OFFICIAL DISNEY STEAMPUNK !!!

[erick israel]

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/03/the-mechanical-kingdom/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DisneyParks+%28Disney+Parks+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

[Cubinoid]

Save us!

Steampunk Ronald McDonald is not far behind...

[Prof. Jericho Wahl]

Click on the link- the people who put together are true fans.
I think this is incredible, and I hope that they do more with this than just a set of pins!
And besides, Steampunk is nothing new to Disney: 2000 leagues under the sea, Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Jules Verne at Disney World France; I mean, HELLO?
I think we can say that Steampunk has arrived.
And I'm thrilled.

[Choreocrat]

Regardless of how good it is, I have a friend who will nerdgasm all over this.

[darkshines]

I'm divided, I really am. I cannot decide if its awesome,or awful.

[toxickun]

Oh wow i cant belive it XD
I cant wait to go their on April 10.

[Jonny B. Goode]

Prof. Jericho: Not to mention Captain Nemo's Island at the Japan Disneyland. They're also making a steamie videogame, last I heard. And the cast members were quite friendly to the Toy Soldiers at Disneyland on the 6th of March.

It's nice to have a place, and a company, that "gets" it.

[Capt. Dirigible]

Much as we probably cringe..it's stuff like this that is going to make SP go mainstream. If Disney embrace it (and as mentioned above the designers of these images are  genuine fans of SP) then Worldwide understanding of SP can't be too far behind. Not too sure about some of the comments posted  on the blog though:

"I know Steampunk is relatively new ( a few years)..."

"These would make great t-shirts/hoodies around the Haunted House Ride."

Also I'd hate people to think that SP is something Disney 'invented' and that I was into Steampunk because I am a fan of The House of Mouse. There's the possibility that it'll  'taint' steampunk with the stain of mass commercialisation and ..(gulp) Disney 'cuteness'.

[Major Wolfram Quicksilver]

Half of me wants to say "Great! Go for it!", the other says "Dear God, noooo!!!"

Ooh!  Steampunk hoodies!  Reserve me a dozen please!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

So I can burn them on the altar of good taste!

[Rockula]

''It's on Americas tortured brow. That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow.''

[Pike]

I'm in the "Best Thing Ever" camp, but then again, I'm the one whose DeviantArt is cluttered with pictures of cute animals in waistcoats, soooo... I'm a bit biased...

[ForestB]

I don't know..... Part of me thinks "that's not bad.."
The rest of me wants to run screaming into the night ..

[Utini420]

I unreservedly hate this.

Much as we probably cringe..it's stuff like this that is going to make SP go mainstream....

You say that like its a good thing.

My hatred for the Disney Corporation runs deep, and is exceeded only by my hatred for yet larger and more oppressive regimes, like Communist China. 

[elliot]

Hello, All,

Well.... I suppose it had to happen eventually.
I, for one, cringe at the idea of Disney/McDonalds/ et al.
using Steampunkas just another marketing scheme.

Of course these mega corporations are not blind. 
They've certainly noticed us on the web and many of the
young creatives behind these corporations are probably Steampunk fans.

I simply loath the idea of eventually seeing little kids in shopping malls sporting
Steampunk-themed garb and accessories.

[Angus A Fitziron]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no! This is just a marketing opportunity for Disney, ie it is just another idea for them to abuse in order to make money. Can you imagine how it is going to change the public attitude to steampunks of all ages who choose to dress stylishly? "Oh you're into Disney's Mechanical Kingdom are you?" Gaaahhhhh!

[Prof. Jericho Wahl]

Look- ya'll can decry this all you want- and perhaps rightly so.
But the fact of the matter is this was inevitable. Heck, with everything that's happened in the past couple of years, from MTV to Hot Topic to Victoria's Secret, I am a little surprised it didn't happen sooner.
We, as a fandom and a subculture, got large and loud enough to get noticed.
The Crass Comercialization of Steampunk was going to happen, has been happening for some time now.
The only thing to do now is ride it out, enjoy the good and criticize the bad, until it blows over.

