It seems like a new backstory is sprouting up about the creation of the Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. With Zootopia: Better Zoogether set to open soon, previews are underway, giving us our first look at the new attraction. We’ll have more coverage in the coming days, but for now, we wanted to talk about a new detail that caught our eye! A new backstory implies that the iconic Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom was, in fact, created by residents of Zootopia.
New Tree of Life Backstory
Before we jump into the new Tree of Life backstory, let’s first take a look at what has already been said about the iconic Animal Kingdom centerpiece. If you’re discussing Disney’s Animal Kingdom, there is no more authoritative figure than retired Imagineer Joe Rohde.
When the theme parks shut down in 2020 for COVID-19, Rohde took to Instagram to share some stories about Disney’s Animal Kingdom. In the posts, Rohde talked about the history and artistic direction of the park. In a March 23rd post, Rohde talked about the Tree of Life.
Well. It doesn’t look like we are meeting up at Disney’s Animal Kingdom real soon, so how about a tour of my personal photos of the park. If you haven’t been to the park, or ever heard of it (which is definitely a thing on the West Coast) perhaps this will help people understand what it is. Maybe even convince some skeptics to try it out. If you have been there, it might just be more inside knowledge.
So. In the middle of the park is the centerpiece and icon. The Tree of Life. Named for the old fashioned 19th century diagram of interconnected spread of life. Because the park is dedicated to the themes of animals and their relationships to humans,(good and bad) we needed a non-architectural icon…something “natural.”
Since nature is everywhere anyway, we also need to signify that this place is exceptional..in some way “magical.” Thus..a strange tree. A tree whose body disappears under patient observation to become nothing but animals. A metaphor for the rewards nature can provide to the careful observer. But since we all know it has been made..it is a work of arty…it also signifies the intent to communicate..to tell a story.
In fact, the Tree promises two things. 1. This place is a story place about animals. 2.This place is a designed place full of virtuoso accomplishments. (See Aristotle’s essay on Mimesis.)
Another authority on the subject is the book The Making of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, written by Melody Malmberg, Rohde’s wife.
In the book, Malmberg writes that the Tree of Life is “a soaring tribute to the interconnectedness of life”. Later in the book, a caption for a construction photo of the Tree of Life says that the 140-foot trunk is “covered with animals that seem to emerge from the bark – a potent symbol of the interconnectedness of all living things”.
Yet another section of the book discusses the challenges of the creation of the Tree of Life. While there was no particular size scale for the animals, the challenge was “to create images that seemed as if the Tree of Life had grown them spontaneously”. Another image caption describes a rhino that “emerges as if it is growing out of the Tree of Life”.
In short, the early thoughts about the Tree of Life was that it was a very natural-looking icon, but one that appears as if the animals carved into the tree were, in fact, growing out of the tree – emerging from the bark.
We’ll include one more bit of information about the Tree of Life before moving on to Zootopia. I’ll start by saying that I haven’t been able to find this information in black and white from any official sources, which is why I left it for last. Many Disney fan sites say that this is the official backstory for the Tree of Life from Imagineering, but I haven’t been able to verify that claim. Nevertheless, it’s a nice story that is somewhat prevalent in the fan community, so I’ll summarize it here.
As the story goes, the Tree of Life was the result of the wish of an ant. Discovery Island used to be a bare and desolate place. A place where no trees, shrubs, or vegetation would grow. Then, one day, a tiny ant planted a seed and made a wish. The ant wished for a tree to grow large enough that it would provide shelter for all of the animals. Magically, the ant’s wish came true! The Tree of Life grew, and grew, and grew, eventually becoming a place where animals of all walks of life could find shelter beneath its branches.
As for the animal carvings, those were also a result of magic. The images of the animals who took shelter under the sprawling canopy of the Tree of Life started appearing in the tree’s trunk. And that’s the rumored backstory of how the Tree of Life and the gorgeous animal carvings came to be.
Now, a new poster in the Zootopia: Better Zoogether show offers a new backstory – not that the animal carvings were magically emerging from the Tree of Life, which seemed like the intent of the original artists of the park. Instead, the animals found on the Tree of Life were carved by the residents of Zootopia.
A series of posters within the queue tells the story of Zootopia and, more specifically, Zoogether Day. The posters can be found in the outdoor portion of the queue, which is now filled with safety nets. The posters tell a story from left to right. Let’s take closer look.
The story starts thousands of years ago, when natural forces ruled the world, and the lines of predator and prey were clearly defined.
The Tree of Life makes an appearance in the next poster, which talks about how the residents of Zootopia evolved, over time, and moved beyond those ancient, wild ways. The Tree of Life can be seen in the background, with predators on the left side of the poster, and prey on the right side of the poster. In the middle, a handshake settles differences.
This next poster is the one that turns the Tree of Life upside down for fans of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The poster clearly shows the residents of Zootopia carving animals into the Tree of Life. The tree turns into a symbol of sorts, showing that the animal kingdom can come together in harmony, and that “Anyone Can Be Anything!”.
This, of course, isn’t how the rest of Disney’s Animal Kingdom presents animals, but Zootopia sidesteps a lot of what makes Animal Kingdom great. More on that in a separate article.
The poster that rewrites the Tree of Life can be found, ironically, under the Tree of Life.
And there you have it – a new poster offers a new story for how the Tree of Life and the iconic animal carvings came to be: they are the result of the residents of Zootopia working together.
Zootopia: Better Zoogether opens on November 7th.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
