Kenversations™
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Halloween Traditions in General
Halloween is not without its controversies, of course.
Halloween, as it exists now, is comprised of a mix of various traditions. It has become a huge commercial event, and as such is promoted by many businesses. Like many popular annual celebrations in the U.S.A., it is a mix of pagan and Christian traditions, and as such makes some people uncomfortable. The Christian aspects have been mostly forgotten, with the secular, occultic, pagan, and commercial aspects dominating.
Samhain was a Celtic feast that took place this time of year. As it did with Christmas, Christendom placed a Christian event at the same time in an effort to change the celebration from that of one religious tradition to another. All Saints Day, celebrating prominent Christians of history, was moved to November 1, with October 31 becoming All Hallows Eve.
What we now call Halloween became an American event in the late nineteenth century, with the immigration of working-classes from the British Isles.
I’m not a pagan, nor do I look at October 31 as a special day in any supernatural sense. I generally don’t believe that there is anything paranormal taking place just because of a date on a calendar. Anyone who pokes around my personal web site can see in what I place my ultimate loyalties.
Maybe I’ll celebrate "All Saints Day" in some formal and meaningful sense in the future, but for now, Halloween simply means setting aside one day of the year where it is understood that you can decorate and dress "creatively", give people good-natured frights, and see some really great special-effects and theater. I certainly don’t celebrate it as a Celtic feast.
Haunted Mansion Holiday - A New Tradition?
Yeah, I’m finally getting to the Disney part of this column.
Knott’s has owned Halloween, as far as southern California theme parks go, for decades now. Halloween Haunt at Knott’s Scary Farm has been the ultimate scary walk-through. Universal and Disney have attempted Halloween events, but they haven’t taken hold.
Instead, Disneyland has been dominant in the celebration of Christmas. The busiest week of the year at Disneyland Park is the last. Decorations are put up throughout the park, and there is the Christmas Fantasy parade, which replaced the Very Merry Christmas Parade. The season has been expanded and the offerings increased in recent years. Although the Country Bears will not be doing the special holiday show anymore (or any other show), the very popular "It’s a Small World Holiday" will be returning, as will a holiday version of the park’s new version of aerial pyrotechnics.
The new thing this year, of course, is the dressing up of another classic attraction - The Haunted Mansion.
Last year, there was talk about turning The Haunted Mansion into a holiday special with elements from The Nightmare Before Christmas. It didn’t end up happening until this year, but the wait was worth it. With the Bears gone and their theater nothing but a hollowed-out shell, and the new Harbor Galley featuring McDonald’s fries nearby, Haunted Mansion Holiday has been a great, even though temporary, addition to the area. Guests and cast members alike have given it a warm reception.
It works as a temporary transformation of The Haunted Mansion by Jack Skellington and the gang, but these characters need their own attraction - one built in the classic Disney scale of such attractions as the Mansion. Without the existing elements - the sizeable show building, the layout of the sets, the ride system, the equipment already in place - this version of the attraction wouldn’t have been nearly as successful, so if the residents of Halloweentown ever get a ride, it needs to be on a similar scale.
For those of you familiar with the original version of The Haunted Mansion who haven’t experienced this version, I’d describe it as less morbid, more festive, and more eerie and silly than scary. Maybe that will describe Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc. - Scary Big Boffo,
or Scary for Disney?
It’s almost time for the fourth film from Disney and PIXAR.
Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, and Toy Story 2 have been very successful films and highly entertaining, so expectations are high for Monsters, Inc. It’s a funny concept, to be sure. Whether or not it lives up to the expectations, we’ll have to see. It could provide a much-needed boost for Disney at the box office, or it could turn out to be a big disappointment. The huge success of Shrek, from rivals of Disney and PIXAR, adds to the pressure. I doubt it will flop, though. It is being marketed well enough that even if it doesn’t turn out to be as good at the previous films, it should do some good business.
Besides, we could all use some escapist entertainment right now.
This film would seem like a natural Halloween film, but Disney likes to have big releases around Thanksgiving. Speaking of escapist fare - enter a certain child wizard with a lightening bolt on his forehead (don’t make me write the name - you gotta know who I’m talking about - he’s more popular with the kids than Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears combined). Disney decided Monsters would do better if released earlier in November.
The box office is gonna heat up, and I’m looking forward to it!
Discuss It
-- Ken Pellman
Ken Pellman was an award-winning student filmmaker, has experience as a Disneyland Park Cast Member and annual passholder, is a serial Walt Disney World tourist, is a Disney shareholder, and has a degree in Thematic Environmental Design. He can be reached directly at [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> or at http://www.Pellman.com
Kenversations is posted on the fourth Wednesday of each month.
The views, opinions and comments of Ken Pellman, and all of our columnists, are not necessarily those of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
©2001 Ken Pellman, all rights reserved. Licensed to LaughingPlace.com.
-- Posted October 24, 2001