Walt Disney World fans can get a little obsessive. That's probably not news if you follow the theme park industry with any regularity, but it's certainly true. Some attractions end up with very dedicated fans and any change to that attraction can really set people off. One such attraction is Epcot's Journey Into Imagination. People are very invested in that one, which has led to a pretty hilarious situation where Eric Idle, one of the stars of the current version of the attraction, failed to recognize his animated sidekick Figment, and considering just how popular the little purple dragon is with a section of fans, people just can't handle it.
The whole thing started when a fan tweeted at former Python Eric Idle to ask if he had any plans on "future work" with Figment. Unfortunately, Idle apparently didn't give the image too close a look, as he confused Figment with another animated character he was involved with, a two headed dragon in the movie Quest For Camelot, where Idle voiced one head, and the late Don Rickles voiced the other.
Eric Idle realized his mistake and rectified it, but it was too late. Walt Disney World fans went slightly bonkers. Part of the issue is that the current version of the attraction, Journey Into The Imagination, with Figment, is viewed by many as a significantly lesser version of the attraction that what was there before, though better than the initial redesign. While that's by no means due to Eric Idle's performance, people grasped on to the actor's response as some sort of "proof" that the current attraction is bad, actually. In point of fact, Eric Idle has no idea if the current attraction is any good, as he's never ridden it.
And there's a perfectly good reason why Eric Idle wouldn't recognize Figment, as the two have never actually spent any time together. As Eric Idle went on to explain in subsequent tweets, he did all his work for the show in Los Angeles, and since he's never been on the ride, he's never actually seen the cartoon dragon. Though, eventually Idle was forced to be a bit blunt in his explanation.
Of course, such a blunt response has fans going even more crazy. Because, let's face it, using such language in regards to anything Disney-related is going to get people excited. Having said, that, this new name for attraction has promise I feel.
Eric Idle has been making movies, TV, and, yes, theme park attractions for decades and I feel like we can cut him some slack on Figment. Besides, it's actually sort of remarkable how similar the Quest for Camelot dragon head is to Figment, so i feel like the mistake makes sense, especially since, while I'm sure he saw images of the Epcot dragon, it's not like he actually recorded all his lines alongside the little purple guy.
