WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.279 You know the song. Oh, absolutely. Everyone knows 00:00:02.279 --> 00:00:04.240 it. Right. You probably had it stuck in your 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:05.879 head while sitting in traffic. Or during some 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:08.960 painfully long Tuesday afternoon meeting. Exactly. 00:00:09.300 --> 00:00:12.539 It is relentlessly cheerful. Aggressively optimistic. 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:16.239 But what you probably don't know... and this 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:19.480 blew my mind, is that the most publicly performed 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:22.960 song in human history was actually written as 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:26.199 a direct, panicked response to the Cuban Missile 00:00:26.199 --> 00:00:29.039 Crisis. Yeah, it's wild to think about. Today, 00:00:29.260 --> 00:00:32.000 we are taking a massive encyclopedic deep dive 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:35.049 into the true story behind It's a small world. 00:00:35.369 --> 00:00:37.570 Using our comprehensive source documents for 00:00:37.570 --> 00:00:40.009 this one? Right. Our mission today is to use 00:00:40.009 --> 00:00:42.729 those sources to strip away the Pascal facade. 00:00:43.170 --> 00:00:45.549 We want to uncover the high stakes history, the 00:00:45.549 --> 00:00:49.570 geopolitical origins and, well, the bizarre and 00:00:49.570 --> 00:00:52.590 sometimes dark footnotes of this cultural monolith. 00:00:52.909 --> 00:00:54.969 Because it is a monolith. OK, let's unpack this. 00:00:55.429 --> 00:00:57.070 We need to leave the comfortable air conditioned 00:00:57.070 --> 00:00:59.590 boats of today. behind. We really do. And we 00:00:59.590 --> 00:01:02.189 need to travel back to the incredibly tense historical 00:01:02.189 --> 00:01:05.849 reality of the early 1960s. It is the only way 00:01:05.849 --> 00:01:08.230 to truly understand what this attraction actually 00:01:08.230 --> 00:01:10.709 is. Right. When you look at the source material 00:01:10.709 --> 00:01:12.790 detailing the history of It's a Small World, 00:01:13.269 --> 00:01:15.510 the very first thing you have to discard is the 00:01:15.510 --> 00:01:17.930 idea that it was meant to be permanent. Because 00:01:17.930 --> 00:01:19.650 today it just feels like an institution, right? 00:01:19.650 --> 00:01:22.090 Like it's always been there. Exactly. But the 00:01:22.090 --> 00:01:24.629 reality is that it was born out of utter chaos. 00:01:24.790 --> 00:01:28.010 Total chaos. It was a completely frantic last 00:01:28.010 --> 00:01:31.109 -minute addition to the 1964 New York World's 00:01:31.109 --> 00:01:33.730 Fair. Just thrown together. Literally. It's a 00:01:33.730 --> 00:01:36.870 marvel of rapid engineering, an encapsulation 00:01:36.870 --> 00:01:40.569 of Cold War -era anxiety masked by optimism, 00:01:41.090 --> 00:01:43.810 and really a brilliant case study in how a singular 00:01:43.810 --> 00:01:47.269 piece of art adapts globally over more than 60 00:01:47.269 --> 00:01:49.709 years. Let's dig right into that chaos, because 00:01:49.709 --> 00:01:51.980 last minute, barely even covers it. It really 00:01:51.980 --> 00:01:54.200 doesn't. According to the timeline in our sources, 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:56.659 the project was officially announced in August 00:01:56.659 --> 00:02:00.000 1963. Which is insane. Right, because the World's 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:02.219 Fair was scheduled to open its gates in April 00:02:02.219 --> 00:02:06.420 1964. Eight months. That gave WED Enterprises, 00:02:07.180 --> 00:02:09.599 which we now know as Walt Disney Imagineering, 00:02:09.819 --> 00:02:13.500 Just eight months to design, build, program, 00:02:13.639 --> 00:02:16.879 and install an entirely new high -capacity boat 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:18.840 ride from scratch. I mean, think about what that 00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:21.460 means. If you've ever had to pull off a massive 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:24.599 project at work at the 11th hour, you know the 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:27.439 stress. Now imagine doing that, but instead of 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:29.780 finishing a spreadsheet, you are literally inventing 00:02:29.780 --> 00:02:32.580 new robotics and propulsion technology on the 00:02:32.580 --> 00:02:35.580 fly. And how is Disney even in a position to 00:02:35.580 --> 00:02:37.300 take this on? They absolutely shouldn't have 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:39.759 been. No, not at all. That is what makes the 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:42.659 engineering timeline so staggering. By August 00:02:42.659 --> 00:02:46.379 1963, Disney's creative bandwidth was completely 00:02:46.379 --> 00:02:48.259 maxed out. Right. They were already doing other 00:02:48.259 --> 00:02:50.419 stuff for the fair. They were contracted for 00:02:50.419 --> 00:02:53.960 three massive groundbreaking pavilions already. 00:02:54.180 --> 00:02:56.840 Oh, wow. Yeah. They were building the Magic Skyway 00:02:56.840 --> 00:02:59.879 for the Ford Motor Company, which involved inventing 00:02:59.879 --> 00:03:02.419 a system to propel actual Ford convertibles on 00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:05.080 a track. Actual cars. Real cars. And they were 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:07.240 building great moments with Mr. Lincoln for the 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:10.280 state of Illinois. The animatronic Lincoln. Exactly, 00:03:10.659 --> 00:03:13.699 which required an unprecedented leap in audio 00:03:13.699 --> 00:03:16.580 -animatronic human realism. Right. And on top 00:03:16.580 --> 00:03:19.240 of that, they were building the carousel of progress 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:22.259 for General Electric, an entire revolving theater 00:03:22.259 --> 00:03:25.319 system. So they are completely swamped. Their 00:03:25.319 --> 00:03:27.879 resources were stretched to the absolute breaking 00:03:27.879 --> 00:03:31.180 point. The leap from simple mechanical window 00:03:31.180 --> 00:03:34.340 display robotics to the synchronized pneumatic 00:03:34.340 --> 00:03:36.539 and hydraulic systems they were inventing for 00:03:36.539 --> 00:03:39.569 these pavilions was already unprecedented. Okay, 00:03:40.430 --> 00:03:42.650 so they are completely overwhelmed inventing 00:03:42.650 --> 00:03:45.449 new tech for three corporate giants and then 00:03:45.449 --> 00:03:48.330 out of nowhere Pepsi knocks on the door, right? 00:03:48.650 --> 00:03:50.889 Our sources note that Pepsi approached Disney 00:03:50.889 --> 00:03:53.469 with a plan to create a tribute to UNICEF, the 00:03:53.469 --> 00:03:55.750 United Nations Children's Fund. Yes. But why 00:03:55.750 --> 00:03:57.689 Pepsi? And why did they need Disney to bail them 00:03:57.689 --> 00:03:59.949 out so late in the game? It basically comes down 00:03:59.949 --> 00:04:02.650 to corporate panic and brand positioning. Panic? 00:04:02.789 --> 00:04:06.009 Yeah. Pepsi wanted a major presence at the World's 00:04:06.009 --> 00:04:08.289 Fair to compete with Coca -Cola. Naturally. But 00:04:08.289 --> 00:04:10.669 their original pavilion concept had fallen through. 00:04:10.669 --> 00:04:13.050 Oh no. So they were staring down the barrel of 00:04:13.050 --> 00:04:16.370 a massive PR disaster. They needed a miracle. 00:04:16.670 --> 00:04:19.050 And Walt Disney was the miracle worker. Exactly. 00:04:19.589 --> 00:04:22.430 They knew Walt was the only person with the theatrical 00:04:22.430 --> 00:04:25.230 vision and the manufacturing infrastructure to 00:04:25.230 --> 00:04:27.329 pull something off in under a year. But they 00:04:27.329 --> 00:04:29.089 had to bring something to the table, right? They 00:04:29.089 --> 00:04:31.970 brought serious capital. To sweeten the deal, 00:04:32.410 --> 00:04:36.290 Pepsi donated $100 ,000 directly to UNICEF for 00:04:36.290 --> 00:04:38.649 the construction of an exhibit right next to 00:04:38.649 --> 00:04:42.290 the ride. Plus another $200 ,000 in bonds. That 00:04:42.290 --> 00:04:46.459 is a massive influx of cash. 1963. It essentially 00:04:46.459 --> 00:04:50.120 gave Disney a blank check to experiment and build 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:52.259 rapidly. Which is wild because the rest of the 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:53.600 industry thought they were out of their minds. 00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:56.040 Totally crazy. I want to highlight a quote from 00:04:56.040 --> 00:04:58.279 the source document here. This is from J .G. 00:04:58.579 --> 00:05:01.300 Mulally who was Ford's World's Fair program manager 00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:03.480 at the time. Oh this is a great quote. Right. 