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American Journeys Circle-Vision 360 Film

American Journeys Circle-Vision 360 Film


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American Journeys Sign with Star Jets
(Photo courtesy of Brotherdave.)

 American Journeys premiered on September 15,1984 at Walt Disney World.  At one point the film was sponsored by Black & Decker.  The film had its debut at Disneyland earlier that summer on July 4.  It was written by Randy Bright and Rick Harper.  This film strove to be less stuffy than the original America the Beautiful and also tried to introduce perspectives other than the traditionally white and male ones that made up a lot of American histories.  Basil Splendors did the score for the film and the movie was directed by Jeff Billy.  This Circle-Vision presentation ended its Magic Kingdom run on January 9, 1994.  It was later replaced by The Timekeeper.  Disneyland played American Journeys until July 7, 1996.  Tokyo Disneyland also showed the film from May 17, 1986 to August 31, 1992.

American Journeys Script

(A panorama of western scenery is shown.)  

Narrator:   All Americans have shared a common dream.  (A wagon train is shown traveling west.) And the dream was that there is something here in this vast, unspoiled land for each of us.  Those first American journeys took many years and many lives.  But the journey and the dream live on.  (Snowy mountains, coastline and mountains are shown, followed by the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline.) With a land so diverse and seemingly endless, it's no wonder people came from around the world to this new place they called- America.

Man (with accent):   I am proud to be an American.  Even before I come here, I dream of being an American.  People, they come from everywhere.  America, she has so much to offer.  

(Street scenes and more skyline shots of New York are shown, and then the film transitions to New England.)

American Journeys Circle-Vision camera Walt Disney World

Woman:  Out here in New England, you've gotta sometimes remind yourself it's the 20th century.  We were raised with the heritage of the sea.  There's no denying that.  And it's the dedication of our craftsmen that keep some of those old traditions alive.  I suppose our traditions are kind of like a bond between generations.

Man:   Some of our traditions are not very old, really.  As a nation, we haven't been at this very long, but we've created new traditions, uniquely ours.  The Library of Congress is a treasure house of our collected knowledge, saving it for future generations without turning our backs on the past.  We must always remember that the world closely watches what Abraham Lincoln called "Our experiment in popular government."

Man:   Most governments have been based on the denial of equal rights.  Ours began by affirming those rights.  Men will pass away, but the principle will live, and live forever.  

Man:  We also knew that the dream would not be without sacrifice.

(A horse and wagon cross a covered bridge.)

Man: Well now, when folks talk about what's uniquely American, what comes to my mind is our music and dance.

(People watch as a bluegrass band performs and a man dances.  The scene becomes a bayou and then a horse and wagon are shown going through the French Quarter of New Orleans.)

Woman (chuckles): I guess New Orleans is famous for a lot of things.  But at Preservation Hall, we get right down to the heart of the matter; Dixieland.  (A Dixie band plays.) We used to think of Dixieland as our own kind of music.  But it spread up the Mississippi and into the hearts of people across the whole country.

Man:  It's really something when you think about it.  These days there's darn few of us on the farm.  But you know, we not only feed our country, but a good chunk of the rest of the world besides.

(The film shows footage of the western wilderness.  A train is shown traveling up the mountain pass.)

Narrator: Those early journeys across the Rockies took a special kind of courage.  Nowadays we see these rugged mountains as a challenge of a different kind.

(People are shown skiing.)

Man (Hispanic accent):  In the southwest, what used to be a day's hard work, is now a sport!

(A rodeo is shown, then people white water rafting.  People are shown having a barbeque in the desert.)

Man (Native American):  The history of this land goes back before any men settled here.  For over 600 years, my people have lived in Grand Canyon.  (People are shown at the base of a waterfall.) Where the rivers have formed Havasupai, land of the green waters.  

(People are shown in Carlsbad Caverns.)

Man (Native American):  Slowly, the forces of nature have created Carlsbad Caverns.  Adding to her beauty by one inch every 100 years.

(Mount St. Helens is shown, shortly after erupting in 1980.)

Man (Native American): Sometimes however, the land is misshaped right before our eyes.  Mount St. Helens is a constant reminder of how small we really are.  

(Film shifts to the Alaska.)

Man (Native American): It has been said that thousands of years ago, my ancestors came to Alaska across a great ice bridge.  The land they inherited was of magnificent beauty.  The great Columbia Glacier; a moving wall of ice 200 feet tall and five miles wide.  Nothing on Earth stands in the way of a glacier.  Even mountains have been shaped and scarred by their passing, as we have seen in our own Yosemite Valley.  The ageless Sequoias. (A forest is shown.) They tell us that the beauty of our great land must be passed on for generations to come.

(A family walks in a forest of giant trees.  A baseball game is shown.)

Narrator: Americans have always known how to have a good time together.  And they know how to work together too.

American Journeys Shuttle launch

(Planes are shown flying off of an aircraft carrier and then a Space Shuttle is shown launching.)

Woman:  In Hawaii we say "Aloha".  Welcome.  The beauty of these islands is yours to share.

Narrator:  The land.  The people.  The traditions.  We are a nation of nations, made up of people from all over the world.  Drawn here by different dreams.  But we all now share a common love for this land we call- America.

("God Bless America" is first hummed and then sung as fireworks are shown.)

Chorus: From the mountains, to the prairies.  To the oceans, white with foam.  God bless America.  My home sweet home.  God bless America, my home sweet home.





TASCHEN


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