- “Hey, y'all. Hold up there! I want to see this Laughin' Place, that ol' Br'er Rabbit's talkin' about.”
- ―Br'er Roadrunner wondering where the Laughing Place is.
Br'er Roadrunner is a character who was featured in the Disney Parks attraction Splash Mountain.
History[]
Background[]
Br'er Roadrunner, as his name implies, is an anthropomorphic roadrunner encountered in the Rainbow Ponds or The Woods area. Each version of the Splash Mountain attraction features him feeling curious about The Laughing Place which Br'er Rabbit is talking about. In each version, he is encountered in each section where guests are about to enter the Laughing Place which Br'er Rabbit is talking about. While Br'er Roadrunner does not speak in the Disneyland version, he does speak in the Magic Kingdom version where he is curious of Br'er Rabbit's experience in going into the Laughing Place just before guests arrive at a drop leading to the aforementioned area.
Development history[]
The Br'er Roadrunner animatronic in the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland versions of the attraction is actually a reused model of the animatronic roadrunner character from the former "America Sings" which ran from 1974 to 1988, where the roadrunner from the attraction is seen among the desert animals during the "Home on the Range" sequence in Act II of the attraction. After the attraction closed down in 1988, Splash Mountain opened in Disneyland in 1989, where a different roadrunner figure was placed to represent the Br'er Roadrunner character into the Disneyland version of the attraction. The roadrunner animatronic from America Sings was replicated into the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland versions of the attraction, converting the America Sings character into the Br'er Roadrunner character at the Splash Mountain attraction.
Due to the success of the attraction at Disneyland, the Splash Mountain attraction was later constructed at Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, still featuring the scene with Br'er Roadrunner in it. Br'er Roadrunner received a unique design in the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland versions where he is seen depicted with a plumage of blue feathers and added clothes unlike the one used in the Disneyland version.
As of 2020, Splash Mountain was announced for closure to be completely reimagined into a Princess and the Frog-themed attraction due to controversy surrounding the film which inspired the attraction, it is unknown of what will replace Br'er Roadrunner in the California and Florida versions of Splash Mountain while The Oriental Land Company has not decided whether to retheme the Tokyo version of the attraction or not. The Magic Kingdom version of Splash Mountain permanently closed on January 23, 2023 followed by the Disneyland version permanently closed on May 31 of that same year. The Oriental Land Company, however, has not yet decided whether to retheme its version of Splash Mountain yet in Tokyo Disneyland.
Role in the attraction[]
Each version of the attraction shows Br'er Roadrunner spotted in the indoor area of the attraction, particularly seen in the area before the guests arrive at The Laughin' Place area. In the Disneyland version of the attraction, Br'er Roadrunner can be seen on top of small gap just before guests pass through various signs leading to the Laughing Place area.
In the Magic Kingdom version of the attraction, Br'er Roadrunner was encountered during the "Everybody's Got a Laughing Place" musical number where he can be seen standing on top of his home being of looking for the Laughing Place which Br'er Rabbit is talking about where he is encountered after passing through Br'er Frog who is sitting on Br'er Gator to which Br'er Roadrunner is seen next to a trio of singing possums singing the song. Here, he is seen asking someone (presumably the guests) to know where the Laughing Place that Br'er Rabbit is looking for just before the guests pass through a trio of singing possums, Pansy, Poppy, and Petunia, followed by another drop leading to the Laughing Place.
In the Tokyo Disneyland version of the attraction, Br'er Roadrunner is once again encountered during the "Everybody's Got a Laughing Place" sequence where he can be seen on a small gap followed by a trio of singing possums hanging upside-down and singing the song.
Gallery[]
.jpeg "Br'er Roadrunner (Disneyland).jpeg (147 KB)")
.jpg "Br'er Roadrunner (Florida).jpg (286 KB)")
.jpg "Br'er Roadrunner (Tokyo).jpg (587 KB)")
Trivia[]
- Br'er Roadrunner is one of the characters from Splash Mountain who does not appear in the original Uncle Remus stories nor does he appear in animation form in Song of the South. This is because in real life, roadrunners are not native in the Southeastern United States and are encountered in the Southwestern United States instead.
