What's wrong with Disney movies?

[Wabi Sabi]

I just commented via e-mail to a friend that I don't allow my daycare kids to watch Disney movies at my house. I just don't like the messages that MOST of them portray.

Now I know that this friend is going to ask me to elaborate as to what I have against Disney movies. I'm having a hard time articulating what it is that I find inappropriate for the average 3 year old and I want to be prepared with an answer for when she asks.

So, for those of you who don't do Disney, what is it in particular that you don't like about most of their movies?

[dziejen]

In my opinion, of course, the Disney story lines often involve situations best handled by the child's parent. Almost all of the movies involve death, a lot of times by a parent, and some of it is just too upsetting for some kids. I am not totally against Disney and the tragedy is often what makes the story but I do make sure that my kids are ready for the situations they present -- alot of times what is fine for my 8yr old is not right for my 3yr old to watch.

[Irishmommy]

Moving this to Books, Music and Other Media...

[nicole lisa]

They're racist and homophobic and misogynist, in a nutshell.

[Alkenny]

I don't really have a "hatred" towards them, but most of them portray women/girls as meek and mild and nothing until they've found a man.

[lynsage]

1) Dead moms. The mom almost always dies or is already dead by the beginning of the movie. And then there's the "dad death" scene in the Lion King, which I can't watch without crying as an adult.

2) Princesses/heroines who either need to be saved by a male or develop a co-dependent relationship with a male. I mean, think about "Beauty and the Beast". He is a violent beast who keeps her prisoner and is "cured" by her selfless love- and it's not his fault he's a beast, because he was cursed. That's practically programming little girls to fall in love with abusive jerks.

3) Racial stereotyping/implications. Why is the villain almost always the darker-haired person or darker-furred creature? Why are Aladdin and Jasmine very "white-looking" young Arab people with American accents, and the villain in the same movie has exaggerated features and a different accent? I'm not even going to touch on Pocahontas; we'd be here all night.


4) Consumerism. Product tie-ins everywhere you look, "Disney family vacations", the marketing of the tons and tons of toys etc. that has been so beaten into people's heads that many people will come right out and tell you you're DEPRIVING your child if you boycott Disney. It's right up there with not letting them have the vaunted "birthday at McDonald's" for things that marketing has taught people children "must" have.

5) Pooh. I love A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh and the old Pooh books with the original art. The Disney versions have gotten steadily more and more Disnified and now they are introducing even more new characters and toys that look nothing like the old Pooh. It icks me out that the original Pooh is now called "Classic Pooh", like it's just another branch of the Pooh brand. Yuck. Not to mention, it gives me the hives that they make Pooh wear a shirt.

[djs_girl517]

Originally Posted by nicole lisa

They're racist and homophobic and misogynist, in a nutshell.

Homophobic? Really? I know a lot of people who boycott Disney because they provide health benefits to same-sex partners. I'm not arguing, and I don't really care one way or the other about Disney, I'm just curious about this comment because I thought they were far from homophobic.

[lynsage]

I googled "Disney racism" to see if I could find any good examples and I found this fairly good paper on the subject:

http://student.fortlewis.edu/sccox/d...tingdisney.htm

[tinybutterfly]

In Beauty and the Beast, he IS responsible for his beastliness...he was turned into a beast to reflect his true nature when he coldly turned away the fairy ( or whatever) who cursed him. He continues to struggle with his nature...and must truly love and have someone love him to be released from the curse. Beauty is an example of selfless love, towards her father and towards the beast...but then the beast finds his release by an act of selfless love on HIS part. Unless I am very confused. And that is possible.

[fluffernutter]

Originally Posted by lynsage

1) Dead moms. The mom almost always dies or is already dead by the beginning of the movie. And then there's the "dad death" scene in the Lion King, which I can't watch without crying as an adult.

2) Princesses/heroines who either need to be saved by a male or develop a co-dependent relationship with a male. I mean, think about "Beauty and the Beast". He is a violent beast who keeps her prisoner and is "cured" by her selfless love- and it's not his fault he's a beast, because he was cursed. That's practically programming little girls to fall in love with abusive jerks.

3) Racial stereotyping/implications. Why is the villain almost always the darker-haired person or darker-furred creature? Why are Aladdin and Jasmine very "white-looking" young Arab people with American accents, and the villain in the same movie has exaggerated features and a different accent? I'm not even going to touch on Pocahontas; we'd be here all night.


4) Consumerism. Product tie-ins everywhere you look, "Disney family vacations", the marketing of the tons and tons of toys etc. that has been so beaten into people's heads that many people will come right out and tell you you're DEPRIVING your child if you boycott Disney. It's right up there with not letting them have the vaunted "birthday at McDonald's" for things that marketing has taught people children "must" have.

5) Pooh. I love A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh and the old Pooh books with the original art. The Disney versions have gotten steadily more and more Disnified and now they are introducing even more new characters and toys that look nothing like the old Pooh. It icks me out that the original Pooh is now called "Classic Pooh", like it's just another branch of the Pooh brand. Yuck. Not to mention, it gives me the hives that they make Pooh wear a shirt.

Yeah, that. Especially 1-4. Ick.

[lynsage]

Originally Posted by tinybutterfly

He continues to struggle with his nature...and must truly love and have someone love him to be released from the curse. Beauty is an example of selfless love, towards her father and towards the beast...but then the beast finds his release by an act of selfless love on HIS part.

I view that as being co-dependent as all get-out.

