeds in that regard thanks to a mix of characters, themes and songs that beautifully reflect that.
The following WILL contain spoilers for the show, so if you are saving your viewing of the show for a future park visit (which I highly recommend witnessing in person as crowd reactions add so much to it), the spoilers will be presented right after the cut.
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