00:05:03.959 --> 00:05:06.980 Watching Disney take on a fourth massive pavilion 00:05:06.980 --> 00:05:10.019 Mulally said he's got his hands in more bowls 00:05:10.019 --> 00:05:12.800 than anyone I've ever seen but he accomplishes 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:15.490 what he sets out to do. That observation just 00:05:15.490 --> 00:05:18.110 perfectly captures Disney's corporate agility 00:05:18.110 --> 00:05:20.970 at the time. They were like a startup. They operated 00:05:20.970 --> 00:05:24.009 exactly like a highly funded startup. To accomplish 00:05:24.009 --> 00:05:26.449 the impossible, Walt realized he couldn't use 00:05:26.449 --> 00:05:28.970 traditional theme park design methods. So what 00:05:28.970 --> 00:05:31.589 did he do? He assembled a specialized strike 00:05:31.589 --> 00:05:34.230 team, essentially the Avengers of Imagineering, 00:05:34.670 --> 00:05:37.550 and gave them unprecedented autonomy. Let's break 00:05:37.550 --> 00:05:40.410 down this dream team, because their specific 00:05:40.410 --> 00:05:43.110 talents are what made that eight month turnaround 00:05:43.110 --> 00:05:45.899 possible. Absolutely. Let's start with Mary Blair. 00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:49.040 She was responsible for the attraction's color 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:53.120 styling and overall aesthetic. Why was her specific 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:56.529 style so crucial to this rushed project? Her 00:05:56.529 --> 00:05:59.449 mid -century geometric aesthetic was the silver 00:05:59.449 --> 00:06:02.170 bullet for the entire project. How so? Well, 00:06:02.290 --> 00:06:04.709 before this, Disney attractions were heavily 00:06:04.709 --> 00:06:07.649 focused on hyperrealism. Think of the meticulous 00:06:07.649 --> 00:06:09.889 jungle environments of the Jungle Cruise. Right. 00:06:09.990 --> 00:06:12.189 Or the precise historical details of Main Street 00:06:12.189 --> 00:06:15.250 USA. Exactly. But realistic sets take immense 00:06:15.250 --> 00:06:17.550 amounts of time to sculpt, paint, and dress. 00:06:17.829 --> 00:06:21.079 And they didn't have time? None. Mary Blair worked 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:25.180 in abstract geometry and bold flat colors. Magenta, 00:06:25.420 --> 00:06:29.000 chartreuse, deep cyan. So no realistic miniatures? 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:32.279 No. She didn't design a realistic miniature replica 00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:35.500 of the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal. She designed 00:06:35.500 --> 00:06:38.939 a child's colorful two -dimensional idea of those 00:06:38.939 --> 00:06:41.579 landmarks. Ah, I see. This stylized approach 00:06:41.579 --> 00:06:43.779 allowed the carpenters and painters to build 00:06:43.779 --> 00:06:46.839 massive flat wooden sets incredibly quickly. 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:49.620 That makes so much sense. Furthermore, her The 00:06:49.620 --> 00:06:51.560 style abstracted the cultures just enough to 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:54.399 avoid complex political or historical baggage. 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:57.259 It created a universal visual language that felt 00:06:57.259 --> 00:07:00.360 innocent and immediate. Exactly. Okay, so that 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:02.399 flat, colorful aesthetic formed the backdrop, 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:04.740 but they still had to populate it. They needed 00:07:04.740 --> 00:07:07.550 the dolls. Right. And that fell to Mark Davis 00:07:07.550 --> 00:07:10.290 and Alice Davis. Yes. Mark was a legendary animator, 00:07:10.569 --> 00:07:13.129 but here he was conceiving the scenes and actually 00:07:13.129 --> 00:07:15.529 choreographing the dances for the audio animatronic 00:07:15.529 --> 00:07:17.709 figures. Which was incredibly difficult. Mark 00:07:17.709 --> 00:07:19.490 Davis had to figure out how to translate his 00:07:19.490 --> 00:07:22.290 knowledge of 2D animation timing into physical 00:07:22.290 --> 00:07:24.389 pneumatic robots. Right, because these aren't 00:07:24.389 --> 00:07:26.889 drawings, they're machines. He had to create 00:07:26.889 --> 00:07:29.449 hundreds of distinct movements that could run 00:07:29.449 --> 00:07:32.410 on a continuous loop without breaking down. Which 00:07:32.410 --> 00:07:35.050 was a monumental mechanical challenge given the 00:07:35.050 --> 00:07:38.430 technology. of 1963. Absolutely. And his wife, 00:07:38.930 --> 00:07:41.649 Alice Davis, was tasked with dressing these figures. 00:07:41.810 --> 00:07:44.490 She had a huge job. Our sources reveal a fascinating 00:07:44.490 --> 00:07:46.649 directive she received directly from Walt Disney 00:07:46.649 --> 00:07:49.089 regarding the costuming. What did he tell her? 00:07:49.250 --> 00:07:51.730 He told her to do whatever it takes to make these 00:07:51.730 --> 00:07:53.949 look like dolls every woman in the world would 00:07:53.949 --> 00:07:56.910 want to have. That directive is a brilliant piece 00:07:56.910 --> 00:07:59.319 of commercial psychology. Isn't it? It reveals 00:07:59.319 --> 00:08:02.339 that the goal wasn't pure anthropological accuracy. 00:08:02.939 --> 00:08:06.560 The goal was intense desirability and approachability. 00:08:06.620 --> 00:08:08.959 Right. Framing the cultural representations through 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:12.180 a highly desirable, almost toy -like aesthetic. 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:14.699 By doing that, Disney ensured the attraction 00:08:14.699 --> 00:08:17.259 would resonate emotionally with a global audience. 00:08:18.040 --> 00:08:20.620 Alice Davis sourced authentic fabrics, trims, 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:22.980 and techniques from around the world, but she 00:08:22.980 --> 00:08:25.699 tailored them to fit these universally appealing 00:08:25.699 --> 00:08:28.199 uniform figures. And those figures were designed 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:31.279 by Blaine Gibson. Yes, the sculptor. Right. He 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:33.840 sculpted the faces to be identical in shape, 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:37.299 relying only on paint and styling to differentiate 00:08:37.299 --> 00:08:40.200 the global regions. A huge time saver. But beyond 00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:42.659 the dolls. We have to talk about Rolly Crump. 00:08:43.100 --> 00:08:46.159 Oh, Rolly's work is iconic. He designed the supplemental 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:49.100 toys within the ride, but his crowning achievement 00:08:49.100 --> 00:08:51.899 was what sat outside the pavilion at the World's 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:54.220 Fair. The Tower of the Four Winds. The source 00:08:54.220 --> 00:08:58.039 document describes it as a 120 foot tall, perpetually 00:08:58.039 --> 00:09:00.980 spinning mobile. It was an engineering masterpiece 00:09:00.980 --> 00:09:04.399 in its own right. A 12 -story openwork structure 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:07.779 made of aluminum. Wow. Covered in abstract depictions 00:09:07.779 --> 00:09:10.740 of animals, suns, and geometric shapes that literally 00:09:10.740 --> 00:09:13.460 caught the wind and spun dynamically. So just 00:09:13.460 --> 00:09:15.899 constantly moving. Functionally, it served as 00:09:15.899 --> 00:09:18.899 a massive kinetic beacon. You have to remember, 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:22.659 the 1964 World's Fair was visually overwhelming. 00:09:22.820 --> 00:09:24.840 Packed with modernist architecture everywhere. 00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:27.539 Exactly. Disney needed something tall, moving, 00:09:27.679 --> 00:09:29.820 and eye -catching to draw crowds to the Pepsi 00:09:29.820 --> 00:09:32.220 Pavilion. And Crump's aerodynamic sculpture did 00:09:32.220 --> 00:09:34.659 exactly that. It sure did. OK, so they have the 00:09:34.659 --> 00:09:38.220 art, the robots, and the beacon. But the fundamental 00:09:38.220 --> 00:09:40.799 mechanical hurdle was throughput. Moving the 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:44.299 people. Right. How do you physically move tens 00:09:44.299 --> 00:09:47.149 of thousands of people? through this exhibit 00:09:47.149 --> 00:09:49.350 every single day. This is where aero development 00:09:49.350 --> 00:09:51.570 comes in. Yes, the engineering firm that figured 00:09:51.570 --> 00:09:54.169 out the boat propulsion system. We really need 00:09:54.169 --> 00:09:56.289 to break down the mechanical hurdles aero development 00:09:56.289 --> 00:09:58.629 solved here because it revolutionized theme park 00:09:58.629 --> 00:10:01.210 engineering. Let's do it. Before it's a small 00:10:01.210 --> 00:10:04.480 world. Dark rides typically ran on continuous 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:07.399 mechanical tracks, like a chain pulling a heavy 00:10:07.399 --> 00:10:09.919 ride vehicle. Like a roller coaster chain. Exactly. 