[Ceinwen]

On the big list of things I have to worry about my child watching on TV - Disney is somewhere near the bottom. There's so much *worse* out there, I'm taking it all in perspective.

[forest~mama]

I totally agree with Lynsage's comments. Disney is a clasic case of commercialism.
I used to spend time with two children ages 10 and 5, and they refused to watch any cartoon movies that were not Disney. To me, Disney is the McDonalds of movies, clothing, toys ect. It is a place many people go, but I would never want to take a child there. This is all my opinion, of course!

[tinybutterfly]

Originally Posted by lynsage

I view that as being co-dependent as all get-out.

It would be co-dependent if Beauty was RESPONSIBLE ( or felt responsible) to "make" him change. She is not.

HE is responsible for his own behavior and his choices determine whether or not the curse is broken.

He is transformed inside ( which is what really counts) and she learns to love him in spite of his outward appearance. I think he offers an example of sacrificial love when he lets her go home to her father, even though he may die because of her absence. He sacrifices his well-being for her...something that previously he would not have been capable of doing. He had been beautiful on the outside and a beast on the inside.

Please keep in mind I am much older than most of you and I grew up with the fairy tale, not the Disney cartoon alone.

[lynsage]

tinybutterfly,

I am talking about the Disney movie, not the fairy tale itself. In the Disney version, they don't get that deep with the implications of sacrifice and true love- at least not in a way any small child would be able to absorb. They're too busy with the dancing candlestick and the talking teapot.

[Kirsten]

Well, I like some of the Disney movies... and my kids go to Disneyland every three or four years - so maybe I am the wrong one to ask.

I think that like anything, there is a range. I have ones I like a lot (Aladdin, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast - and Toy Story and Shrek if you are counting those) and ones that I am not as fond of (Bambi, Lion King).

I will give you that there is the commercialization issue. But just because your kid watches Mulan doesn't mean you have to buy the Mulan slippers!

I think a lot of the newer Disney movies (last ten years or so) portray the princesses as much stronger than they did in the older movies. Jasmine, Mulan, Belle are all very strong female leads.

But as to the OP, I might say that there are some scary parts not appropriate for all daycare age kids (I assume we are talking birth through five?) and/or the length is too much for the little ones to sit through.

If you are just banning Disney on principle that they are "the man", I would borrow a few from the library and see for yourself what you think. I don't let my kids watch Spongebob as the two minutes I saw a year ago left a bad taste in my mouth - not really a good amount of research to make that ban. I should (sometime when the kids are not around) watch one episode all the way through so I can ban it with full information! And actually, now that the religious right have come out against SB, I have been thinking that I need to give him another chance! If they dislike him, he must have some good qualities... That is how I changed my mind about Teletubbies. Wish the religious right would just come right out with a list of shows they dislike (times and stations too, please) so I can know what to TiVo. :LOL

[odenata]

Originally Posted by tinybutterfly

He is transformed inside ( which is what really counts) and she learns to love him in spite of his outward appearance.

The thing that irks me about this fairy tale is that her reward for loving him in spite of his outward appearance as a beast is that he gets turned into a handsome prince. So really, IMO, it's just reaffirming how important good looks are.

Here's one of my big issues with Disney - they take classic literature like The Hunchback of Notre Dame and stories like The Little Mermaid and destroy them. And Pocahontas? They simply ignore her real life story for the most part.

[Kirsten]

Originally Posted by odenata

The thing that irks me about this fairy tale is that her reward for loving him in spite of his outward appearance as a beast is that he gets turned into a handsome prince. So really, IMO, it's just reaffirming how important good looks are.

Have you seen Shrek and Shrek 2? Great movies. All five members of my family (ages 38, 35, 8, 4 and 1) can happily sit through either one any day of the week. If you dislike B and the B for the appearance issue, I think you might be pleasantly surprised at Shrek.

[tinybutterfly]

Originally Posted by lynsage

tinybutterfly,

I am talking about the Disney movie, not the fairy tale itself. In the Disney version, they don't get that deep with the implications of sacrifice and true love- at least not in a way any small child would be able to absorb. They're too busy with the dancing candlestick and the talking teapot.

This is true...I should have just not replied, but I have always loved the story of Beauty and the Beast. I do have some issues with the Disney version, but talked to my kids about the main message. I did like the dancing candlestick, though. :LOL

odenta, you bring up a valid point. Her reward for loving him is a handsome man...but also he had to change inwardly or the change would not have happened. Shrek did handle this aspect of the fairy tale genre better, as Kirsten pointed out.

I will respectfully bow out now. It was just my love of fairy tales that lured me in and my irrational need to defend Beauty and the Beast. I'd suggest a big book of original fairy tales...still gruesome but they serve their purpose. And if you are reading you can "edit" out anything you think your child might not be ready for... Oh, The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettleheim ( I think I spelled his last name correctly) is a good read.

Like I said before, we did watch Disney versions of many things, but I tried to talk to my kids about the story. And we have books. Going, going...gone! Poof!

TB ( who can disappear in a cloud of smoke...bet ya didn't know that about me. )

[treemom2]

Ditto the comments on rascism, sexism, consumerism, adult themes, and dead parents (incredibly frightening concept for a young child). I also have to add that I find Disney films incredibly violent--guns, knives, war, comments about killing someone, etc... I did a paper in college on the violence in Aladdin--found it to have more violent acts than a lot of adult movies rated R or PG 13--Because it is cartoon it isn't considered as violent--a little crazy if you ask me.

BTW: IMO Shrek is not appropriate for children--again it is incredibly violent and has a lot of crude humor just not appropriate.