People Quackers Over ‘Rocky’ Statue

The big news today is that the Rocky statue may be moving to the side of the Art Museum steps — honestly, I can’t believe this is big news, but it is — returning the Rocky III prop to Eakins Oval from South Philly. (It had been out front of the Spectrum and Wachovia Center after spending some time at the top of the museum steps.)

The Inquirer has a map (at left, obvs) that shows just where the statue will be. It seems like an odd location, like they’re just throwing it in the woods next to the PMA, but I understand the want to keep it off the top of the steps, it being simply an ad for Rocky Balboa and all. (The statue — surprise! — will be in place right around the time the new Rocky movie comes out. Stallone is paying for the move and upkeep himself.)

This being Philadelphia, there’s naturally some detractors, including Park Commish E. Harris Baum:

“If a film about Donald Duck in Philadelphia comes out,” he wondered, “do we put a Donald Duck statue in our park system? Rocky is fine. But other films have relevance, too. Where do we stop?”

Wait! City Councilman Frank Rizzo has weighed in, too:

“If we do a Donald Duck movie in the city of Philadelphia, are we going to have a Donald Duck statue?”

Woah, woah, woah. First off, wow, did they really use the same fictional example to protest the Rocky statue moving to the Art Museum? (It’s a little tacky, but the statue, for better or worse, would be a nice tourist draw for the area. People love running up the steps.)

Second off, how exactly would one make a Donald Duck movie in Philadelphia? I guess there could be some Who Framed Roger Rabbit-type film here, but that seems pretty unlikely.

Thirdly, if they do make a Donald Duck movie here, there better damn well be a statue put up! That’d be awesome.

Comeback for Rocky statue [Inky]
Rocky Statue Could be Headed Back to Art Museum [KYW 1060]