00:10:10.620 --> 00:10:12.700 But mechanical tracks require high maintenance, 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:15.820 they are noisy, and they limit capacity because 00:10:15.820 --> 00:10:18.659 vehicles must be spaced out strictly. So aero 00:10:18.659 --> 00:10:20.440 development took a completely different approach. 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:23.879 Using fluid dynamics, they designed lightweight 00:10:23.879 --> 00:10:27.240 fiberglass boats that floated freely in a concrete 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:30.500 flume. So no track at all? None. Instead of a 00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:32.840 track pulling the boats, they installed submerged, 00:10:33.139 --> 00:10:36.100 silent water jets that created a continuous current. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:38.720 The water itself pushed the boats along the channel. 00:10:39.059 --> 00:10:42.720 So simple, yet so effective. It meant the ride 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:45.279 navies had to stop for loading and unloading. 00:10:45.620 --> 00:10:47.679 Boats could safely bump into one another at the 00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:50.779 station, guests could step in, and the current 00:10:50.779 --> 00:10:53.019 would just gently push them back into the flow. 00:10:53.289 --> 00:10:56.730 It allowed for a staggeringly high hourly capacity 00:10:56.730 --> 00:10:59.990 with almost zero mechanical downtime. It was 00:10:59.990 --> 00:11:03.409 revolutionary. And that capacity paid off phenomenally. 00:11:03.690 --> 00:11:07.820 The fair opened on April 20th, 1964. with UN 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:10.139 Secretary -General Youfant dedicating the ride 00:11:10.139 --> 00:11:12.360 a few days later. Right. And visitors had to 00:11:12.360 --> 00:11:15.259 pay extra for this specific pavilion. 60 cents 00:11:15.259 --> 00:11:18.200 for children and 95 cents for adults. With the 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:20.860 proceeds going to UNICEF. Exactly. Yeah. Despite 00:11:20.860 --> 00:11:23.139 the upcharge, the attraction was pulling in 35 00:11:23.139 --> 00:11:26.059 ,000 to 40 ,000 daily riders. When you look at 00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:28.200 those numbers, you realize the sheer scale of 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:31.090 the success. By the time the World's Fair concluded 00:11:31.090 --> 00:11:33.669 its two -season run, the attraction had recorded 00:11:33.669 --> 00:11:37.190 10 .3 million total visitors. 10 .3 million? 00:11:37.269 --> 00:11:39.429 That's unbelievable. To accommodate the massive 00:11:39.429 --> 00:11:41.590 lines, they had to keep the ride operating 15 00:11:41.590 --> 00:11:45.230 hours a day by mid -1965. Wow. And this efficiency 00:11:45.230 --> 00:11:47.269 actually altered the course of Disney history. 00:11:47.580 --> 00:11:50.159 How so? Well, internal Imagineering teams were 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:52.399 currently building Pirates of the Caribbean at 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:55.379 Disneyland in California. OK. Which was originally 00:11:55.379 --> 00:11:59.259 designed as a subterranean walk through wax museum. 00:11:59.419 --> 00:12:03.019 Oh, I had no idea. A walk? Yes. But after witnessing 00:12:03.019 --> 00:12:05.700 the phenomenal throughput of Arrow Developments 00:12:05.700 --> 00:12:09.600 water jet system in New York, Disney halted construction 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:12.620 on pirates and entirely redesigned it into a 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:15.419 high capacity boat ride. That is a fascinating 00:12:15.419 --> 00:12:17.820 piece of ripple effect history. It really is. 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:21.019 But as much as we dissect the mechanics of fluid 00:12:21.019 --> 00:12:24.480 dynamics and Mary Blair's color theory, there 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:26.580 is an elephant in the room that we have to address. 00:12:26.700 --> 00:12:28.799 The song. The song. The melody that conquered 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:31.019 the planet. Right. And here is where the story 00:12:31.019 --> 00:12:34.460 takes a wildly unexpected turn. The original 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:36.500 working title for the attraction wasn't It's 00:12:36.500 --> 00:12:38.919 a Small World. No, it was Children of the World. 00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:41.419 And the initial concept for the audio was vastly 00:12:41.419 --> 00:12:43.580 different from what we know today. According 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:45.879 to the source, the original plan was to have 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:48.899 the dolls in each geographic section sing the 00:12:48.899 --> 00:12:50.720 national anthem of their respective country. 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:53.659 It makes logical sense on paper. Sure. If you 00:12:53.659 --> 00:12:56.200 are building a tribute to the diverse nations 00:12:56.200 --> 00:12:59.789 of the world, you use their anthems. But practically, 00:13:00.029 --> 00:13:02.450 practically it was an acoustic nightmare. The 00:13:02.450 --> 00:13:05.509 attraction was designed as one continuous winding 00:13:05.509 --> 00:13:08.330 waterway. Right. There were very few solid walls 00:13:08.330 --> 00:13:11.110 or soundproof barriers between the scenes. Exactly. 00:13:11.549 --> 00:13:13.830 So if you are floating between the Europe section 00:13:13.830 --> 00:13:16.549 and the Asia section, you are hearing multiple 00:13:16.549 --> 00:13:19.350 national anthems playing simultaneously. The 00:13:19.350 --> 00:13:22.789 source material refers to the result as a cacophony. 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:26.960 A total wall of clashing melodies, varying tempos, 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:29.480 and conflicting instrumental arrangements. It 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:32.600 was awful. So Walt Disney realizes this immediately 00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:35.279 during a walkthrough of the scale model. He brings 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:38.220 in his staff songwriters, Robert B. Sherman and 00:13:38.220 --> 00:13:40.320 Richard M. Sherman. To Sherman Brothers. To Sherman 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:42.720 Brothers. And he tells them the anthem idea is 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:44.980 a complete disaster. His directive was clear. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:47.320 He needed a single song that could be easily 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:49.779 translated into many languages. And played as 00:13:49.779 --> 00:13:52.299 a round. meaning the melody could seamlessly 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:55.320 overlap itself as guests floated from room to 00:13:55.320 --> 00:13:57.860 room. Right. Here's where it gets really interesting. 00:13:57.919 --> 00:14:00.179 We have to look at the exact timing of this request. 00:14:00.340 --> 00:14:03.100 The historical context is crucial here. The Sherman 00:14:03.100 --> 00:14:05.179 Brothers sat down to write what would become, 00:14:05.240 --> 00:14:08.899 it's a small world after all, in the direct wake 00:14:08.899 --> 00:14:11.879 of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Just think 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:13.700 about the psychological state of the world at 00:14:13.700 --> 00:14:16.470 that exact moment. People were literally digging 00:14:16.470 --> 00:14:18.730 fallout shelters in their backyards. Children 00:14:18.730 --> 00:14:20.750 were doing duck and cover drills under their 00:14:20.750 --> 00:14:22.950 school desks. The world was on the terrifying 00:14:22.950 --> 00:14:26.350 brink of actual nuclear annihilation. The contrast 00:14:26.350 --> 00:14:28.929 is simply breathtaking. It really is. Out of 00:14:28.929 --> 00:14:32.029 that profound existential geopolitical anxiety, 00:14:32.450 --> 00:14:35.149 the Sherman Brothers wrote a deeply earnest plea 00:14:35.149 --> 00:14:38.269 for peace, brotherhood, and shared humanity. 