Kids grow up on Disney. They eat Disney movies like candy, gorging until they’re ready to burst, then sticking whatever they can’t finish into their bedposts, under the table, and behind their ears, where they can find it to enjoy later. It really is an addiction—a magical addiction we’ve all grown up with and push on the next generation like we’re doing them a big favor.
You know what? We are.
Disney movies have an undeniable appeal. So, when Activision announced Disney’s Extreme Skate Adventure, rolling three of Disney’s strongest movies into chewy centers and giving them a Tony Hawk candy-coated shell, my mouth started to water. I’m a little older than perhaps the usual Disney fan and might break something essential in my body if I ever tried to hop onto a real skateboard, but I can appreciate the taste just the same.
And, when my kids get hold of it, I know I’ll once again be allowed to experience the magic through their eyes.
It’s good to be the king.
“The Lion King” is still, arguably perhaps, one of the best Disney movies to ever splash across the silver screen. So, of course, it is one of the three valuable movie properties tapped to participate in this free-for-all skating extravaganza. Loaded with nothing but singing, furry animals—a classic Disney trademark if ever there was one—there are more memorable characters here than you can shake a paw at. Even though it is a serious story that centers around the inner strength of a young boy growing into a young man (even if he is a lion), the animated cast tickles any child’s enthusiasm.
Young Simba, of course, is a must-include character. And, he had the right attitude as a cub to match the skating lifestyle. Nala is also a free spirit, so her pulling ollies over the Elephant Graveyard is not difficult to imagine. Timon and Pumbaa were born skaters. And, old Rafiki … well, who can’t imagine that crazy-talking baboon doing just about anything?
Skate like the wind, Bull’s Eye!
“Toy Story 2” is one of the Disney/Pixar titles that no one is likely to forget. It took us all back to that magical time when our toys were our best friends and, in our imagination, they were practically alive. A story of friendship and personal growth, it also had the wonderful subplot that reminds us that you never have to fully grow up. If someone as serious-minded as Buzz Lightyear can embrace being a child’s plaything (You … are … a … toy!) the least we can do is admit we still love flying plastic spacemen around the room and pretending we’re landing on some obscure, strange, blue-green planet.
Buzz and Woody are naturals when selecting new skaters. Buzz even does some trick skating in the movie, after all, during his eager attempt to fly. Woody no doubt gets some good rushes as he skates the toy racer at the end of the movie, too. And, the cowgirl Jessie has the right over-the-top enthusiasm that encourages girls to get right in there and hang with the boys—and even beat ‘em at their own game if they don’t take you seriously. No doubt she’s one of the reasons why three girls got picked out of the crowds of thousands to join the Disney Extreme Skate Crew and make guest appearances inside the game itself.
You can’t keep this kid on the ground.
Of all the Disney movies suitable for Disney’s Extreme Skate Adventure, none of them says “skate me” like “Disney’s Tarzan.” A movie about growing up to be who you were meant to be and about accepting others as they are certainly identifies with many kids who embrace the skate-punk lifestyle. Wild hair and a lack of “civlized” clothes are just side benefits.
Watching Tarzan slide along tree branches like they were his own personal skate park might very well have been the genesis of this entire game, so of course, Young Tarzan made the final cut, as well as Young Jane, of course. Disney went out and found her before she became the easily frazzled heroine of the movie. Tarzan’s friends Terk and Tantor also signed on to skate crew because without talking animals, it really isn’t Disney.
