URLs From the Edge

I was reading over on BoingBoing about people finding some old EPCOT artwork.

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/04/06/more-fantastic-epcot.html

While it was cool art, I was disappointed to see that it was from the marketing campaign for the 'new' EPCOT, and not the original. I posted the following comment on the blog, which I thought I'd share here as well;

-------------
While I love the art style, I still mourn for the wondrous EPCOT that Walt (and his WED team) originally designed, rather than this mundane thing they eventually built.

Chris Cole used to tell a sad story that went something like this:

"Walt Disney said "Let's make cartoons in color!" and marketing people said "You're crazy, Walt, no one wants or needs that" and then he did it anyway and it was amazing and successful and the marketing people said "Wow, Walt's a genius!".

Then Walt said "Let's use cartoons to tell full length stories; tales which can never be told with real films and actors" and the marketing people said "You're crazy, Walt, no one wants or needs that" and then he did it anyway and it was amazing and successful and the marketing people said "Wow, Walt's a genius!".

Then Walt said "Let's create an amusement park like no other - a clean, friendly place, where we can build narrative spaces and meaningful experiences that people will remember all their lives" and the marketing people said "You're crazy, Walt, no one wants or needs that" and then he did it anyway and it was amazing and successful and the marketing people said "Wow, Walt's a genius!".

Finally Walt had his greatest vision to date; He said "Cities are in horrible shape, poorly laid out, designed by chance and greed, and giving rise to all kinds of environmental and social ills. We can do better than this! Besides, mankind will someday journey to the stars, trips that may take centuries - we'd best learn how to live together soon; let's build a carefully designed arcology that puts the people's needs first, and which improves and changes efficiently as technology evolves. We'll call it EPCOT; Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow!" and the marketing people said "You're crazy, Walt, no one wants or needs that".

...and then Walt died...

and the marketing people took control of the company said "Walt was crazy, let's build a big themed shopping center - people want and need that!"

Sigh.