Like I said, click the link- the guys who pushed this through were genuine fans.
What were they supposed to do?
"This is brilliant and adorable! But if you are a true fan you will go home and burn this now!"
"Right! This will only make Steampunk more commercialized and mainstream! What was I thinking?!"

[Tom90deg]

Sigh...I have to ask sometimes, it seems like so many Steampunks want to have their cake and eat it too. They want steampunk to be awesome and neat, but they also want to keep it tiny and underground, not let anyone see or do it who isn't "Real" steampunk. To those, I say bah! I think this is awesome. I WANT to be able to walk down the street and see someone in a waistcoat and pocketwatch, and if you want Steampunk to be popular, a idea that I believe not a small number of SPers do not want, this is gonna happen. Maybe some celebrity sees it and loves it, starts to dress in that style, which sets off a ton of others. Steampunk isn't some kinda sacred thing only able to be touched by the worthy. It's for everyone! So what if Disney made this? You could argue that they did it FIRST, (Nautilus, anyone?) and we're all copying them, as much as that would cause some heads to explode. Painting Disney evil, and their very awesome collection a "Empty Corporate cash in" just strikes me as extremely elitist and close minded. Are you going to completely ignore Epic Mickey, the very cool looking video game just because it has the Disney logo? What about if Disney decided to make a Steampunkish movie, something high-quality, just file that under "Land Before Time 23"?

Think of it this way. Some kid sees the pin collection at Disneyland, and thinks, "Wow, this is really neat! I wonder what else is like this?" and they learn and love Steampunk from the very beginning. Would you really say, "No, that kid can't see it because it's Disney." What about all the animators and artists who started because of their love of the Mouse?

[Prof. Jericho Wahl]

Just found this link:
http://steampunkscholar.blogspot.com/2010/03/disney-and-steampunk.html
This person says it much better than I (though you weren't too shabby either, Tom90deg!).

[Capt. Dirigible]

Much as we probably cringe..it's stuff like this that is going to make SP go mainstream....

You say that like its a good thing.

Well...I've been saying  for a while that all it will take is something like a fashion designer having a SP themed collection or a band like Abney Park having a chart hit for SP to  suddenly become known to a much wider mainstream audience (whether we like the idea or not). If Disney are going to jump on the bandwagon it's inevitable that it's going to become recognised. I'm not overjoyed that it's Disney who have  decided to 'out us' as it were but I don't think we could remain a private, elite 'club' indefinitely.

[Prof. Jericho Wahl]

Just one more link, I promise!
Disney Japan's Mysterious Island:
http://voyagesextraordinaires.blogspot.com/
(Be sure to scroll ALL the way down!)
Disney France's Discoveryland:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/houseofsecrets/sets/72157608619493657/
Oh. My. God.

[The Kernel]

There are some images available from a Disney Game too

http://kotaku.com/5325198/this-looks-like-art-from-warren-spectors-steampunk-disney-game

Personally I think this looks promising (but then I do like Mickey)

[Tom90deg]

Ah yes...That's Epic Mickey :-D I can't wait to see that, especially considering what Warren Specter said about it,

"On top of that, I really want to scare kids. I want to go to Disneyland and see a 10 year old kid crying: "Oh mommy, the clock tower's going to come to life and eat me!" That's my fondest dream. Disney scared the pants off me when I was a little kid. Disney needs to scare kids!"

That just sounds awesome

[JCR Vourteque]

I belong to the camp that supports things such as this.

We have a short article up on SteampunkChicago.com that talks about how things like Disney embracing the Steampunk movement will help lead it to become a basic paradigm of new industrial design and culture.

[Voltin]

Oh no! The end is nigh!

Best to just put down my top hat and goggles and call it a night I guess  

I agree with both sides here but honestly do not see it as being that bad. Maybe I am wrong but
at least it's not the end of the world  

[Dr cornelius quack]

The lighter side of the lighter side of steampunk.

I'm sure they are only doing it from the noblest of motives.