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:41.320 The lyrics focus on the indisputable facts that 00:14:41.320 --> 00:14:43.659 unite us. We share the same sun, the same moon, 00:14:43.779 --> 00:14:46.019 the same oceans. It was an attempt to distill 00:14:46.019 --> 00:14:49.340 a massive, terrifying global conflict into a 00:14:49.340 --> 00:14:52.120 simple truth about shared existence. But the 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:54.419 tone wasn't initially the upbeat march we know 00:14:54.419 --> 00:14:56.879 today. No. When the brothers first presented 00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:59.460 the song to Walt Disney, they played it as a 00:14:59.460 --> 00:15:02.539 slow, mournful ballad. From a music theory perspective, 00:15:02.659 --> 00:15:05.529 that makes perfect sense. Right. A slow ballad 00:15:05.529 --> 00:15:07.950 emphasizes the gravity and the vulnerability 00:15:07.950 --> 00:15:12.110 of the message. It was a serious, heartfelt plea. 00:15:12.610 --> 00:15:14.669 But Walt Disney understood the psychology of 00:15:14.669 --> 00:15:16.690 his audience in a different way. He always did. 00:15:16.950 --> 00:15:19.169 He was building an attraction for a World's Fair, 00:15:19.669 --> 00:15:22.210 a place meant to showcase optimism in future 00:15:22.210 --> 00:15:25.370 progress. So he requested that they increase 00:15:25.370 --> 00:15:27.970 the tempo and sing it in counterpoint. A faster, 00:15:28.230 --> 00:15:31.389 cheerful, major key arrangement. Speeding up 00:15:31.389 --> 00:15:33.990 a mournful plea for peace and turning it into 00:15:33.990 --> 00:15:36.870 a relentlessly upbeat earworm, it completely 00:15:36.870 --> 00:15:39.409 shifted how the brain processes the music. It 00:15:39.409 --> 00:15:42.029 really did. By accelerating the tempo and utilizing 00:15:42.029 --> 00:15:45.029 a simple, repetitive melody at a major key, the 00:15:45.029 --> 00:15:47.750 song bypasses the critical, analytical part of 00:15:47.750 --> 00:15:50.389 the brain and embeds itself in the listener's 00:15:50.389 --> 00:15:53.289 memory. It transformed from a solemn into an 00:15:53.289 --> 00:15:55.830 inescapable anthem of aggressive optimism. And 00:15:55.830 --> 00:15:57.889 Walt was so thrilled with this transformation 00:15:57.889 --> 00:16:00.409 that he actually renamed the entire attraction. 00:16:00.509 --> 00:16:02.190 Right, it went from Children of the World to 00:16:02.190 --> 00:16:04.610 It's a Small World. And Walt possessed a razor 00:16:04.610 --> 00:16:07.649 -sharp business acumen regarding this song. Yes. 00:16:08.169 --> 00:16:10.029 The sources detailed that the Sherman Brothers 00:16:10.029 --> 00:16:12.190 originally wanted to donate all of their royalties 00:16:12.190 --> 00:16:15.029 and profits from the song directly to UNICEF. 00:16:15.190 --> 00:16:17.149 Which is in keeping with the philanthropic spirit 00:16:17.149 --> 00:16:20.370 of the pavilion. Exactly. But Walt explicitly 00:16:20.370 --> 00:16:23.039 stopped them. He knew exactly what he had. He 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:26.019 dissuaded them from donating the copyright because 00:16:26.019 --> 00:16:28.759 he understood the commercial potential of a perfectly 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:31.460 engineered earworm. He knew it would transcend 00:16:31.460 --> 00:16:34.059 the world's fair and become a massive financial 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:36.759 asset. He wasn't wrong. Recordings of the song 00:16:36.759 --> 00:16:40.500 went on sale in October 1964. And by 1967, the 00:16:40.500 --> 00:16:42.860 Christian Science Monitor observed that visitors 00:16:42.860 --> 00:16:45.559 go away humming it as though they had made it 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:49.000 up themselves. Fast forward to modern times and 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:51.519 Robert J. Sherman. The son of Robert B. Sherman 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:54.000 claims it is the single most performed and most 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:56.559 translated piece of music ever produced in human 00:16:56.559 --> 00:16:58.820 history. If we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:01.620 the sheer statistical volume of this song is 00:17:01.620 --> 00:17:03.639 difficult to comprehend. Let's see the numbers. 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:07.559 By 2014, Time magazine published estimates calculating 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:09.960 that the song had been played nearly 50 million 00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:12.500 times worldwide on the theme park attractions 00:17:12.500 --> 00:17:17.180 alone. 50 million times. Yes. That metric comfortably 00:17:17.180 --> 00:17:20.079 shatters the broadcast records of massive radio 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:22.740 hits like The Beatles Yesterday or The Righteous 00:17:22.740 --> 00:17:25.720 Brothers. You've lost that love and feeling. 00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:28.359 That is just mind -boggling. During a typical 00:17:28.359 --> 00:17:31.720 16 -hour theme park operating day, the song cycles 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:35.660 roughly 1 ,200 times. Wow. And the cultural saturation 00:17:35.660 --> 00:17:37.900 of the song reached a point where the Library 00:17:37.900 --> 00:17:40.359 of Congress officially stepped in. They had to 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:43.569 acknowledge it. In 2022, they selected a 1964 00:17:43.569 --> 00:17:46.109 recording of the song performed by the Disneyland 00:17:46.109 --> 00:17:48.789 Boys Choir for preservation in the National Recording 00:17:48.789 --> 00:17:51.589 Registry. They formally deemed it culturally, 00:17:51.950 --> 00:17:54.589 historically, or aesthetically significant. It 00:17:54.589 --> 00:17:56.650 is incredible to think that a theme park jingle 00:17:56.650 --> 00:17:59.509 engineered to fix an acoustic problem in a boat 00:17:59.509 --> 00:18:02.650 ride transcended its medium to become a protected 00:18:02.650 --> 00:18:05.579 foundational piece of American history. And its 00:18:05.579 --> 00:18:07.680 history is still actively being written. Right. 00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:09.539 This isn't just a relic of the past. Shortly 00:18:09.539 --> 00:18:11.720 before his death, Richard Sherman returned to 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:14.220 the song to compose a brand new third verse. 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:17.839 After all these years. Yes. Disney premiered 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:21.519 this new verse in a short film on ABC in late 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:24.400 2024. and they announced it would be officially 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:26.960 integrated into the finale portions of the rides 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:29.920 at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom starting in July 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:33.519 2025. Perfectly timed for Disneyland's 70th anniversary. 00:18:33.740 --> 00:18:36.880 Exactly. The first new lyrics added to the most 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:39.799 played song in the world after 60 years. We are 00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:41.720 definitely going to circle back to the philosophical 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:43.759 implications of that new verse at the end of 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:46.160 our deep dive because it raises some vital questions 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:48.740 about our modern world. It really does. But first, 00:18:48.779 --> 00:18:50.759 we need to trace what happened when the World's 00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:53.380 Fair packed up in October. were in 1965. Right 00:18:53.380 --> 00:18:55.380 because the ride didn't just end its run and 00:18:55.380 --> 00:18:57.480 get dismantled. Well it was entirely boxed up 00:18:57.480 --> 00:18:59.200 and shipped across the country to California. 00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:02.940 In February 1966 Walt Disney announced a massive 00:19:02.940 --> 00:19:06.359 23 million dollar expansion for Disneyland. Which 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:09.579 featured bringing it's a small world. to a prominent 00:19:09.579 --> 00:19:11.980 new location at the northern end of Fantasyland. 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:14.400 It officially opened to the public there on May 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:18.819 28, 1966. Moving a massive water flume ride across 00:19:18.819 --> 00:19:21.220 the country is a logistical nightmare, and they 00:19:21.220 --> 00:19:22.940 couldn't just drop the New York building into 00:19:22.940 --> 00:19:25.019 Anaheim. No, they lost the Tower of the Four 00:19:25.019 --> 00:19:27.339 Winds, unfortunately. It was sadly scrapped due 00:19:27.339 --> 00:19:29.660 to the prohibitive cost and complexity of moving 00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:32.000 it. But to make up for that loss, they gained 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:35.700 something arguably even more iconic. The facade. 