How Disney is indoctrinating your kids in the ways of woke while they watch Saturday morning cartoons
- Conservatives have slammed House of Mouse for pushing ‘woke’ ideology
- Company has announced 7,000 jobs to be cut as criticism continues
- Battle is still raging over the company’s direction at boardroom level
As the company continues to see its stock price go down, and as it’s forced to slash 7,000 jobs, Disney still insists on producing ‘woke’ content that panders to liberal viewpoints.
Disney has, for almost a century, positioned itself as the outstanding place for all families to be able to watch movies and television together, connecting them to their characters on television, video games, action figures and, of course, their theme parks.
However, the company has taken steps towards a more progressive image in the past decade, especially since the launch of money-hemorrhaging streaming service Disney+, which has both propped up left-leaning content and forced parents to go through ‘parental advisories’ to get to the classics.
It was announced Wednesday that the streamer had lost over two million subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2022 alone.
They have given old characters progressive makeovers, and removed offensive imagery from rides and movies. However, some people feel the company has gone too far in its woke reinvention.
Looking at the company’s recent offerings – and its re-edits of classics – it’s easy to see why its fiercest critics see a trend of left-wing thought, or at least kowtowing to political correctness.
Walt Disney World says the company is ‘monitoring the progression ‘ of the legislation
One of those critics is billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, who recently declared war on the company’s ‘excessive spending and mismanagement.’
More backlash came over the new Disney+ show The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, which has been branded ‘anti-white propaganda’.
The cartoon featured black children rapping about reparations and saying: ‘Slaves built this country.’
Bruce W. Smith, 61, who created the show in 2001 before rebooting it for a comeback on the streaming platform this year, said he was stunned – and thrilled – by the controversy.
Smith, who co-directed Space Jam, tweeted: ‘Why the fear? We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to stoke the conversation.’
He then retweeted a comment on a video showing the kids in the show peacefully protesting when cops in riot gear show up.
‘Republicans are losing their minds, calling on Americans to Boycott Disney because of this scene from a Disney cartoon The Proud Family,’ the tweet read.
‘They are literally mad that kids are learning that slaves helped build our nation. What the hell are they afraid of?’
Smith also liked a comment which said: ‘Everyone so surprised that Proud family did this.
‘Y’all forget the original had episodes about segregation, discrimination post 9/11 of middle eastern folks and an episode about the F slur/bullying gay kids?
‘C’mon now. Proud family isn’t “suddenly woke” now.’
Space Jam co-director Bruce W. Smith created the show first in 2001, and has since rebooted it for a comeback on the streaming platform
Disney was slammed for going woke yet again over the cartoon that featured black children rapping about reparations and saying: ‘Slaves built this country’
After witnessing the backlash, Smith tweeted: ‘Why the fear? We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to stoke the conversation’
In late 2022, the cartoon Strange World tanked at the box office, which some saw many saw as proof of the slogan ‘Get woke, go broke’.
The cartoon, with a cast including Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Gabrielle Union and Lucy Liu, featured Daily Show contributor Jaboukie Young-White as the voice of what’s been heralded as Disney’s first openly gay character.
Strange World did not even clear $20million at the Thanksgiving weekend box office, despite its gargantuan budget of $120-130million.
It eventually grossed $73million, below the studio’s notorious 2002 flop Treasure Planet, which made just $110million.
While the movie has a 73 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film only has a ‘B’ rating on CinemaScore from opening day audiences, according to The Wrap.
If that grade holds, it will be the first Disney animated film to get below an A-minus.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Gabrielle Union starred in the monumental flop Strange World
The cartoon also starred the voices of Dennis Quaid and Lucy Liu, with Daily Show contributor Jaboukie Young-White as the voice of Disney’s first openly gay character
Many have used the box office numbers to cite this as an example of Disney’s misguided attempt to go work.
A Rotten Tomatoes reviewer wrote: ‘If I want to teach my children about sex and or sexual preferences at 7 and 8 I would do it in my home. I don’t need a Disney movie to help me out with it. STOP making everything sexual, its unbelievable.’
One Tweeter pointed out: ‘First Lightyear and now Strange World. Disney and Pixar releasing woke flops, one after the other. How many box office bombs before Disney learns?’
Lightyear, which depicts the origins of beloved Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear, flopped on its opening weekend last summer, earning just $51.7million, following weeks of controversy over a lesbian kiss.
Critics pointed out that Disney had refused to cut the gay kissing scene, despite bowing to Chinese censors multiple times over the years.
Malaysia’s Film Censorship Board said Disney had decided to ax the movie from the country’s theaters rather than lose the scenes that ‘promote’ homosexuality.
But the company was later slammed as hypocritical for supporting gay rights but failing to condemn China’s genocide of the Uyghurs in its Mulan live-action remake.
The company has also created its first plus-size protagonist for a short film about body dysmorphia.
In the company’s 85-year history of making movies, plus-size characters have only ever featured in the roles of villains or extras – and fans were, for once, full of praise for the change.
The film, entitled Reflect, follows the story of a young plus-size ballet dancer named Bianca, ‘who battles her own reflection, overcoming doubt and fear by channeling her inner strength, grace and power.’
Disney fans had long called on the corporation to create plus-size princesses, with a post in 2015 that showed Disney characters given plus-size makeovers going viral.
