The Academy Awards are this Sunday! Movies are one of my favorite things and The Oscars are a celebration (not always a good one) of that. One of my other favorite things are Disney theme parks. That’s probably obvious based on the whole Wandering in Disney website thing. What better time to continue our completely meaningless (err… I mean groundbreaking!) series of posts relating characters, shows and movies to classic Disney attractions! This time around we’ll do the 2023 Best Picture Nominees.

Before I get into the comparisons, I should say that there are a few slight spoilers for the movies in the post. It’s a good slate of movies that people should check out, if you haven’t already. I liked all of them except for Elvis, no offense to Austin Butler who is definitely a loyal subscriber. Along with the spoiler warning, I should say that this is done in jest. Yes, this is the pinnacle of my writing but, and I can’t state this enough, this is totally meaningless. Will I reach the peaks of the other posts in this series? Probably not but let’s give it a try!

Top Gun: Maverick as Space Mountain

There are other Disney coasters that go from zero to zoom faster but none build the anticipation or are as iconic as Space Mountain. Top Gun: Maverick does this with expertise throughout the film before hitting a fever pitch when Cruise does the test run all the way to the end of the movie. The countdown on Space Mountain fits the movie as does the sense of adventure! In related thoughts, I would like to see the stunts Tom Cruise could pull off while riding Space Mountain.

The Banshees of Inisherin as Pinocchio’s Daring Journey

Okay, go with me here. Banshees is about two mates, one of whom decides he doesn’t want to be friends anymore. The movie is entrenched in that struggle. Pinocchio has an internal struggle too, just with himself. Where these two entities really relate is in the side characters. The sister and the Blue Fairy both give good, heartfelt advice. Pinocchio turns into a donkey and there’s a very important donkey in The Banshees of Inisherin. The ocean is involved in both of these. Am I stretching things like Pinocchio’s nose? Who is to say, just don’t burn my house down over it.

The Fabelmans as Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln

Look, these comps can’t all be winners. You may end up finding that none of these feel like winners. The Fablemans is a semi-autobiographical tale from Steven Spielberg. It’s great! You know what else Spielberg directed? Lincoln. I’d love for him to compare and contrast Daniel Day Lewis and the Lincoln animatronic. Would he rather work with the Oscar winning actor or a robot? Spielberg knows a thing or two about robots thanks to his film A.I. Look at all these threads I’ve connected! I’ll stop before making a Tintin joke.

Tar a Mickey’s Philharmagic

Tar is an incredibly thoughtful and complicated movie about a conductor who may or may not have got to her status through manipulation and is now suffering the consequences, deservedly or not. She may be haunted and ridiculed and will eventually have to give away her baton to someone who is not living in controversy. Sound familiar?

Elvis as The Enchanted Tiki Room: Stitch Presents “Aloha E Komo Mai!”

I mean, obviously.

All Quiet on the Western Front as Tokyo DisneySea’s Tower of Terror

A lot of comparable Disney attractions to a World War I film about the cruelty of trench warfare. The options are just overbearing. I’ll keep this succinct, Tower of Terror in DisneySea is about a man with too much power and wealth being more worried about his legacy than anything else. That’s also a pivotal moment towards the end of All Quiet on the Western Front. I’m trying to skate by this one really quick.

Triangle of Sadness as Magic Kingdom’s Purple Wall

Triangle of Sadness is about two models, one of which is a social media influencer. Do I need to say more? To be fair, the photos they would take in front of Magic Kingdom’s famed wall would be absolutely gorgeous.

Everything Everywhere All at Once as it’s a small world

Let’s set aside that this movie and attraction are saying opposite things – Everything Everywhere All at Once is partially about how overwhelming our daily lives can be while Small World is about how beautiful it is that we’re all connected. They do share some themes that I won’t get into. Instead let’s talk about how over the top (in a good way) both are. Both have moments where you can’t believe your eyes. Speaking of eyes, there are so many! Finally, have you considered the country hopping in Small World? Like you’re (loudly clears throat) everywhere all at once?? Why are you still reading this?

Avatar: The Way of Water as Flight of Passage

Is this cheating? It feels like cheating. For whoever has stuck around this long, I’m not going to bore you with some out of the box thinking. You’ve been bored enough! The final scene of Flight of Passage with the whales jumping out of the water feels like a direct homage to this movie. Which is strange because the movie was released 5+ years after the attraction. My unchecked thought is Avatar: The Way of Water is the first best picture nominee to have a theme park attraction already out in the world before being released. Naturally, this would happen in the age of sequels and IP but it is cool to see Animal Kingdom’s Pandora remain all the more relevant after years of debate on whether it should even be built. If this is cheating, I’ll just go with DisneySea’s Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage because there’s a whale in that. Critical thinking.

Women Talking as…

I’m not sure there’s anything I can say here that isn’t offensive to this wonderful movie. I’ll leave this one alone and give out a bonus.

Babylon as Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride

Two risk takers both drag you to hell and back. The only difference is that the devil is played by a fairly stereotypical figure in Mr. Toad while he’s played by Tobey Maguire in the other.

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