Even if you’re a fan of Warren Beatty’s 1990 film adaptation of Dick Tracy, you have to admit it’s pretty wild that such a violent movie was distributed by Disney. OK, OK, it might be considered “cartoon violence,” and there’s no actual blood shown at any point, but there’s absolutely no way that sort of project would be geared toward children nowadays.
Hell, the titular hero mows down a bunch of gangsters with a Tommy gun by the time we get to the end. You’d be hard-pressed to find a scene from any modern-day Disney movie that plays out like this:
Believe it or not, though, the folks at Disney were looking to do a lot more with the Dick Tracy brand than just crank out a movie and be done with it. As a matter of fact, according to Parkeology, both Disneyland in California and Florida’s Disney-MGM Studios were planning on building some major Dick Tracy-related expansions ahead of the film’s premiere.
Each park was set to add new “neighborhoods” made up to look like locations straight out of the 1930s detective comic, complete with cobblestone streets, crumbling brick walls, and unique places to shop and eat. Somewhere along the way, visitors would find themselves outside of a grimy-looking warehouse intended to be the home of the star attraction: Dick Tracy’s Crime-Stoppers.
Disney Nearly Built a 1930s Crime Ride Based on ‘Dick Tracy’
“Guests will literally get ‘into the act’ in this new high-tech action-adventure featuring the very latest in Audio-Animatronics, simulation, sound, and special effects,” boasted a Disney press release from 1990. “Guests will join America’s favorite comic-strip detective in a high-speed chase with his gangster adversaries,” it continued. And not only would they join Tracy, but they’d also get to ride in a vintage roadster of their own equipped with a realistic-looking Tommy gun. From there, they’d pursue classic villains like Flattop and Big Boy Caprice while zipping through an intricate cityscape full of back alleys and elevated train tracks.
At times, riders would feel as though they were tipped on two wheels as they careened around corners, taking their best shots at the bad guys they’d encounter. Passengers would eventually wind up in the middle of an explosive battle sequence, during which Tracy and his cohorts were to swoop in and save the day. And just so we’re clear: This was all, of course, intended for people on the younger side of the spectrum. That’s not to say that it doesn’t sound awesome; it could just never reasonably be expected to get greenlit today.
Unfortunately, when the Beatty movie didn’t do as well as it was projected to, these plans were completely abandoned. However, for a brief time, lucky visitors were treated to a few Tracy villains threatening to “fill them full of lead” while taking the famous tram tour, in addition to a weird Dick Tracy musical show that ran for less than a year, for God only knows what reason:
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