February is steampunk month. Have you heard of steampunk? Many people have not, or they have seen something that is steampunk but did not know it was called that. A good example of steampunk is the movie Wild Wild West with Will Smith and Kevin Kline. According to the Oxford American Dictionary steampunk is:
a genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advanced technology.
Merriam-Webster forgot to put steampunk in their dictionary but I’m sure they’ll rectify that now that Disney has added a steampunk float to their new parade at the Magic Kingdom.
The Festival of Fantasy parade celebrates Fantasyland with a float for each of the our favorite fairy tales. Sleeping Beauty’s nemesis Maleficent is represented by a great metal dragon covered in clockwork and bellowing steam. You can’t get more steampunk than that.
It may seem weird that dragons, a fantasy idea, can be found in steampunk, a science fiction sub-genre. That is the coolest part about steampunk. If you keep the essentials, steam technology, clockwork gears, and a somewhat dystopian world, then you can add whatever you want. Magic, fairies, dragons, vampires, and anything else you can imagine are found under the steampunk umbrella. It has a universe of possibilities. I like to think that Disney is the same way. Happiness squared.
Goofy Tip: This is not the first time Disney has incorporated steampunk into one of their shows. If you are at Disneyland make sure you see Mickey and the Magical Map. This entertaining stage show follows Mickey as he learns the importance of being yourself. The dancers wear wonderful costumes designed with steampunk elements. Want even more steampunk? Wander through Tomorrowland. It was built to look like the world of Jules Verne, the patriarch of steampunk.