The Tiger hunter is an unused character from the Jungle Cruise.
History[]
Biography[]
This would have been a European colonist in the early half of the 20th century. He'd have been a poor hunter who went on guided Indian elephant back safaris to hunt tigers.
Development history[]
The gag of the Tiger Hunter was creator by animator Marc Davis during comedy-oriented updates of the Jungle Cruise. This gag would have shown a European tiger-hunter on Indian-elephant back trying to shoot at a tiger. The gun's barrel would have wiggled from the force as the colonist's porter covered his ears due to his proximity to the gun. Meanwhile the elephant would have a pose similar to a pointer-dog directing at the tiger (a gag often used for Mickey Mouse's dog Pluto) though the tiger would only be shot at the rear causing its fur to be blasted off.
Legacy[]
Jungle Cruise[]
- In the Amazon River Base of Walt Disney World's Jungle Cruise are advertisements for the Elephant Safari Company. The ads show this to be a colonial business that brings guests on safaris on the backs of Indian elephants. This advertisement also makes the note of saying, "TIGER Sighting Tours Daily" and on AWOL Airwaves, Albert Awol can be heard promoting the company by saying, "Join the Elephant Safari Company as they search for lions, tigers, and bears. Oh, my" in a reference to The Wizard of Oz (1939).
- White big game hunter characters integrated into the Jungle Cruise mythos include Theodore Roosevelt and J. Thaddeus Toad (the latter of whom specifically hunted tigers).
Trivia[]
- A similar unused character was created by Davis for the Haunted Mansion which showed the ghost of a tiger-hunter being tormented by the taxidermy and plush tigers which he killed in life. This unused character might be connected to Bertie Dread, a murderous big-game hunter character whose tomb is outside the Haunted Mansion.
- In real-life, elephant-back riding is considered a form of animal abuse due to elephant spines not being able to withstand the weight of a human without damage.
- Tigers are historically a big-game animal resulting in roughly 80% of its population being killed by hunters.
Gallery[]
