Knock off park riffs on Disney theme

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A state-run Beijing theme park planner has built an entire resort that rips off the worldwide attractions of Disney. Reports carried in several Far East news sources from 6 to 10 May indicate a massive, unlicensed use of trademarked characters and locations by the planner, who had aimed to provide Beijing’s working class with a closer alternative to Disney’s Hong Kong resort. This brief had even extended as far as the park’s advertising slogan: ‘Disney is too far, please come to Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park.’

Among the Disney character designs copied in the park’s statues are Snow White and the Seven Dwarves; Cinderella; Mickey and Minnie Mouse; Donald Duck and Pluto. A centrepiece building bears a strong resemblance to Cinderella’s Castle, found in the Magic Kingdom at Florida’s Disney World, and a cinema at the site has been built in direct imitation of the spiky and spherical Spaceship Earth – part of the Orlando attraction’s renowned Epcot complex. Other instances of non-Disney infringement have also been thrown into the mix, including copies of Japanese icons, Doraemon and Hello Kitty, and Dreamworks’ cranky ogre, Shrek.

Disney lawyers flocked to the developers’ offices this week after the park’s cover was inadvertently blown by a Japanese TV station. A Fuji TV crew had been in Beijing to cover China’s week-long May Day celebrations, and had broadcast numerous shots of children and families milling around the park’s copied amusements. On 10 May, workers swarmed into the park and began to demolish any structures that could be cited as infringing.

The park’s deputy general manager, Yin Zhiqiang, was unrepentant: ‘We do not have any agreements with Disney. The characters in our park just look a little bit similar to theirs. But the faces, clothes, sizes and appearances are different. Take our Cinderella as an example: she looks like a young Chinese country girl.’ He went on to describe the park’s Mickey Mouse knock-off as ‘a cat with very large ears.’

However, Hong Kong Disney spokeswoman, Alannah Goss, said: ‘Disney values and protects its intellectual property vigorously and takes reports of suspected infringement very seriously. Protection of intellectual property rights is of paramount importance to any creative company and is vital to our business.’