As you probably have heard by now, 2014 is the 50th anniversary of "It's A Small World". No, not the Disneyland attraction, which actually didn't open until 1966, but of the song. You see, 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1964 World's Fair. Hosted in New York that year, Walt Disney created 4 exhibits for the Fair. Magic Skyway, sponsored by Ford(which eventually became the PeopleMover), Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln sponsored by the State of Illinois, The Carousel of Progress sponsored by General Electric and lastly It's a Small World sponsored by United Nations Children's Fund(UNCF). After the World's Fair ended, all four exhibits would go one to become Disneyland attractions, with the latter of those four eclipsing the others with its popularity.
Funny story, last year at my family's Christmas party, a discussion was on the subject of the documentary The Boys: The Sherman Brothers(a wonderful doc. if you haven't already seen it) and the Sherman Brothers in general. I mentioned how in addition to having written the songs for Mary Poppins, Dick N' Bob Sherman also wrote songs for the theme parks as well, like "The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room" "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" and "It's a Small World". When I mentioned Small World, my uncle perked up and said "They wrote 'It's a Small World'? Somebody should've shot 'em for that!"
"It's a Small World" Is quite notorious for being an annoying song. Everyone seems to complain how it gets stuck in your head and you can't get it out. It even made for one of The Lion King's funniest punchlines. Honestly, I never found the song annoying and never got why some people despise it. Maybe its different for people who were born before 1964 and can remember a time when the song didn't exist, but for me this song has existed my entire life. When I hear it, I don't think of it as an annoyance but a comforting recollection of childhood. It used to be my favorite attraction. While I wouldn't call it my favorite Disney attraction today, it might be the most important Disney ride, as whenever I get on that little boat and smell that water while that classy tune is playing and enter that dark building of singing dolls, that defines what makes Disney "magical" better than most anything else.
Last year I was privileged enough to see Richard Sherman perform the song live for the D23 Expo. It was surreal to see the song performed by the man who co-wrote it. It's been around for so long its hard to really comprehend that the song had to get written and composed by two guys in a room. But what struck me was how Richard explained that it was actually originally written with a much slower tempo, and simply speed it up in order for the song to be the classic it is today. Seeing him and hearing him play the song at a slower pace, it really dawned on me then why this song is such a classic that's stayed around all these decades. No, its not because its an insanely catching melody that you can never forget once you've heard it(though that helps), but rather because of its message. Following the the Cuban Missile Crises, the Kennedy Assassination and start of the Vietnam War, this song was written as a cry for solace in a world filled with a lot of turmoil. Hearing it performed at a slower tempo makes one realize that's its a soothing call for peace.
Today, little has been changed for the better. As a nation we still haven't completely gotten over the shock of 9/11. Our turmoil with the Middle East is horrific, with no easy solution. The economy is catastrophic, our politicians are pretty much useless with less compromises and solutions being proposed now more than ever before it seems. And with the ever-growing beast that is the internet, cynicism and negativity are being promoted and spreading like never before. Today, we need "It's a Small World" now more than ever. Come to think of it, the attraction/song is perfect symbol of how Walt Disney has promoted peace better than all of the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize put together. What other man has promoted happiness and optimism more than Walt in the nearly 50 years after his death? No one, sadly.
Here's another personal story. Last year, while waiting outside to get into the Disney Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center, the sight was target by a couple of Westboro Baptist Church-esque protestors. I assumed at first they were protesting gay marriaget with CA having passed gay marriage a couple months earlier, but in fact they were explaining to us all that we were going to hell for "not putting childish things behind us". How did us Disney fans react? By singing "It's a Small World" as large united group. As someone who was completely willing to get into a pointless argument explaining the fallacies of Christianity, I instead joined in singing "It's a Small World" being really touched to be among such a compassionate, thoughtful and just all out loving group of people.
It was there at that moment I truly realized and comprehended just how powerful "It's a Small World" is, having the ability to make us all better and caring people. And for that, I thank Walt Disney, Richard and Robert Sherman, may Small World keep on playing for another 50 years.
