September 27, 2012
Thursday Treasures: Stitch Goes to Tokyo Disneyland!
By: Pedro 'Pap' Hernandez
Who doesn't love a Disney vacation? Disneyland, Walt
Disney World, Disney Cruises, even the international theme parks are
ideal places to go if you wish to have adventures, forget about the
'real world' for a few days and soak in all the stories and magic
Disney has to offer. These vacations are so sought after that even
the Disney characters take time from their busy schedules to just
enjoy the parks! This was the case with Stitch, aka Experiment 626,
when he was able to visit Tokyo Disneyland!
The way he got to Tokyo Disneyland, though, proved
to be one of the most surreal moments of corporate synergy in Disney
history. Before we even get to that, however, we must learn about
the whole Stitch saga at Disney. As you may know, Stitch hails from
the 2002 Disney Animated Classic Lilo and Stitch. The story behind
the film is that Stitch is a deadly alien criminal that has crash
landed on Earth, specifically Hawaii, where he has been confused for
a dog by a lonely and strange girl named Lilo. Like mixing peanut
butter and chocolate, Lilo and Stitch became a great pair thanks to
their odd yet genuinely sweet way of looking at life, leading
everyone to believe in the power of ohana (which means family) and
restoring faith in the hearts of many.
The movie was so successful that Disney created a
television spin-off series in North America (with its pilot being
released as a movie on home video), a direct to video sequel (Lilo
and Stitch II: Stich has a Glitch), an attraction at the Magic
Kingdom (Stitch's Great Mistake-erm I mean ESCAPE), and countless
appearances by the characters as meet and greets at all the parks.
The success of the film even reached overseas, with each part of the
Disney company creating their own take on the intergalactic series.
In Japan, they created an anime series named Stitch!~ The
Mischievous Alien's Great Adventure.
Taking place a few years after the end of the
American series (though this is debatable since events in the anime
conflict greatly with the events of the American TV show, making it
more like an alternate re-telling of the series), Stitch has landed
on a Japanese tropical island named Okinawa where he befriends a
young girl named Yuna. Jumba, Pleakley, Hamsterville, Gantu, Reuben
and the experiments have also tagged along where they face new
challenges and dangers, just like Lilo and Stitch before them.
While the majority of the anime series plays
similarly to the American TV show, there was one episode in
particular that stunned me thanks to some of the greatest Disney
references ever put on any piece of media to date: Stitch Goes to
Tokyo Disneyland!
The girls catch a first glimpse of Cinderella's Castle
The premise behind the episode is that Yuna has
received tickets to Tokyo Disneyland from her father, allowing her
and Stitch to attend the park for a day. Unfortunately, Stitch
misses the plane, and loses Yuna in the process. News spreads that
the pair are heading there, so good guys Jumba and Pleakley (dressed
up as Alice from Alice in Wonderland) and bad guys Gantu and
Hamsterville decide to tag along and cause great mayhem at one of
the most revered theme parks in the world.
When Pleakley hears about the trip, he tries on costumes to wear at
the park. The first two outfits are classic Cast Member costumes for
Pirates and the Haunted Mansion
Now, the premise doesn't seem that surreal,
especially since the likes of Full House, Family Matters,
the Muppets and more have done episodes and specials that take place
at one of the parks. What makes it surreal is that this is one of
the first instances in which a Disney theme park is a real entity
within a Disney universe. Explaining it is tricky, so please bear
with me...
The characters have indeed acknowledged the
existence of the parks as a place for them to visit, have fun and
where we can see them live. Yet, the parks exist in our world. In
other words, the parks are treated as a gateway to said Disney
universes, not as elements that can be found within the Disney
universes themselves. For example, you don't see the cast of the
more modern films like Oliver and Company, The Rescuers
and Bolt say 'let's go to Disneyland!' and actually go
there, much less go to attractions that bear their name or
resemblance. It would create a very meta-fictional story that most
people would find odd rather than charming.
Your eyes are not playing tricks, they are indeed riding the Jungle
Cruise!
This particular episode of the Stitch anime goes all
out to acknowledge that Tokyo Disneyland is a very real place within
their world. So much so that every single detail of the park has
been presented. From the smallest towers on Cinderella's Castle to
the signs on Main Street, Stitch the anime spared no expense in
trying to re-create the park while still telling its own stories.
Characters even go on rides like the Jungle Cruise and Space
Mountain!
In an event that defines metafictional, Stitch stumbles upon his own
attraction without realizing it!
Stitch, on the other hand, actually walks by some of
the attractions, such as Alice's Tea Party, Dumbo the Flying
Elephant, and the Enchanted Tiki Room (which becomes one of the most
metafictional scenes in the whole episode as the Japanese version of
the Enchanted Tiki Room is themed after Lilo and Stitch). Even some
of the shows like dance events in front of Cinderella Castle and
magic water art created by the custodians are referenced throughout.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Disney theme park related episode
without fireworks at the castle! After a whole day chasing down
villains and facing danger, the cast take a break and admire the
fireworks, all while wishing to do it all again sometime in the
future.
The girls demonstrate several activities done at the park, like
wearing Disney themed costumes, wearing Mickey Mouse ears and
collecting special popcorn buckets
I confess that I have not seen the majority of the
episodes in this series (I tend to enjoy the movie more than any of
its spin-off series, to be honest), yet I figure that this episode
would top them all due to both its surreality expressed through
metafictional scenes as well as its sincere tribute to the Disney
parks. There is truly nothing quite like it: an episode from a
television series inspired by a Disney Animated Classic that
acknowledges the existence of a Disney theme park in their world and
go all out in presenting it to us. It might be a long time till we
see something as captivating or as astounding as this, hence why I
consider it to be a Disney treasure worth remembering.
Stitch and friends close the night by watching an enchanting
fireworks show
Now come the bad news... the series was indeed
dubbed into English a while ago, and some of its episodes managed to
air on Disney XD. However, the series was pulled off just four days
after its premiere. The rest of the world has experienced the series
in various languages, so it is odd that the American channel has yet
to fully air the whole series. Whether this episode in particular
would air in North America remains to be seen, considering it is
advertising a foreign theme park whose attractions differ from the
ones at the American parks. So for now let's leave it at one of the
most peculiar moments in Disney history.