JoJo’s World: Characters and Festival of the Arts

In this vlog, JoJo rides with his friends June and Jade to Epcot to “see Pluto and other people.” Jade is just as exuberant in this video as she was in the first video that she appeared in, so much so that JoJo has to warn her not to crash the car as she’s driving.

It’s June to whom JoJo is giving his attention though, with a series of awkward interactions that don’t impress her. First, he introduces her to the vlog by saying that he previously got her name wrong, thinking it was “Jude”. Next, walking from the Epcot parking lot, he ridicules that she’s wearing jeans at the park in very hot weather. Third, in the park he asks June what she is most excited about with the DCP program. She brushes him off, saying, “I don’t have an answer, sorry.”

As they walk through the Canada Pavilion in World Showcase, JoJo claims that he’s from Canada. Later, in the France Pavilion, he says that he’s also French. The latter, plus his ego, then makes him say, “I am the full package!” June understandably laughs at the notion.

The trio stops at the entrance to backstage on the Japan side of  Morocco and wait there for characters to appear. JoJo doesn’t mention it, but character performers in training will appear at that location to get some experience with the public. JoJo and the people he is with presumably are waiting there to see fellow DCPers in training do their thing. They wait for a while and eventually Rabbit, Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Pluto make an appearance. JoJo gives a hug to Rabbit, gets Pluto to shake his butt (wag his tail), gets a picture with Mickey Mouse and apologizes to Chip and Dale for getting their names wrong. Jade says Pluto is her favorite and JoJo agrees.

Insincerity:

“Guys, I don’t know how we knew this was going to be the spot, but there’s so many characters in this little alleyway – what is going on?”

~ JoJo

Next up is a visit to Norway to see Anna and Elsa. JoJo claims that he gets nervous and awkward when meeting princesses. He says it is like it is when he’s meeting a girl for the first time (we already saw the awkwardness with June). He tells Anna that he gets very shy around princesses and tells Else that it’s very chilly in the room.

JoJo leads June and Jade to the Mexico Pavilion, which neither of the two had been to before. JoJo says the Mexico Pavilion is his favorite location in Epcot. He advises viewers that the restaurant inside the pyramid is a good place to have a special date with a special someone. JoJo says that according to June (and anyone with eyes), the restaurant is dark. The three go for a ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour.

At the paint-by-number wall for Festival of the Arts, JoJo records June painting in the #7 blocks with her cup of yellow paint. June heedfully asks, “What if I mess up?” JoJo’s advice is “Don’t mess up. It’s on camera.” June paints outside the lines, but sucking up, JoJo tells her, “Oh, so nice. Are you an art major?” Maybe it was sarcasm. JoJo paints some squares with his paint and brush and they move on.

JoJo meets his friends Austin and Emily at the front of the park, who by now one can assume from watching the vlogs that they are a couple. June and Jade have disappeared without explanation. JoJo, Austin and Emily make a brief stop to see Baymax and then ride The Seas with Nemo and Friends. It’s the first time for JoJo on The Seas. He crams himself in the same ride vehicle with Austin and Emily, keeping them pure, or being a huge third wheel.

At Club Cool, JoJo does the de rigueur first time tasting of Beverly. He makes a face, but says, “Not bad.” There is brief clip of Illuminations and that is it for the Epcot scenes.

Some morning afterward, JoJo is in his custodial work uniform and says it is his first day of training inside of Magic Kingdom. He then says he is going to the gym first, which makes no sense when he’s already dressed for work. At the Gym, JoJo introduces Zane and Zane’s friend Devin. JoJo asks Zane where he works at and Zane, perhaps misunderstanding, replies with what muscles he plans to work on. JoJo warns viewers, “You are going to see a lot more of this man here. He’s finally here, so…” JoJo doesn’t specify what’s going to happen.

Zane and Devin do a dance at the gym and JoJo says, “So I think we’ve been in the gym long enough. I think it’s time to go.”

Back at home, JoJo shows off his work attire again and he says he likes the fit. After work, JoJo reports that his shift was okay, but long (8 hours). He learned a lot and made some magical moments, including possibly saving a family from losing their child.

[3/5]  JoJo’s awkwardness with June is entertaining. His cringeworthy interactions with her and and his reactions to meeting characters showcase his goofy personality that fans may enjoy. His day at Epcot and his first day of training could have been separate videos, but with under 10 minutes of video between the two events, he had to cobble together what he could.


by Angela Tortelli

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.