00:19:35.880 --> 00:19:39.710 Yes. The new ride building in Anaheim was gargantuan, 00:19:40.109 --> 00:19:43.630 covering 1 .25 acres, standing four stories high 00:19:43.630 --> 00:19:47.230 and spanning 65 ,000 square feet. It needed a 00:19:47.230 --> 00:19:50.609 new architectural identity. That identity was 00:19:50.609 --> 00:19:53.750 provided by Raleigh Crump. He designed a massive 00:19:53.750 --> 00:19:57.349 sprawling exterior facade, heavily inspired by 00:19:57.349 --> 00:20:00.410 Mary Blair's geometric styling. The centerpiece 00:20:00.410 --> 00:20:03.930 is a towering 30 foot high clock with a perpetually 00:20:03.930 --> 00:20:06.450 smiling face that rocks back and forth. It's 00:20:06.450 --> 00:20:09.049 so recognizable. And every 15 minutes the clock 00:20:09.049 --> 00:20:11.890 opens and a parade of costumed wooden dolls marches 00:20:11.890 --> 00:20:13.910 out from the base to mark the time. It created 00:20:13.910 --> 00:20:16.490 a monumental theatrical entrance that the World's 00:20:16.490 --> 00:20:18.309 Fair version lacked. They didn't just expand 00:20:18.309 --> 00:20:20.380 the exterior they expanded the rides content 00:20:20.380 --> 00:20:24.019 inside too. They added entirely new regions including 00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:25.980 representations of children from the Pacific 00:20:25.980 --> 00:20:28.480 Islands and the Arctic. Which pushed the total 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:31.940 number of audio animatronic figures to over 500. 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:35.319 And from a business perspective the Anaheim installation 00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:38.279 cemented the rides reliance on corporate sponsorships 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:41.220 to offset operational costs. Bank of America 00:20:41.220 --> 00:20:44.200 sponsored it initially until 1992. Then Mattel 00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:47.059 took over. And they actually built a massive 00:20:47.059 --> 00:20:50.180 toy shop right at the rides exit and altered 00:20:50.180 --> 00:20:52.900 the loading dock flow to push guests toward the 00:20:52.900 --> 00:20:55.599 merchandise. Classic corporate synergy. Exactly. 00:20:55.819 --> 00:20:59.319 When Mattel dropped out in 1999, Osram Sylvania, 00:20:59.539 --> 00:21:02.359 which later became Siemens, stepped in and sponsored 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:05.319 the attraction all the way until 2017. The Anaheim 00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:07.819 version really became the definitive template. 00:21:07.980 --> 00:21:09.980 But what makes this attraction a fascinating 00:21:09.980 --> 00:21:13.279 case study in global adaptation is how it evolved 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:15.900 as Disney exported it to different continents 00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:18.279 over the next 50 years. Let's track that global 00:21:18.279 --> 00:21:20.420 expansion, starting with the Magic Kingdom in 00:21:20.420 --> 00:21:24.099 Florida, which opened on October 1st, 1971. It 00:21:24.099 --> 00:21:26.059 was an opening day attraction, bumping the figure 00:21:26.059 --> 00:21:28.660 count to over 600. But Florida made a massive 00:21:28.660 --> 00:21:31.619 architectural pivot. Right. It completely lacks 00:21:31.619 --> 00:21:34.660 the elaborate, iconic exterior facade of the 00:21:34.660 --> 00:21:37.299 California version. Completely. Why would they 00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:40.319 abandon such a recognizable landmark? The environment 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:43.349 dictated the architecture. The weather in Florida. 00:21:43.829 --> 00:21:46.970 Exactly. In Florida, you are dealing with intense 00:21:46.970 --> 00:21:50.490 humidity, torrential afternoon thunderstorms, 00:21:50.609 --> 00:21:54.109 and extreme heat. You cannot have thousands of 00:21:54.109 --> 00:21:57.170 guests standing in a massive, unshaded outdoor 00:21:57.170 --> 00:22:00.809 plaza waiting to board a 15 -minute boat ride. 00:22:00.869 --> 00:22:03.329 That would be miserable. Therefore, the Magic 00:22:03.329 --> 00:22:05.529 Kingdom version was housed entirely indoors. 00:22:05.829 --> 00:22:08.269 It was integrated within a more traditional medieval 00:22:08.269 --> 00:22:11.150 tournament tent structure inside Fantasyland. 00:22:11.369 --> 00:22:13.930 the queue is enclosed. Yes, and the right itself 00:22:13.930 --> 00:22:15.910 is slightly smaller in physical scale to fit 00:22:15.910 --> 00:22:18.390 the indoor footprint. It saw various sponsors 00:22:18.390 --> 00:22:21.210 like Kodak and Mattel, but remained largely untouched 00:22:21.210 --> 00:22:24.569 until a 2004 refurbishment updated the entrance 00:22:24.569 --> 00:22:27.569 and sound system, followed by a bright repainting 00:22:27.569 --> 00:22:30.890 for the park's 50th anniversary in 2021. So Florida 00:22:30.890 --> 00:22:33.089 brought it indoors. Tokyo Disneyland, which opened 00:22:33.089 --> 00:22:35.609 in 1983, went in the exact opposite direction. 00:22:35.690 --> 00:22:37.990 They built an almost complete, massive replica 00:22:37.990 --> 00:22:41.240 of the outdoor Anaheim facade. But Tokyo has 00:22:41.240 --> 00:22:44.059 been the site of some major controversial updates 00:22:44.059 --> 00:22:48.079 recently. Yes. In 2018, they completely reconstructed 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:50.160 the loading area into something called Small 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:52.839 World Station. They added a Mandarin language 00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:55.680 track to the China section. And most notably, 00:22:55.819 --> 00:22:58.980 integrated 40 Disney animation characters into 00:22:58.980 --> 00:23:02.059 the ride scenes. And it gets wilder. In 2024, 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:05.480 they temporarily closed the ride to install a 00:23:05.480 --> 00:23:08.359 Marvel themed overlay called It's a Small World 00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:11.059 with Groot. Which is returning in late 2025. 00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:13.599 This integration of intellectual property incorporating 00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:16.039 characters like Groot, Ariel or Cinderella into 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:18.980 the attraction represents a massive philosophical 00:23:18.980 --> 00:23:21.210 shift for the Walt Disney Company. For decades, 00:23:21.430 --> 00:23:23.670 the unwritten rule was that Mary Blair's designs 00:23:23.670 --> 00:23:26.329 were focused purely on cultural representation. 00:23:26.670 --> 00:23:29.349 Right. The dolls represented the everyday children 00:23:29.349 --> 00:23:31.710 of the world, not specific fictional characters. 00:23:32.230 --> 00:23:34.069 Exactly. When did that rule get broken? Hong 00:23:34.069 --> 00:23:36.369 Kong Disneyland was the pioneer of this shift. 00:23:36.690 --> 00:23:39.390 When their version opened in 2008, it was radically 00:23:39.390 --> 00:23:41.650 unique. From opening day. Right from opening 00:23:41.650 --> 00:23:45.630 day. They integrated 38 Disney characters like 00:23:45.630 --> 00:23:48.470 Aladdin in the Middle East or Mulan in China. 00:23:48.670 --> 00:23:51.950 but meticulously rendered them in Mary Blair's 00:23:51.950 --> 00:23:54.970 distinct flat mid -century style so they wouldn't 00:23:54.970 --> 00:23:56.730 clash with the original dolls. That's a clever 00:23:56.730 --> 00:23:59.160 way to do it. They also immensely expanded the 00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:01.579 Asia sequence to reflect their host continent, 00:24:02.099 --> 00:24:04.279 featuring children singing the theme song in 00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:07.920 Cantonese, Tagalog, Korean, and Mandarin. And 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:10.420 their finale features an extraordinary use of 00:24:10.420 --> 00:24:12.880 fiber optic lighting effects not seen in any 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:14.579 other version of the ride. But if we want to 00:24:14.579 --> 00:24:16.460 talk about radical partures, we have to talk 00:24:16.460 --> 00:24:19.339 about Disneyland Paris. Which opened in 1992. 00:24:19.740 --> 00:24:22.019 Paris is a completely different beast, both inside 00:24:22.019 --> 00:24:24.930 and out. The Paris installation is a profound 00:24:24.930 --> 00:24:27.509 architectural and artistic divergence from the 00:24:27.509 --> 00:24:29.369 California template. You have to understand the 00:24:29.369 --> 00:24:31.410 cultural friction Disney faced when building 00:24:31.410 --> 00:24:34.170 a park in France. Right. They were heavily criticized 00:24:34.170 --> 00:24:36.890 for importing American cultural imperialism. 00:24:37.089 --> 00:24:39.670 Consequently, they couldn't just build a carbon 00:24:39.670 --> 00:24:43.369 copy of a very American styled mid century attraction. 