Before departing Adventureland (for now anyway), we should pay a visit to one of the area's most infamous residents, Chief Namee of the Jungle Cruise. The jungle's head salesman really knows how to cut a deal. Today's special: Three of his heads for one of yours! No matter which way you slice it, he comes out ahead!
Most passengers on the Jungle Navigation Co.'s launches are on to the Chief's game. What many folks can't figure out, though, is how he got his unusual name. Long time Disney Parks fans may remember that he used to be called something else entirely: Trader Sam (a name the character retains at Disneyland).
The story of the change dates back to 1991. In preparation for the 20th anniversary of the Magic Kingdom, groups of Cast Members and Imagineers came together in an effort dubbed "Team 20." Their goal was to find ways to refresh some of the park's classic attractions. In Frontierland, this resulted in the return of the original Country Bear Jamboree show (Vacation Hoedown had been playing since 1986). In Adventureland, it was an opportunity to rewrite the script for the Jungle Cruise, injecting new lines and humor.
I was fortunate enough to be a Jungle Skipper at that time (it was my very first Disney job; that's me in the picture above). Through Team 20, the Skippers were asked to submit all the various jokes and other lines we liked to use on the boats, but which weren't in the script. While many of them were understandably nixed for reasons ranging from legal issues to the fact that they broke the story or time period of the attraction, many others were adopted. Today, the official Jungle Cruise script offers several optional lines for the Skippers to use at each show scene, and some of the best (like the "back side of water") actually came from the Skippers themselves.
So back to Trader Sam. It was decided that he should receive a new name in the show, since Sam didn't seem to fit him. When it came time for the first Skipper read-through of the script, however, a name had not yet been determined. The line on the page simply said:
Just ahead is Chief (NAME).
As we went through the show, each Skipper took a turn delivering a line from the script, so we could all get a feel for it. When it came to the Chief, the poor fellow whose turn it was apparently didn't grasp the fact that (NAME) was meant to be a placeholder. Instead, he attempted to pronounce the word. His delivery of "Chief Nah-Mee" was so priceless, it became an instant hit with the Skippers. From there on out, no other suggestions came close. So in the end, the name, uh... Namee stuck.
One of my favorite sets of puns from the DL version: "Now here is Trader Sam. I went over his house last night for dinner. I arrived late and all I got was the cold shoulder. He did have some nice finger foods, though. I told him that I didn't like his cousin Jim, so he told me to just have the salad."
ReplyDeleteThat's hilarious. Looking forward to my next trip on the cruise being so much richer (Disney info can do that to ya...).
ReplyDeleteGreat story! I love it when CM stories are documented.
ReplyDeleteGreat story Shawn!
ReplyDeleteI really liked the story behind it... Great job... i love your entertaining Disney history lessons...
ReplyDeleteMy favorite joke I have ever heard on the cruise was about 10 years ago and I never heard it again, so maybe it was unapproved. While traveling through the temple ruins, there is a part with a lot of snakes and a buddha statue. The skipper burst out singing to the tune of KC and the sunshine band's Shake Your Booty: "snake, snake, snake; snake, snake, snake; snake and buddha; snake and buddha." It was awesome.
ReplyDeleteFunny, yes. But that's definitely not one from the authorized script. Something many Skippers often fail to realize is that they aren't just telling funny jokes to a boat of 30 people. They are part of a much bigger picture. In this case, it likely didn't occur to the Skipper that using that tune in his narration might constitute a violation of copyright law. As a result, Disney could be held liable. Scripts written for park attractions, including those for live narrations, undergo several levels of approval and scrutiny to make sure everything is above board. In instances where popular songs or other copyrighted works are used, you can bet Disney has gained the necessary permissions or paid the required licensing fees.
ReplyDeleteHey Shawn,
ReplyDeleteUsing Twitter and searching for Imagineering I found your blog. I really like your posts especially the ones which tell us some more about Disney's details!
Last year I have been a Jungle Cruise Skipper at WDW myself (ICP). Sometimes I was fortunate to have a Keys to the Kingdom Tourgroup in my boat. The Cast Members providing these tours always told us this story and I need to tell you it has always been one of my favorites!
Therefore it definitely brings back some wonderful memories. It also made me wonder... Starting as a Skipper, do you think it helped you understanding storytelling a lot better and did it inspire you to do the things you are doing now?
Thank you and good luck with your blog!
Rob van Vlokhoven
Rob,
ReplyDeleteIt's always nice to hear from a fellow Skipper. I would say that being a Jungle Skipper definitely influenced me. It taught me how to tell a story and about comic timing. When a joke (from the official script, of course) didn't work the first time, I would try delivering it differently the next time around. That helped inform my work later.
Beyond Jungle Cruise, I also had the opportunity to "perform" in roles at the Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean. It was fun to portray so many "characters." Later, I got more experience delivering narrations on the Studios Backlot and Animation tours, the Great Movie Ride and Kilimanjaro Safaris. Collectively, all of that experience helped me become a stronger writer and ultimately land the job at Imagineering.
Tiny update - it sounds like Chief Namee is once again Trader Sam. I don't know when the change took place, since it'd been a very long time since I last cruised, but for the several tours I took in November, he was Trader Sam.
ReplyDelete(Also, I had a great night-time ride through when the Skipper sang the boat ride song from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory while going through the ruins...alas that it was most assuredly a copyright violation, because going from dark outside to darker inside with him singing "There's no way of knowing which direction we are going. There's no knowing where we're rowing or which way the river's flowing" was a hoot!)