What's With All The Hate About Disney?

[Charles Xavier]

I'm not stupid, people. Of course I've heard a lot of bad stuff circling around the company, and I know a lot of people just LOVE picking on it to death. And sure, say what you want about their current shows today as compared to their older ones. Love them or hate them, it's your choice.

But putting all that aside, speaking corporately, why do so many people loathe Disney? Does it deserve to be demonized so badly? Is it because the company tends to be over-controlling with their employees, because they're so stiff with their own policies such as copyright infringement and creative freedom, because they tend to 'swallow up' other companies (eg Miramax, Marvel), or maybe that people are simply jealous of its success throughout the decades? Or maybe there are other reasons?

Let's be fair here. Is there anything good to say about Disney today?

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I dislike Disney because of the thoroughness with which they set about colonising children's imaginations. They hi-jack traditional tales from ancient cultures, re-write them to deprive them of their deeper meaning, emasculate them, tack on a Hollywood ending - this has become the standard fodder for generations of young minds. I really hate the fact that so few of my students know the real story of the Little Mermaid, or any of the traditional fairy tales, but they all know the Disney version. I hate that the happy ending for every Disney princess is to find the right man to marry.

And it is all done in the name of profit, of what will sell. Disney pyjamas, Disney wallpaper, Disney luncboxes, Disney cycle helmets, Disney healthy snacks, Disney learn-to-read CDs... The Jesuits used to say, "Give me a child's mind until he is seven and he will be mine forever." Disney operates on the same principle. Nothing is sacred.

They are like the Shinra of the entertainment industry, their ever-expanding empire fuelled by sucking dry the imaginations of the world's children.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Personally I love Disney.
And fuck anyone who says they don't like disneyworld!
Fuck them right up the arse.

 

[Danseru-kun]

I dislike Disney because of the thoroughness with which they set about colonising children's imaginations. They hi-jack traditional tales from ancient cultures, re-write them to deprive them of their deeper meaning, emasculate them, tack on a Hollywood ending - this has become the standard fodder for generations of young minds.

I thought the Grimm brothers are guilty of this even before Disney to some extent. Though I agree that they bastardized stuff like the Arabian setting in Aladdin and Pocahontas.

I hate that the happy ending for every Disney princess is to find the right man to marry.

I think Disney princesses are either too loved to be criticized, or too stereotyped to be judged fairly. I think, character-wise, the worst are Aurora, Snow White and Ariel. They did nothing except sing and dream of a man. They're still pretty so they can get away with that and I forgive Snow White since she's the first and the 1930's is not exactly very modern about women empowerment. Cinderella is not that bad, it's just that the way she escaped her fate is too good to be true and not really something that can inspire kids.

Finding a good man is not really an issue to me, since to many princess it's just a bonus after something more important, many heroes are also subject to this. Belle wants something more out of her ordinary life, rejects the "ideal man" Gaston and was courageous enough to save her father. I think the way she changed the Beast was a proof of her character. Rapunzel wants to go outside and be free, got herself a guy and still free. Tiana works for her restaurant, accidentally became a frog and got herself a guy, but her dream still comes true.

Also, ignoring the shitty sequels, Pocahontas and Mulan never got their guys. Pocahontas is a really beautiful and strong character and one of the best if she's totally fictional, but I think Disney went to far in bastardizing Native American history IMO. The same with Jasmine, I think she insults the modesty of Arabic women. Lastly, I think Mulan is the best Disney heroine, or even the best protagonist for many reasons.

I've never seen Brave so I cannot comment on Merida, but I think the "she's the first feminist princess" marketing is annoying since it kinda says that princesses like Tiana and Mulan do not have feminist elements.

They are like the Shinra of the entertainment industry, their ever-expanding empire fuelled by sucking dry the imaginations of the world's children.

I grew up loving Disney and probably what I loved most about it is the magical music that is now barely existent. I miss the 90's era with beautiful broadway songs and orchestra. I've always disliked Disney channel for obvious reasons except for shows like Lizzy Mcguire and That's So Raven.

I think one of the reasons for the hate is the change of Disney. the company keeps on evolving and is very different 10 years ago, for example, making only 3D films now. Others hate the change while others defend it to death.