00:24:43.569 --> 00:24:46.349 So what do they change? They redesigned the exterior 00:24:46.349 --> 00:24:48.809 clock tower. So the face features a wide awake 00:24:48.809 --> 00:24:50.950 sun on the left and a sleeping moon on the right, 00:24:51.349 --> 00:24:53.740 giving it a more European celestial clockwork 00:24:53.740 --> 00:24:56.809 feel. and the inside of the Paris ride abandons 00:24:56.809 --> 00:24:58.890 the fundamental layout of the attraction. Yes, 00:24:58.890 --> 00:25:01.450 instead of floating through separate, distinct, 00:25:01.589 --> 00:25:04.289 isolated rooms connected by narrow tunnels, the 00:25:04.289 --> 00:25:08.089 entire Paris ride is housed in one massive cavernous 00:25:08.089 --> 00:25:10.289 room. They use structural arches and lighting 00:25:10.289 --> 00:25:12.710 to define the different geographical sections, 00:25:13.130 --> 00:25:15.789 rather than physical walls. That unified room 00:25:15.789 --> 00:25:18.769 changes the entire acoustic and visual experience. 00:25:19.069 --> 00:25:21.450 Furthermore, the scenery design in Paris departs 00:25:21.450 --> 00:25:23.730 entirely from Mary Blair's distinct geometry. 00:25:23.880 --> 00:25:26.240 They use the same audio animatronic dolls, but 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:28.180 the sets surrounding them are far more detailed 00:25:28.180 --> 00:25:31.009 and ornate. And perhaps most shockingly for purists, 00:25:31.269 --> 00:25:34.150 they threw out the classic Sherman Brothers synthesizer 00:25:34.150 --> 00:25:37.069 and choir arrangement. Completely gone. The Paris 00:25:37.069 --> 00:25:39.849 version features a completely different, lush 00:25:39.849 --> 00:25:42.869 symphonic soundtrack composed by John Debney. 00:25:43.210 --> 00:25:45.869 They also added a vibrant European room with 00:25:45.869 --> 00:25:48.349 dolls singing in French and German, a Middle 00:25:48.349 --> 00:25:50.650 Eastern section with Arabic and Hebrew, and a 00:25:50.650 --> 00:25:53.450 North American scene. It is a distinctly European 00:25:53.450 --> 00:25:56.009 interpretation of an American classic. It's amazing 00:25:56.009 --> 00:25:59.700 how a ride with such a strict singular central 00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:03.440 thesis global unity. can look, sound, and feel 00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:05.339 so fundamentally different depending on what 00:26:05.339 --> 00:26:07.880 continent you ride it on. It really is. And recently, 00:26:08.339 --> 00:26:10.619 we've seen a beautiful push for modernization 00:26:10.619 --> 00:26:14.400 across all the parks. Yes. Between 2022 and 2024, 00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:17.200 Anaheim, Magic Kingdom, Paris, and Hong Kong 00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:20.460 all added new doll seated in wheelchairs to various 00:26:20.460 --> 00:26:22.640 scenes representing disabled guests and cast 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:25.680 members. And in 2025, Anaheim adding characters 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:28.519 from Pixar's Coco, Miguel, and Dante to the South 00:26:28.519 --> 00:26:30.960 America Room. What we are analyzing here is the 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:33.319 delicate high -stakes corporate balancing act 00:26:33.319 --> 00:26:35.680 of keeping a 60 -year -old attraction relevant 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:38.539 to a modern audience. Right. Disney has to maintain 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:41.660 the profound nostalgia and the core mid -century 00:26:41.660 --> 00:26:44.079 aesthetic that older generations expect. While 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:46.519 simultaneously ensuring the cultural representation 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:49.240 reflects the diversity of the modern world. Integrating 00:26:49.240 --> 00:26:52.329 fresh IP like Coco or Marvel characters. is a 00:26:52.329 --> 00:26:55.009 strategic move to ensure young children who might 00:26:55.009 --> 00:26:57.210 be accustomed to high -speed roller coasters 00:26:57.210 --> 00:27:00.150 and immersive digital media still find a connection 00:27:00.150 --> 00:27:03.630 to a slow -moving boat ride from 1964. Exactly. 00:27:04.210 --> 00:27:06.089 Speaking of keeping things fresh, let's talk 00:27:06.089 --> 00:27:08.490 about how this ride completely transforms after 00:27:08.490 --> 00:27:11.250 dark and during the winter. The physical structure 00:27:11.250 --> 00:27:13.230 of the attraction has become a canvas in its 00:27:13.230 --> 00:27:16.099 own right. Let's start with the holiday overlays. 00:27:16.420 --> 00:27:28.079 This tradition started in Anaheim in 1997. in 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:30.339 almost one million lights. The operational feed 00:27:30.339 --> 00:27:33.079 of that overlay is immense, but the most significant 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:35.779 change is auditory. Right, the music. The main 00:27:35.779 --> 00:27:37.980 Sherman Brothers theme is woven together in a 00:27:37.980 --> 00:27:40.240 complex counterpoint with classic carols like 00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:43.220 Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls. It creates a 00:27:43.220 --> 00:27:45.500 completely different, incredibly festive atmosphere. 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:48.279 Disney attempted to export this concept to the 00:27:48.279 --> 00:27:50.319 other parks with varying degrees of success. 00:27:50.400 --> 00:27:52.720 How did the other parks handle it? Tokyo ran 00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:57.180 very merry holidays from 2003 to 2015, adding 00:27:57.180 --> 00:27:59.880 giant snowflakes to their facade and utilizing 00:27:59.880 --> 00:28:03.660 a modified soundtrack. Paris launched It's a 00:28:03.660 --> 00:28:06.839 Small World Celebration in 1999, but it actually 00:28:06.839 --> 00:28:09.319 struggled significantly with poor acoustic mixing 00:28:09.319 --> 00:28:11.940 in that massive single room layout we discussed 00:28:11.940 --> 00:28:14.420 earlier. The sound just bounced around everywhere. 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:17.140 The audio was muddy and chaotic until they finally 00:28:17.140 --> 00:28:19.779 gave it a technical overhaul in 2009. What about 00:28:19.779 --> 00:28:23.599 Hong Kong? it's a small world Christmas in 2009, 00:28:23.900 --> 00:28:26.539 placing a Santa figure in the Arctic scene, but 00:28:26.539 --> 00:28:29.180 the interior was barely decorated compared to 00:28:29.180 --> 00:28:31.640 Anaheim, and the overlay was quietly retired 00:28:31.640 --> 00:28:34.240 after only one season. Even outside of the holidays, 00:28:34.299 --> 00:28:36.920 that massive, flat, white facade in Anaheim has 00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:39.640 become a literal technological canvas. Exactly. 00:28:40.140 --> 00:28:42.680 Mary Blair's geometric flat design inadvertently 00:28:42.680 --> 00:28:44.920 created the perfect surface for modern projection 00:28:44.920 --> 00:28:47.460 mapping technology. In 2011, Disney launched 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:49.900 a nighttime spectacular called The Magic, The 00:28:49.900 --> 00:28:52.680 Memories, and You. This show utilized high -definition 00:28:52.680 --> 00:28:55.380 projectors to map sequences of Disney animation 00:28:55.380 --> 00:28:59.000 and actual photographs of park guests taken that 00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:01.380 very day directly onto the contours of the clock 00:29:01.380 --> 00:29:03.579 face and the surrounding towers. And just recently, 00:29:03.880 --> 00:29:06.420 to celebrate Disneyland's 70th anniversary in 00:29:06.420 --> 00:29:09.759 May 2025, they debuted a brand new projection 00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:12.960 show called Tapestry of Happiness. This one projects 00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:15.220 iconic moments from past and present Disneyland 00:29:15.220 --> 00:29:18.039 attractions onto the facade, all set to a modern 00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:20.519 remix by the Jonas Brothers called Celeb... Happy. 00:29:21.019 --> 00:29:22.920 It proves that the physical structure itself 00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:25.539 is just as culturally vital and adaptable as 00:29:25.539 --> 00:29:27.940 the righted houses. Which naturally brings us 00:29:27.940 --> 00:29:30.420 to the attraction's broader pop culture footprint. 