The Desert Critters[1] are characters at the former America Sings attraction at Disneyland.
History[]
Background[]
They are a group of animals representing desert animals from the Southwestern United States. In the "Heading West" sequence of the attraction, they would be seen listening to the song "Home on the Range" with Tex Ranger singing. The animals that are seen listening to the song consist of an owl, two ground squirrels (one specifically being a prairie dog), a turtle, a rattlesnake, and a roadrunner while coyotes (offscreen) howl in the background. According to the America Sings soundtrack book, it is said that Tex is singing a lullaby to put the desert animals to sleep.
Development History[]
These animals were created for the America Sings attraction at Disneyland in the Tomorrowland section where he was placed in the "Heading West" sequence where they appear during the, "Home on the Range" musical number, which opened on June 29, 1974. However, America Sings closed on April 10, 1988 in order to retheme the attraction to Innoventions, with some of the animatronic animals and most of the animatronics moved to Splash Mountain at the Critter Country section, which opened on July 17, 1989. The owl, roadrunner, and tortious animatronics were repurposed into three different characters from Splash Mountain (The Owl, Br'er Roadrunner, and Br'er Terrapin respectively). The rattlesnake, prairie dog, and ground squirrel were also repurposed into three different characters from Splash Mountain, but only in a concept art for the attraction (Br'er Rattlesnake, Br'er Prairie Dog, and Br'er Ground Squirrel respectively).
As of 2020 due to Splash Mountain being completely reimagined into a theme inspired by The Princess and the Frog in order to remove references to Song of the South, it is currently unknown of what will replace the animatronic desert animals in the rethemed version of the attraction.
Appearances[]
America Sings[]
The desert critters were featured during the former attraction's second act, "Heading West" where they are seen quietly listening to Tex Ranger singing the musical number, "Home on the Range" in front of a group of desert animals. Amongst the animals listening to his song are an owl, a rattlesnake, a roadrunner, a tortoise, a ground squirrel, and a prairie dog that observe Tex's singing. As he Tex throughout the sequence, coyotes are heard howling in the background just before the song loops into the attraction's third act, "Gay Nineties".
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The owl that appears during the "Home on the Range" sequence is most likely a burrowing owl, due it being diurnal, unlike most owls which are nocturnal.
- Although coyotes do not appear in animatronic form, it is likely that they are one of the animals listening to Tex's song, implying that they are the ones listening to him singing as they are heard howling in the background offscreen.
References[]
- ↑ Like a lullaby for desert critters, our cowboy Tex Ranger, conveys his lonely version of "Home On The Range". ~ Page 5 of America Sings soundtrack book