 

[Ite]

Belle wants something more out of her ordinary life, rejects the "ideal man" Gaston and was courageous enough to save her father. I think the way she changed the Beast was a proof of her character.

I fucking love Belle and I will personally flay anyone who says otherwise. She is a strong character who remains herself despite pressures from her community, and through her convictions she is able to affect a positive change and growth in that community.

And that Stockholm syndrome joke is old. And unfunny.

 

[Cookie Monster]

To hell with all of you haters. Lion King was badass.

 

[looneymoon]

Disney has been a very important inspirational aspect to my life.

Corporate bullshit aside, the sheer artistic force behind the company is something that will constantly remind me of the things I hold dear in my life.

I love Disney.

 

[Tetsujin]

Timon and Pumbaa are my bros.

 

[Zealkin]

Most of my problems with it stem from Disney channel, though a few of the movies do tick me off with the way women are portrayed.
When I was a kid it wasn't always about the happy ending, I always knew what was going to happen at the end of the movie, either through sheer predictability or just because I had watched it countless times. I loved the journey Disney took you through. I feel like even if the morals were watered down, as a child they still meant something to me and affected me deeply, and they still do.

I think it's a part of "fantasy" and "imagination" to twist the truth to make the possibilities stand out and really make one's mind work. Disney isn't the only one guilty of doing this, the whole movie Anastasia does this. She dies in that fire, but there's always the what if's and that's part of the magic I think.

 

[Geostigma]

Childhood : Disney is Awesome.
Adulthood: Disney is Awesome.

Adult who pays bills :Fuck the Disney Mafia.

Disney is a terrible terrible company that has there fingers in everything and try to get rate hikes for any little thing possible. The reason television bills and basic packages gradually rise 3% every year is primarily because of Disney.

They own ESPN, ESPN costs Tv providers like Dtv, Dish, Comcast , Time warner, ect anywhere from 2-6$ (per espn channel) per subscriber. Disney also owns all of the Disney channels (derp) ABC channels (Derp) and local ABC affiliate channels (aka your channel 5 or what ever).

ESPN is on the lowest main channel package for most TV providers, meaning the provider has to pay the 2-6$ cost for almost every subscriber they have. Generally they try to refuse to pay that much but Disney rebuttals with "Take it or leave it, and well take our Disney channels that your kids love with us too".

Then they come back around 2 years later and bump the price up a smidgen. If ESPN was a la carte it would cost about as much as HBO but most estimates see it going for 20$+ to cover any loss from not being available to everyone by default.


Then there is there indirect bullying.
In 2011 Dish Network offered the Starz Movie package to roughly 11 million customers (out of 14) free of charge for an entire year to compensate for a 5$ increase(due to disney and lesser extent viacom).

Starz has a contract with Disney to carry Disney movies and there pay was based off a cut off amount of potential subscribers. When Disney saw that Starz suddenly got a few million new customers they wanted there share despite being contract locked to the old lower price.

So what did they do? They sued starz even if the case didnt hold water. They settled on the basis Starz sues Dish network to remove the freebie for a year.
Luckily Dish is owned by Charlie Ergen who is infamous when it comes to court battles and suits. As far as I'm aware that Starz suit against Dish only resulted in phone agents changing there script

from : "Hi did you know you are getting Starz free for a year tune into channel 350 to see !"
To
"Hi did you know you are getting Starz at no cost to you?"
lol

It really only gets worse. Disney makes great cartoons but corporately they are pretty fuckin bad and money hungry.

 

[Danseru-kun]

To hell with all of you haters. Lion King was badass.

I wanna cry everytime I remember the opening, the stampede, Hakuna Matata, Can You Feel The Love Tonight and Simba's victory. And I know he's a lion but Jeremy Irons as Scar is ear porn (of course when I was a kid it was not.)

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

I've never seen Brave so I cannot comment on Merida, but I think the "she's the first feminist princess" marketing is annoying since it kinda says that princesses like Tiana and Mulan do not have feminist elements.

well it's not so much she's the first feminist princess so much as she's the first princess who actively rejects romance (whereas for mulan while it is not the main focus, there is a romantic element)

 

[Lex]

This thread has put me in the mood to watch Disney movies .