00:29:30.660 --> 00:29:32.759 Right. When a piece of art achieves this level 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:35.920 of global saturation, it inevitably transcends 00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:38.579 its original context to become a target for parody, 00:29:39.039 --> 00:29:42.200 homage and cultural commentary. All the pop culture 00:29:42.200 --> 00:29:44.619 references are inescapable. You have the classic 00:29:44.619 --> 00:29:47.799 1993 episode of The Simpsons, Selma's Choice, 00:29:48.200 --> 00:29:51.880 where Bart, Lisa and Selma endure agonizing parody 00:29:51.880 --> 00:29:54.079 of the ride at the fictional Duff Gardens. Then 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:57.940 you have the 2013 surrealist horror film Escape 00:29:57.940 --> 00:30:00.680 from Tomorrow, which was famously shot in secret 00:30:00.680 --> 00:30:03.299 while riding the actual attraction. In the video 00:30:03.299 --> 00:30:06.240 game epic Mickey, the ride's iconic clock tower 00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:08.779 is literally a monstrous boss character you have 00:30:08.779 --> 00:30:11.109 to defeat in battle. But perhaps the most telling 00:30:11.109 --> 00:30:13.730 mainstream cultural use of the song occurs in 00:30:13.730 --> 00:30:17.410 Disney's own 1994 animated masterpiece, The Lion 00:30:17.410 --> 00:30:21.049 King. Yes. The villainous lion, Scar, commands 00:30:21.049 --> 00:30:23.930 his captive bird, Zazu, to sing something with 00:30:23.930 --> 00:30:26.210 a little bounce in it. Zazu immediately begins 00:30:26.210 --> 00:30:29.109 to sing It's a Small World. And Scar instantly 00:30:29.109 --> 00:30:31.890 panics, groans, and shouts, no, no, anything 00:30:31.890 --> 00:30:34.710 but that. It is the ultimate comedic shorthand 00:30:34.710 --> 00:30:37.420 for torture. But why is that? Why does a song 00:30:37.420 --> 00:30:40.279 written specifically as a genuine plea for world 00:30:40.279 --> 00:30:43.160 peace become the universal go -to punchline for 00:30:43.160 --> 00:30:45.500 madness and psychological torment? To understand 00:30:45.500 --> 00:30:47.380 that we have to look at the psychology of the 00:30:47.380 --> 00:30:49.700 modern adult mind. It comes down to the extreme 00:30:49.700 --> 00:30:52.180 tension between forced inescapable happiness 00:30:52.180 --> 00:30:54.680 and inherent human cynicism. The ride presents 00:30:54.680 --> 00:30:57.440 a utopian vision. a world where the dolls never 00:30:57.440 --> 00:31:00.400 stop smiling, the pastel sun never sets, and 00:31:00.400 --> 00:31:03.259 the cheerful music never, ever ends. For a cynical 00:31:03.259 --> 00:31:05.900 adult, being trapped in a loop of unrelenting, 00:31:06.160 --> 00:31:09.220 manufactured cheerfulness borders on the uncanny 00:31:09.220 --> 00:31:12.160 valley. It creates a psychological dissonance. 00:31:12.339 --> 00:31:14.380 The joke in The Lion King and The Simpsons works 00:31:14.380 --> 00:31:16.819 perfectly because it highlights the massive gap 00:31:16.819 --> 00:31:19.799 between the messy, painful reality of our actual 00:31:19.799 --> 00:31:23.099 world and the sanitized, mechanical perfection 00:31:23.099 --> 00:31:25.460 of the ride. And speaking of wild pop culture, 00:31:25.319 --> 00:31:28.319 artifacts that highlight that gap. I cannot get 00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:30.440 over this footnote buried in our sources. Oh 00:31:30.440 --> 00:31:33.019 this is fascinating. Back in the 1970s there 00:31:33.019 --> 00:31:35.700 was actually a planned feature -length film based 00:31:35.700 --> 00:31:37.859 on It's a Small World. But it wasn't gonna be 00:31:37.859 --> 00:31:40.400 a cute animated cartoon. Far from it. The planned 00:31:40.400 --> 00:31:43.319 script was a live action Cold War comedy. The 00:31:43.319 --> 00:31:45.500 plot centered on the children of various United 00:31:45.500 --> 00:31:48.700 Nations leaders who stage a fake mass kidnapping 00:31:48.700 --> 00:31:50.880 of themselves. Their goal was to force their 00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:54.140 squabbling parents to unite and stop global conflicts, 00:31:54.380 --> 00:31:57.460 all while a sinister war profiteer attempts to 00:31:57.460 --> 00:32:00.920 trigger a massive global war to boost his weapon 00:32:00.920 --> 00:32:04.019 sales. It is a startlingly dark plot for a Disney 00:32:04.019 --> 00:32:06.859 project. But if you analyze it closely, it perfectly 00:32:06.859 --> 00:32:09.480 mirrors the actual geopolitical origins. of the 00:32:09.480 --> 00:32:11.400 attraction. The Sherman Brothers wrote the song 00:32:11.400 --> 00:32:13.500 while the world was staring down the Cuban Missile 00:32:13.500 --> 00:32:17.519 Crisis. That scrapped 1970s film script demonstrates 00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:19.640 that beneath the pastel paint and the smiling 00:32:19.640 --> 00:32:22.259 dolls, the heavy themes of global tension, the 00:32:22.259 --> 00:32:24.980 threat of war and the desperate need for peace 00:32:24.980 --> 00:32:27.339 have always been fundamentally baked into the 00:32:27.339 --> 00:32:30.759 DNA of it's a small world. That deep tension 00:32:30.759 --> 00:32:33.700 between the utopian vision of the ride and the 00:32:33.700 --> 00:32:36.819 chaotic, messy reality of the world brings us 00:32:36.819 --> 00:32:40.000 to our final, perhaps most intense, section of 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:42.420 this deep dive. What happens when the ride stops? 00:32:43.019 --> 00:32:45.440 Because as much as it represents a perfect, highly 00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:48.019 controlled environment, it physically exists 00:32:48.019 --> 00:32:50.980 in our very unpredictable, occasionally dangerous 00:32:50.980 --> 00:32:53.660 reality. Over its 60 -year history, the source 00:32:53.660 --> 00:32:56.660 material details several serious accidents, mechanical 00:32:56.660 --> 00:32:59.319 failures and controversies. As we delve into 00:32:59.319 --> 00:33:01.900 these incidents, It is vital that we approach 00:33:01.900 --> 00:33:04.519 them strictly factually, exactly as they are 00:33:04.519 --> 00:33:06.720 detailed in our sources. Examining these moments 00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:09.039 is crucial because they strip away the theatrical 00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:11.660 illusion of the theme park. They remind us of 00:33:11.660 --> 00:33:13.900 the heavy industrial machinery operating just 00:33:13.900 --> 00:33:16.359 beneath the water surface and the unpredictable 00:33:16.359 --> 00:33:18.700 human element that interacts with it. Let's look 00:33:18.700 --> 00:33:21.339 at the mechanical and natural disaster side first. 00:33:21.880 --> 00:33:24.740 The sources note a terrifying incident in 1994 00:33:24.740 --> 00:33:27.619 at the Magic Kingdom. A six -year -old girl fell 00:33:27.619 --> 00:33:30.039 out of her boat in the loading area and was struck 00:33:30.039 --> 00:33:32.460 by an incoming boat. She suffered severe injury 00:33:32.460 --> 00:33:34.660 as though, thankfully, she fully recovered. In 00:33:34.660 --> 00:33:37.559 2011, the Tokyo version of the ride was violently 00:33:37.559 --> 00:33:39.759 shaken during the massive Tohoku earthquake, 00:33:40.220 --> 00:33:42.660 resulting in damaged props and structural concerns. 00:33:42.880 --> 00:33:45.940 In 2015, a malfunction during a fireworks show 00:33:45.940 --> 00:33:48.880 sparked an actual fire on the exterior facade 00:33:48.880 --> 00:33:51.839 of the Anaheim attraction. And in 2021, an underground 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:54.900 machinery flood severely delayed the ride's holiday 00:33:54.900 --> 00:33:57.200 opening. in California. These incidents highlight 00:33:57.200 --> 00:33:59.539 the sheer physical reality of the attraction. 00:33:59.900 --> 00:34:02.299 Right. A waterflume ride operating continuously 00:34:02.299 --> 00:34:05.700 for 16 hours a day relies on massive pumps, heavy 00:34:05.700 --> 00:34:08.679 fiberglass boats, and complex electrical grids. 00:34:08.800 --> 00:34:11.059 Tragically, this industrial reality resulted 00:34:11.059 --> 00:34:14.389 in a fatality. In October 2010, a 53 year old 00:34:14.389 --> 00:34:16.889 subcontractor was cleaning the attraction at 00:34:16.889 --> 00:34:19.650 Disneyland Paris. The machinery unexpectedly 00:34:19.650 --> 00:34:22.630 restarted while he was in the water. He was trapped 00:34:22.630 --> 00:34:24.630 beneath a heavy boat and later died from his 00:34:24.630 --> 00:34:28.050 injuries. It is a sobering tragic reminder that 00:34:28.050 --> 00:34:31.690 despite the gentle whimsical facade, this is 00:34:31.690 --> 00:34:34.389 a heavy industrial environment demanding strict 00:34:34.389 --> 00:34:37.289 safety protocols. Beyond mechanical failures, 00:34:37.710 --> 00:34:39.730 there are the incidents involving human behavior 00:34:39.730 --> 00:34:42.429 within the ride, which range from bizarre to 00:34:42.429 --> 00:34:45.590 highly litigious. For instance, in November 2023, 00:34:46.150 --> 00:34:48.909 a 26 year old man riding the Anaheim version 00:34:48.909 --> 00:34:51.329 actually exited his boat in the middle of the 00:34:51.329 --> 00:34:53.590 attraction, stripped completely naked, walked 00:34:53.590 --> 00:34:55.409 through the water flume and the mechanical props 00:34:55.409 --> 00:34:58.289 and was subsequently arrested. This raises an 00:34:58.289 --> 00:35:00.010 important question regarding the psychological 00:35:00.010 --> 00:35:02.170 effect of these highly immersive environments. 