Yay, another Disney fan! I'm something of a Disney freak myself - my best friend and I have had countless conversations & debates on it since we grew up Disney kids. I also try to be aware of Disney business decisions just because a lot of big mergers & the like fascinate me ^_^.
This is something I certainly don't have a problem with, though I've met a good number of people who have. Personally, I don't think many of the endings in the Hans Christian Andersen & Grimm's fairytales are appropriate for children (since after all, many fairytales & folklore stories were meant to warn children). In that regard, the "happily ever after" thing is wonderful. But, for as much as I love Disney, I do have a problem with their falsifying of a few stories, such as Pocahontas, & inaccurate representation of other cultures such as in Aladdin (as good as the movies & songs undoubtedly were). I know that's slightly off-topic, but I think it sheds some light on Disney's credibility & sometimes-disregard for other cultures. Additionally, Disney plays up to a lot of sterotypes race-wise, gender-wise, etc. but I won't get into that.
Now as far as these "hidden" messages go, I think they're only partially true. The 'SEX' in the leaves on Lion King look to be real enough, but I've played back that Aladdin clip a number of times and I never heard what people are talking about - well, sorta. See the thing is, I feel like if you're listening for something like that
that's what you'll hear. It's subconsciously planted and you won't be able to hear anything else. If people listened to it really objectively, they probably wouldn't hear it. I haven't heard much about the other messages, but I can for sure say that Disney is not the culprit in this arena. Animators have long been known to put in little messages & drawings for each other in their final work. This might sound perverted, but for people stuck with super-wholesome images for years at a time - I dunno, it might just be the only way to stay sane?
I have no idea. But my point is that other animators have done it as well. Betty Boop was known to have quick frames of a nude Boop every now & then. I know there are other examples out there too, but I'm not sure off the top of my head.
This doesn't necessarily make these hidden messages justifiable, but the only ones who really catch them are adults. I never noticed a lot of the innuendo, etc. when I was a kid. Like j5master said, watching Aladdin over in college it's like "Omg!" because you can see a whole different side with a different mindset.
Sure didn't look like a flap of his suit! I actually never noticed the "boner" when I was little, but seeing that in slow-mo sure makes it's presence... known, lol. I heard that this has been edited out on the DVD releases.
I didn't know Eisner was an MJ hater? I can definitely see that though.
Even though Disney owns ABC, and even though they no doubt have say over what airs on ABC, I question how many day-to-day decisions it makes as a parent corporation over ABC. *Shrugs* People often equate ABC = Disney which is true to an extent, but primetime TV decisions vs. hidden messages I don't think are coming from the same people. I could be wrong though.
(I'm sorry, I know this O/T, but I just wanted to put in my two cents.) I disagree - to an extent. Eisner has been a very poor CEO the past 10 years or so. But the earlier years of his reign brought a resurgence to Disney animated films.
The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin - these are all films that a generation (like mine) grew up with. And they're excellent films (I mean, c'mon -
Beauty & the Beast is the only animated film to have ever been nominated for best picture! And let's face it, the Best Animated Film category was practically made with Disney in mind :lol
. This era also brought forth some more proactive & stronger female characters. This is certainly the case of one of my favorite Disney films
Mulan. Teaming up with Pixar was one of the best things Disney could have ever done since Pixar is just a *brilliant* studio with good storytelling at it's heart, which Disney traditionally stood for (though I think it might've been better for Pixar had they held out on the Disney acquisition). Additionally, the
Pirates of the Carribean movies proved a successful live-action movie franchise was capable within their realms. Oh - and we can't forget the deal in which Disney releases Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki films which are SUBLIME anime films that are great family entertainment, as well as the wildly popular
Kingdom Hearts video games. Add the expansion of the Disney theme parks, and I would say that for all intensive purposes, the Disney company has virtually made its way into every market over the past 25 years. I mean, it's the
second largest media company in the
world (which is more than a little unnerving at times
). I'm not saying that all these decisions were made by Eisner nor am I really defending him since I don't actually like him, but there is something to be said for the good things that came out of his tenure at Disney.
But for all the good decisions made by him and/or his team earlier on, a crapload of bad decisions were made in the later years of his run. Disney has gone down hill by making sequels for
every.single.one. of their earlier films. I also hate all this Hannah Montana/High School Musical/Jonas Brothers crap. It's just sickening
uke:. But I think there's hope on the horizon. Now that Eisner is gone and the studios have announced that they're returning to fully-animated films, there are definitely things to look forward to.
"The Frog Princess" is slated to be another classic film and is a step forward for Disney since it will have its first Black princess (& well the intentions are partly noble, the main purpose is so they can market the character along with the Disney Princesses line
).
I know you don't like the idea of Disney owning ABC & stuff MJDisneyDork, but the unfortunate reality is that everything owns everything nowadays. There are a number of companies, about 10 or so I think, that are these massive umbrella corporations for practically everything we watch, listen, and read (I studied this a couple semesters ago - it's actually quite scary!). I don't know what would happen were Walt Disney alive to take care of his company, but one thing's for sure - no one can say it hasn't thrived since his passing. I'm inclined to think that with his business savvy, Walt would make a lot of the same (good) decisions ^_^.
Sorry to get so O/T, but I'm very intrigued when it comes to Disney, so I'm excited to hear what you think!