Having said that, they're evil and I don't like giving them money, so I don't. It's a win win. Enjoy exciting cartoon musicals, and steal from the company. I mean what I don't do that. Account hack or something

 

[Cookie Monster]

I wanna cry everytime I remember the opening, the stampede, Hakuna Matata, Can You Feel The Love Tonight and Simba's victory. And I know he's a lion but Jeremy Irons as Scar is ear porn (of course when I was a kid it was not.)

Let's not forget the most important character...

 

[Danseru-kun]

well it's not so much she's the first feminist princess so much as she's the first princess who actively rejects romance (whereas for mulan while it is not the main focus, there is a romantic element)

I never watched it yet but judging from the trailers any sane woman would reject those guys.

EDIT: I'm have nothing against women choosing to be single. But I just hate it that some people are saying that this automatically makes Merida the best princess because she has no man, as if having a man means you're disempowered.

 

[Tennyo]

I dislike Disney because of the thoroughness with which they set about colonising children's imaginations. They hi-jack traditional tales from ancient cultures, re-write them to deprive them of their deeper meaning, emasculate them, tack on a Hollywood ending - this has become the standard fodder for generations of young minds. I really hate the fact that so few of my students know the real story of the Little Mermaid, or any of the traditional fairy tales, but they all know the Disney version. I hate that the happy ending for every Disney princess is to find the right man to marry.

And it is all done in the name of profit, of what will sell. Disney pyjamas, Disney wallpaper, Disney luncboxes, Disney cycle helmets, Disney healthy snacks, Disney learn-to-read CDs... The Jesuits used to say, "Give me a child's mind until he is seven and he will be mine forever." Disney operates on the same principle. Nothing is sacred.

They are like the Shinra of the entertainment industry, their ever-expanding empire fuelled by sucking dry the imaginations of the world's children.

I do see your point, however, I still like most Disney movies.

But I will say that, Pocahontas is probably my all-time favorite of the animated features, and it ends with Pocahontas choosing to stay where she was needed most rather than following the man she loved off to other places.

But the other day I saw Disney posting on Facebook about how Pocahontas and Pocahontas II were coming to Blu-Ray in a two disc set, and all these people were leaving comments all like, "I'll only watch the first because I hate the second." And "I hate the second movie because Disney brought in that new guy, Pocahontas should have been with John Smith!"

It's like, lolwtf srsly? lrn 2 history

Although I guess the second movie was still awful.

 

[Lex]

I do see your point, however, I still like most Disney movies.

But I will say that, Pocahontas is probably my all-time favorite of the animated features, and it ends with Pocahontas choosing to stay where she was needed most rather than following the man she loved off to other places.

But the other day I saw Disney posting on Facebook about how Pocahontas and Pocahontas II were coming to Blu-Ray in a two disc set, and all these people were leaving comments all like, "I'll only watch the first because I hate the second." And "I hate the second movie because Disney brought in that new guy, Pocahontas should have been with John Smith!"

It's like, lolwtf srsly? lrn 2 history

Although I guess the second movie was still awful.

This is the way I feel too. I can understand the viewpoint that they're an evil company and they do seem to have a very specific agenda with regard to what they portray, but on the basic, most simplistic level I just love the movies.

Pocahontas I really liked, but musically it's not my favourite (though colours of the wind is totally win). Probably got to be the Lion King but I've watched it to death. I really like the classics too like Sleeping Beauty etc.

 

[Geostigma]

More like Poca-Hot-ASS, amiright guys ami right?

*Crickets*

*Walks away*

 

[Demona]

I'm of two minds, I guess--I find Disney a lot harder to enjoy because I can't help but APPLYE MINE UNIVARSITY EJAMACAYSHUN (feminist, literary, folkloristic, power, orientalist, etc. etc. etc. theories) when watching Disney. All that aside, some movies like the Little Mermaid, Cinderella and Snow White just get my goat because I find the characters uncompelling or alienatingly young--in short, some don't really hold up to rewatching as an adult. I've made my peace with Disney (mostly) by trying not to think when watching it, enjoying the campy (and amazing--or not) musical numbers and the animation.