00:35:02.590 --> 00:35:04.710 Theme parks are meticulously designed to feel 00:35:04.710 --> 00:35:07.469 entirely safe, isolated from the outside world. 00:35:07.610 --> 00:35:10.369 and separate from normal societal rules. When 00:35:10.369 --> 00:35:12.909 you enclose a guest in a space that feels disconnected 00:35:12.909 --> 00:35:15.210 from reality, it can sometimes trigger incredibly 00:35:15.210 --> 00:35:18.010 erratic behavior. Especially if the theatrical 00:35:18.010 --> 00:35:20.909 illusion breaks down, or if an individual brings 00:35:20.909 --> 00:35:24.329 unpredictable psychological elements into a space 00:35:24.329 --> 00:35:27.929 that relies on strict crowd compliance. We see 00:35:27.929 --> 00:35:30.469 a very different kind of illusion breaking detailed 00:35:30.469 --> 00:35:34.059 in a fascinating 2009 lawsuit. During the holiday 00:35:34.059 --> 00:35:37.320 overlay in Anaheim, the ride experienced a mechanical 00:35:37.320 --> 00:35:40.980 breakdown. A guest who was quadriplegic was trapped 00:35:40.980 --> 00:35:44.360 in his boat in the goodbye room for 30 to 40 00:35:44.360 --> 00:35:46.780 minutes before staff were able to evacuate him. 00:35:47.260 --> 00:35:49.019 Because of his specific medical condition, he 00:35:49.019 --> 00:35:51.199 was unable to physically exit the boat on his 00:35:51.199 --> 00:35:54.079 own? He sued Disney. arguing that his medical 00:35:54.079 --> 00:35:56.420 condition was severely aggravated by being trapped 00:35:56.420 --> 00:35:58.820 in a cold environment with the, and I quote, 00:35:59.079 --> 00:36:01.460 blaring Christmas carols. A jury actually found 00:36:01.460 --> 00:36:05.000 in his favor and awarded him $8 ,000. The psychological 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:07.639 and legal reality of that lawsuit is absolutely 00:36:07.639 --> 00:36:10.480 fascinating. It is a masterclass in themed architectural 00:36:10.480 --> 00:36:13.139 psychology. The attraction uses sensory manipulation, 00:36:13.340 --> 00:36:15.880 looping audio, forced perspective and continuous 00:36:15.880 --> 00:36:18.300 motion to pacify crowds and process throughput. 00:36:18.480 --> 00:36:20.900 But when the motion stops and a guest is held 00:36:20.900 --> 00:36:23.480 in that environment without their consent, those 00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:26.380 exact same elements transform from joyful entertainment 00:36:26.380 --> 00:36:29.650 into a form of psychological distress. The very 00:36:29.650 --> 00:36:32.289 elements designed to bring joy became the literal 00:36:32.289 --> 00:36:35.369 legally recognized basis for damages. It perfectly 00:36:35.369 --> 00:36:37.429 illustrates our earlier discussion about the 00:36:37.429 --> 00:36:40.110 razor thin line between forced happiness and 00:36:40.110 --> 00:36:42.570 psychological torment. And finally, our sources 00:36:42.570 --> 00:36:45.110 detail a very recent incident where the real 00:36:45.110 --> 00:36:48.090 world profoundly intruded on the ride's utopian 00:36:48.090 --> 00:36:52.289 space. On August 6th, 2025, in the Anaheim version 00:36:52.289 --> 00:36:55.510 of the attraction, a female guest secretly placed 00:36:55.510 --> 00:36:58.700 a dirty doll holding a sign that read Remember 00:36:58.700 --> 00:37:01.539 Hiroshima directly into the Japan scene of the 00:37:01.539 --> 00:37:03.900 ride. This was done to mark the 80th anniversary 00:37:03.900 --> 00:37:06.340 of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 00:37:06.340 --> 00:37:08.480 during World War II. The doll was discovered 00:37:08.480 --> 00:37:11.400 and subsequently removed by park staff. This 00:37:11.400 --> 00:37:14.199 incident provides a stark, defining contrast. 00:37:14.380 --> 00:37:16.619 The ride was conceived and built to project an 00:37:16.619 --> 00:37:19.360 abstract vision of global peace, innocent unity, 00:37:19.519 --> 00:37:21.760 and a future free from conflict. But the real 00:37:21.760 --> 00:37:24.659 world, carrying its complex, deeply painful history 00:37:24.659 --> 00:37:27.719 of warfare and nuclear devastation, inevitably 00:37:27.719 --> 00:37:30.420 pushes back against that abstraction. The guest 00:37:30.420 --> 00:37:33.139 utilized the ride's own established theme of 00:37:33.139 --> 00:37:36.780 global representation to make a highly specific, 00:37:37.300 --> 00:37:40.739 stark, real -world political statement. It demonstrates 00:37:40.739 --> 00:37:43.099 that a platform built for universal harmony can 00:37:43.099 --> 00:37:45.539 easily become a target for concrete political 00:37:45.539 --> 00:37:48.400 messaging. So what does this all mean? We started 00:37:48.400 --> 00:37:51.099 this deep dive talking about a plucky, catchy 00:37:51.099 --> 00:37:52.920 tune that gets stuck in your head while you're 00:37:52.920 --> 00:37:55.139 getting coffee. But look at the incredible terrain 00:37:55.139 --> 00:37:58.219 we've covered. We've gone from a frantic, exhausted 00:37:58.219 --> 00:38:01.340 group of Imagineers scrambling to build a Pepsi 00:38:01.340 --> 00:38:04.139 pavilion in eight months for the 1964 World's 00:38:04.139 --> 00:38:06.840 Fair to the terrifying anxieties of the Cuban 00:38:06.840 --> 00:38:09.260 Missile Crisis. We've explored the fluid dynamics 00:38:09.260 --> 00:38:11.980 of water jets, the architectural divergence of 00:38:11.980 --> 00:38:14.500 Disneyland Paris, and the psychological weight 00:38:14.500 --> 00:38:17.099 of a song that has been played 50 million times. 00:38:17.150 --> 00:38:19.170 We've seen a ride that has survived earthquakes, 00:38:19.610 --> 00:38:22.190 fires, evolving cultural norms, lawsuits, and 00:38:22.190 --> 00:38:24.469 protests across five international theme parks 00:38:24.469 --> 00:38:27.230 to become a true global touchstone. It is an 00:38:27.230 --> 00:38:29.530 undeniable testament to the brilliant durability 00:38:29.530 --> 00:38:32.530 of Mary Blair's visual design and the incredible 00:38:32.530 --> 00:38:35.110 engineering of the Sherman Brothers music. But 00:38:35.110 --> 00:38:37.929 reviewing this comprehensive history also shows 00:38:37.929 --> 00:38:40.889 us that a small world is still an incredibly 00:38:40.889 --> 00:38:44.070 complicated world. The ride may portray an environment 00:38:44.070 --> 00:38:47.710 of endless, unyielding harmony, but the true 00:38:47.710 --> 00:38:50.070 story of its creation and existence is filled 00:38:50.070 --> 00:38:53.409 with frantic engineering hurdles, brilliant corporate 00:38:53.409 --> 00:38:56.889 maneuvering, tragic mechanical failures, and 00:38:56.889 --> 00:38:59.630 deep geopolitical anxieties. It is known as the 00:38:59.630 --> 00:39:01.969 happiest cruise that ever sailed, but as we've 00:39:01.969 --> 00:39:04.269 learned today, the waters are remarkably deep. 00:39:04.449 --> 00:39:06.650 And that brings us to our final thought. As we 00:39:06.650 --> 00:39:09.150 discussed earlier in the episode, in July 2025, 00:39:09.650 --> 00:39:11.750 a brand new verse written by the late Richard 00:39:11.750 --> 00:39:14.090 Sherman was officially added to the wry. The 00:39:14.090 --> 00:39:16.429 very first new lyrics integrated into the attraction 00:39:16.429 --> 00:39:18.750 in 60 years, which leaves you with something 00:39:18.750 --> 00:39:20.809 profound to consider the next time you hear that 00:39:20.809 --> 00:39:23.489 melody. This ride and specifically this song 00:39:23.489 --> 00:39:27.110 was born in 1962 as a desperate earnest plea 00:39:27.110 --> 00:39:30.030 for unity in the terrifying existential shadow 00:39:30.030 --> 00:39:33.219 of the Cold War. Now. Over six decades later, 00:39:33.679 --> 00:39:36.039 in an era of unprecedented digital connection 00:39:36.039 --> 00:39:39.000 and complex global challenges, Disney felt the 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:42.340 compelling need to renew, update, and physically 00:39:42.340 --> 00:39:45.619 expand this specific message of global peace. 00:39:46.059 --> 00:39:48.320 What does it say about our current global climate 00:39:48.320 --> 00:39:51.920 that this 1964 thesis feels so necessary to re 00:39:51.920 --> 00:39:54.880 -emphasize today? Are we perhaps seeking the 00:39:54.880 --> 00:39:57.760 exact same mechanical, repetitive reassurance 00:39:57.760 --> 00:40:00.480 of shared humanity right now that audiences so 00:40:00.480 --> 00:40:02.719 desperately craved when they first boarded those 00:40:02.719 --> 00:40:04.860 boats at the World's Fair? It is definitely something 00:40:04.860 --> 00:40:06.539 to think about the next time you find yourself 00:40:06.539 --> 00:40:09.059 involuntarily humming that tune. Thank you so 00:40:09.059 --> 00:40:11.179 much for joining us on this extensive deep dive 00:40:11.179 --> 00:40:13.639 into the source material. Remember, whether it's 00:40:13.639 --> 00:40:15.679 a towering, intricate clock face or a simple 00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:18.079 plastic doll, always keep looking for the big 00:40:18.079 --> 00:40:19.480 stories hidden in small worlds.