Horrors of the Amazon

**Horrors of the Amazon** was a stage show at Hong Kong Disneyland that ran during the 2014 Halloween season. It starred Hong Kong actor Power Chan as Jonas Brisbane, an explorer, adventurer, and Jungle Cruise skipper showing off his newest finds and acquisitions. It played in the Theater in the Wild, where *Festival of the Lion King* plays for the rest of the year.

## Background

Jonas Brisbane was a Jungle Navigation Company skipper who wanted to join the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. His uncle, Ebeneezer Brisbane, was obsessed with the Amazon and went on many dangerous expeditions, documenting them in a journal. When he mysteriously disappeared, Jonas used the journal to search after him, discovering many strange creatures along the way. He captured them and showed them off in a show, to exhibit to Society members.

## Show Experience

When the house lights dimmed, Jonas Brisbane' assistants came out on stage to help set up. One of them was drawn to an object covered in a red tarp, but Jonas told him not to touch it. One of them started a phonograph, so that Jonas could make his grand entrance. He welcomed the audience, who are members of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, to the show, explaining his life story. After a technical difficulty with the projector, he started the show, proper.

Jonas was once a Jungle Navigation Company skipper, but he became an adventurer. He hoped to find the whereabouts of his missing uncle, Ebeneezer Brisbane, by following the notes and maps in his journal through the Amazon Rain forest. While he never found him, he discovered many interesting creatures along the way. He captured them and brought them back with him, to show off in a carnival-style show.

Two creatures were dragged onto the stage - a bird/woman hybrid and a monkey man with wings. They danced when asked to, and the monkey man attempted to flee. Jonas captured other creatures, but they died or suffered some mishap before the show. When the song finished, they were dragged off of the stage the way that they came.

Jonas talked about finding a severed head of a zombie warrior, before showing them off. One of the assistants assistants grabbed a tray covered in a tarp, and stood on opposite sides of him. Jonas pulled the tarp off of one, revealing a jack-o-lantern. After laughing over his prank, the other assistant took another tray, which held the real zombie head. After showing it off, the lights in the theater went out and the head disappeared.

In spite of the chaos, the show moved onto the main event. Jonas revealed that he found the grave of a powerful witch doctor. Naturally, he took the remains and wanted to show it to the audience. His assistant warned him that was disrespectful. The last person who tried to show off her body fell to a terrible fate, and the same thing will happen to him. Jonas ignored the warning and revealed the remains.

The body came to life, standing up with its eyes glowing red. For robbing her grave and imprisoning the Amazon's creatures, she vowed that Jonas would suffer. Hoping to gain the upper hand, he drank a vile of her blood. They struggled for dominance, and the lights went out. The witch doctor said a series of curses. When the lights came back on, Jonas was gone.

One of the assistant stood in center stage, and repeated the curses the witch doctor made. Walking over to the projector, he warned the audience that the same fate could befall them, if they weren't careful in the jungle. He turned to the next slide, revealing a missing persons poster for Jonas. The witch doctor laughed, and the stage lights went out.

## Trivia

* The jack-o-lantern is likely an homage to the Headless Horseman, who had a haunted house attraction at Hong Kong Disneyland that same year.
* Jonas' arrogance towards the witch doctor is very similar to Harrison Hightower III's arrogance towards Shiriki Utundu. Down to the fact that they were warned not to disrespect them by their underlings - the assistant and Smelding, respectively.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://jungleskipper.com/history/hong-kong-disneyland/characters/who-is-jonas-brisbane