Professor Barnaby Owl is a character from the Splash Mountain attraction in Disneyland.
History[]
Background[]
Prof. Barnaby Owl is an anthropomorphic owl who lives in Critter Country and who is the proprietor of a Photographic Art Studio at the base of Chick-A-Pin Hill. He is a self-identified, "Practitioner of Photographie Portraiture" who lends his abilities as a photographer to customers.
Physical appearance[]
Prof. Barnaby Owl is a grey owl who wears a checkered vest with a black bowtie and golden keychain. Artwork also shows him wearing a red vest with a green bowtie.
Development[]
Prof. Barnaby Owl was created for Disneyland's Splash Mountain in 1992, being the fictional photographer used to assist guests in understanding the ride-photo process. He had an audio-animatronic figure which appeared towards the end of the attraction. Said AA was removed from the park at some point between 2012 and 2013 for unknown reasons.
Appearances[]
Splash Mountain[]
Within the queue for Splash Mountain, adverts for Barnaby's studio could be seen littered around with illustrations of Barnaby. Additional advertisements and paintings of Barnaby could be found at the end of the attraction, guiding guests to his quarters.
Within the ride, the story implication is that the professor is the one who photographs guests on the attractions through the use of his Daguerreotype camera, likely while flying. An actual audio-animatronic of Barnaby was located at the end of the attraction within the mill, showing off his photos of guests going down into the Briar Patch on a screen. After disembarking from the log, riders entered a "dark room", where they preview their on-ride photograph before exiting to Critter Country. An orchestral swing arrangement of "Sooner or Later" could be heard along the exit path.
Professor Barnaby Owl's Photographic Art Studio[]
This shop is themed around being the establishment of Prof. Barnaby Owl where he sells guests photographs of them from the ride. The establishment is littered with his personal equipment and allusions to his person.
Gallery[]
_-_Professor_Barnaby_Owl_(Animatronic).png "Splash Mountain (Disneyland) - Professor Barnaby Owl (Animatronic).png (544 KB)")
Trivia[]
- Barnaby is considerably similar to the character Professor Owl, most notably featured in the Disney Sing Along Songs videos.
- It is likely that his character was inspired by Hoot Gibson the Owl, a character created by Marc Davis for the unbuilt Western River Expedition.
- In Tokyo Disneyland, an audio-animatronic known as Br'er Owl appeared in the queue to interact with guests as they wait in line.
