"Cars" and the Classics: Getting to Know the Caricature Behind Piston Peak's New Character
Now that we are learning a bit more about Piston Peak, coming to Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland at Walt Disney World, I bring your attention to this map. Not only does it give Redwood Creek Challenge Trail vibes (the National Park-esque play area at Disney California Adventure), or the Grizzly Peak area of that park as a whole, it also features a character in the corner.
To some Disney fans, this car might seem a bit…familiar. That’s no accident, and Pixar’s Cars franchise is quite known for doing this.
Take for example, this scene at the end of the first Cars film featuring a drive-in theater showing familiar Pixar characters from outside the Cars-universe, inside the Cars-universe.
This is a trend that continues through the whole franchise, the sequel movies, Cars on the Road, Mater’s Tall Tales, all of it. The parodies are executed with precision detail, whether it be a car pun (a la Toy Story’s Woody) with similar color schemes and details, or an automotive caricature where we know the joke immediately. They are all done with intention and with purpose.
So who is that random character in the corner of the map?
In the pantheon of Disney characters, there is a certain level of obscurity that a number of characters lie. One of those, is J. Audubon Woodlore. Pictured above with Humphrey (the bear), and Donald Duck (the duck), Woodlore is a national park ranger, namely of Brownstone National Park. Though seen above with Donald Duck, his main foil is Humphrey.
Together, they made appearances in several animated shorts, including Grin and Bear It, Grand Canyonscope, and Beezy Bear. All of which feature Woodlore performing his National Park duties.
Ranger Woodlore, along with Humphrey and Donald Duck, also has encounters with wildlife, including hives of bees that he is protecting from Humphrey, and a Mountain Lion in the Grand Canyon.
However, the last animated short featuring Ranger Woodlore was released back in 1956 (In The Bag). Not the most contemporary of characters by any standard. That said, Disney always has their characters, even the most obscure, somewhere in the back of their mind, and though Ranger Woodlore hasn’t appeared prominently in animated form, he has been spotted elsewhere.
The popular shows, House of Mouse and Mickey Mouse Works feature numerous episodes that have appearances by J, Audubon Woodlore. He even appeared in the original animated theme of the Mickey Mouse Club, being the lead drummer and marched in front of Humphrey and other bears.
2023’s hit animated short, Once Upon A Studio also features a cameo (along with anyone else you can think of from Walt Disney Animation Studios), and the sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet features Ranger Woodlore and Humphrey appear picking up litter (referencing an earlier short) in the Oh My Disney section of the internet. Remember Oh My Disney?
It was in 2019 that Disney Parks fans really got to know Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore, when he took over the safety spiels of Grizzly River Run and replaced the original extreme sports style announcements that played on the popular rafting ride, with Woodlore helping to give the National Park aesthetic.
In fact, the look of the map for the new Piston Peak area appears to draw from the same National Park aesthetic that can be found in the Grizzly Peak Recreation Area at Disney California Adventure. As we mentioned earlier, the map itself, showing off the new racers attraction coming to Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom, looks like it could fit right in line with the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail at Disney California Adventure. This attraction, a play area/adventurous pathway through recreations of California’s rustic wilderness, oozes National Parks-style charm. The font on the pathway signs, the costumes of the Cast Members (which channel Ranger Woodlore energy while maintaining comfort for the Cast in the California heat), all help sell that this is a real National Park.
The new map art seems to imply that this whole area will share that same aesthetic, making it feel like a new national park adventure in the middle of Frontierland at Walt Disney World.
As for that car on the map, imagine a world where Cars meets this character, and drops it securely in that universe. And I don’t mean the time Mater sang a variation of Woodlore’s song - the Humphrey Hop. That happened in Cars 3, as seen below.
But with that character on the map art, we are now getting our official first look at Ranger J. Autobahn Woodlore. Keeping the spirit of Cars parodies alive, this character is basically the Cars version of this Disney classic, complete with an automotive-themed pun on the name.
After all, “Autobahn," is a German Highway, in a similar way that “Audubon" is a reference to the natural preservation society, though they work more with birds than bears.
In the new area, Ranger J. Autobahn Woodlore will be the one teaching us more about the lore of Piston Peak, where the new attraction will take place in Frontierland. Based on the art, Piston Peak will be a stunning landscape, featuring lots of waterfalls and lush greenery segueing into the desert landscape of Big Thunder Mountain in the distance (Similar to the way that Grizzly Peak’s natural (looking) landscape fits perfectly within that corner of the park), and Autobahn Woodlore will be teaching us all about it in the attraction.
At this time, there is no timeline for the opening of this new attraction at Walt Disney World, so stay tuned as further details evolve. If you’d like to visit Walt Disney World for yourself, be sure to reach out to our friends at Mouse Fan Travel who can assist with making your dream visit to the Most Magical Place on Earth come true.