The movies that hold up to rewatching as an adult definitely include Beauty and the Beast and the Lion King. And--it pains me to admit because I find it most difficult to watch any of the films with any sort of racial undertone because it's my personal beef--Aladdin. Even if he has no nipples.

Although I will draw and quarter the next person I hear who goes "OOOOOOO, LION KIIIING, SO HAMLET, SO SHAKESPEARE."

Also, Treasure Planet. I loved Treasure Planet. And Brave was awesome because it has nudity as humour and does it better than they did it with the naked cupid guy from Tangled.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

You poor things. You are all Disney victims.

But srsly, I love the movies too. The movies are nearly all masterpieces of animation. I once had to watch "The Jungle Book" in Spanish, and it didn't matter because by lip-reading their mouths and reading their facial expressions and body language, I could tell everything that was going on. That is just incredible attention to detail.

I guess it's not Disney I hate so much as parents who park their kids in front of the DVD and never say, "You've already seen Hercules 23 times. Why don't we read some Greek myths together for a change?" Parents don't have to give in to the relentless merchandising. I do dislike the Little Mermaid film the most because it turned a profound story into a trite cliche. Mulan and Hercules are probably my favourites; we have a lot of family memories tied up in Hercules, and it's really funny.

Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse? For me it's Bugs all the way, Doc.

PS My students decided the Lion King was an inverted Macbeth! Mufasa = Duncan, Simba = Malcolm, Scar = Macbeth. Scotland is sick = Pridelands are sick. The thing that clinched it for them was that Scar framed Simba for the murder and Simba had to run away. Ooops, spoilers.
(I always thought that after the film was over, Nala ruled the pridelands really; she just lets Simba think he does.)

 

[Demona]

@Liquorice--that's a compelling argument, but--NO.

LION KING WAS BEAUTIFULLY ANIMATED and tots my favourite BUT NO SHAKESPEARE ARGH

http://www.kimbawlion.com/rant2.htm

 

[HylianMogget]

For the reasons others have brought up, I have conflicted feelings about Disney: the artistry involved in the animation is undeniably incredible but stuff like their corporate practices and the princess stereotype really bother me (re: childhood indoctrination, I've sold my soul to animu, so if I ever have a kid, Princess Tutu better be their favorite fairy tale princess cartoon ). Usually, with most of their movies, I'm fine to focus on appreciating the amazing animation and such, but with some (like, The Little Mermaid), it's harder to resist the urge to go on a feminist rant. What I really want from Disney is more 2D animated movies. I liked Tangled well enough, but that Frozen (the one-word titles are getting kind of silly) isn't going to be 2D anymore is a bummer.

As for when I was a kid, The Lion King was totally my favorite and was the movie I'd watch over and over. I also remember watching Fantasia a lot, especially the Rite of Spring part because I was obsessed with dinosaurs.

 

[Elisa Maza]

Also, Treasure Planet. I loved Treasure Planet.

FINALLY, SOMEONE REMEMBERED THIS GEM! Let me love you.

Treasure Planet is MY kind of movie. It hits all my sweet spots in terms of storytelling, characters and development.

 

[Tennyo]

Treasure Planet what?

How did I miss that post?

I love that movie.

Let me love you people. <3

Also I do have to say one thing. Now maybe I would have found these movies some way or another (or maybe I would not have), but it was because of Disney that I first discovered Studio Ghibli wwwwaaaaayyyyy back in the day when I was an animu nub.

I just watched Secret World of Arietty and yes I know it's based off of an American (I think?) book but I just loved it. And it made me think about Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa and Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky I was like, "Thank you, Disney."

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

Treasure Planet what?

How did I miss that post?

I love that movie.

Let me love you people. <3

Also I do have to say one thing. Now maybe I would have found these movies some way or another (or maybe I would not have), but it was because of Disney that I first discovered Studio Ghibli wwwwaaaaayyyyy back in the day when I was an animu nub.

I just watched Secret World of Arietty and yes I know it's based off of an American (I think?) book but I just loved it. And it made me think about Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa and Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky I was like, "Thank you, Disney."

it's an english book (same with hmc)