And last year, the company was accused of pushing ‘unrealistic beauty standards’ on children after including a character with an enormous bottom, stick-thin arms and a waist barely bigger than her neck in the short film Inner Workings.
One to watch: Disney has created its first plus-size protagonist for a powerful short film about body dysmorphia entitled Reflect
But the woke mindset has even permeated remakes of some of the House of Mouse’s most beloved classics.
In January 2022, it revealed that its upcoming live-action remake of Snow White will not feature the classic depiction of the central character’s seven companions as dwarves.
Following furious criticism from Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage, the company said it had been ‘consulting with members of the dwarfism community’ throughout the early stages of production, and decided to take ‘a different approach’ to the seven dwarves that appeared in the original animated classic ‘to avoid reinforcing stereotypes.’
Dinklage blasted Disney for remaking the 1937 film in the first place, during an appearance on Marc Maron’s podcast.
He called out the contradiction between the studio’s decision to cast Latina West Side Story breakout star Rachel Zegler as Snow White, while still moving forward with a movie about a ‘backward’ story that focuses on the seven dwarves.
‘Literally no offense to anyone, but I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White – but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,’ Peter said.
‘Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me.
‘You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f***ing backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f*** are you doing man?’
Disney has already removed or changed things that were considered offensive while remaking its old movies, like the merchant in Aladdin
When the studio released a new, live-action version of the movie in 2019, they changed a controversial line in the opening number
When the company a live-action version of the 1992 animated movie Aladdin, it changed some words it feared might be considered racist against Arabs.
In the opening song, the words go: ‘Oh, I come from a land / From a faraway place / Where the caravan camels roam.
‘Where they cut off your ear / If they don’t like your face / It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.’
In the 2019 remake, however, the lines were changed to: ‘Oh, I come from a land / From a faraway place / Where the caravan camels roam.
‘Where it’s flat and immense / And the heat is intense / It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.’
Some people also felt the 1994 movie Lion King had racist undertones due to its overwhelmingly white voice cast.
Meanwhile, the hyenas – portrayed as low-life gangsters who are outcast from the rest of the community – were voiced by people of color. Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin famously played the animals. James Earl Jones played Mufasa, king of the pride.
So when a live-action version of the movie came out in 2019, it featured a much more prominently black cast – with Donald Glover as Simba and Beyoncé as Nala.
Some people felt that Lion King had racist undertones due to its overwhelmingly white voice cast. However, the hyenas – portrayed as low-life gangsters – were voiced by people of color
When a live-action version of the movie came out in 2019, it featured a much more prominently black cast
Then in October 2020, Disney announced it would be slapping racism warnings on a number of its decades-old movies as they were released on its streaming service.
Movies that now come with an anti-racism warning include the 1970 musical comedy The Aristocats, the 1955 canine love story Lady and the Tramp, and the 1960 adventure Swiss Family Robinson.
The disclaimer added to these movies – and others like Peter Pan, Dumbo, and The Jungle Book – appears at the start of the movie and reads: ‘This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.
‘These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.’
In relation to The Aristocats, Disney was concerned about a scene in which one cat, voiced by a white actor, yells out stereotypical Chinese ‘words’ while playing the piano with chopsticks.
It also noted that in Peter Pan, Native Americans are referred to as ‘redskins’ and described a scene in which Peter and The Lost Boys dance in Native American headdresses as a ‘form of mockery and appropriation of Native peoples’ culture and imagery.’
Peter Pan received a warning because it ‘portrays Native people in a stereotypical manner that reflects neither the diversity of Native peoples nor their authentic cultural traditions’
Movies that now come with an anti-racism warning include 1970 musical comedy The Aristocats (seen), 1955’s Lady and the Tramp, and 1960 adventure Swiss Family Robinson
The adventures of Kermit the Frog, Animal, Miss Piggy and friends now come with an alert about ‘offensive content’ and can only be seen on an adult account
Even The Muppets weren’t immune from the purge, as the adventures of Kermit the Frog, Animal, Miss Piggy and friends now come with an alert about ‘offensive content’ and can only be seen on an adult account.
The move came to light when Disney made five seasons available on its streaming service.
The warning is believed to refer to Muppet characters designed as stereotypes of Native Americans, Arabs and East Asians.
In another episode, the singer Johnny Cash plays on a stage adorned with the Confederate flag.
Disney says on its website it is ‘committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the diversity of the human experience around the globe’.
Gina Carano, who played Cara Dune on The Mandelorian, said her co-star Pedro Pascal (pictured left) was able to get away with comparing US ICE detention centers to Nazi concentration camps because he is a liberal
The company again came under attack for the firing of Mandelorian star Gina Carano in 2021.
Carano, a former MMA fighter who played the recurring character Cara Dune on the popular Disney+ show, was axed for posting that the experience of Jews during the Holocaust was similar to that of being a Republican in modern America.
Carano was widely criticized after writing that ‘Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors…. even by children.’
She continued: ‘Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?’
Lucasfilm, which produced The Mandalorian, released a statement that called out Carano for ‘denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities’ and slammed her posts as ‘abhorrent and unacceptable.’
Carano deleted the post but it was widely shared online and spurred the #FireGinaCarano hashtag to trend.
Her supporters were quick to point out that Pedro Pascal, who plays the title character on the show, back in 2018 shared an image to his Twitter account comparing US ICE detention centers to Nazi concentration camps.
Carano said in an interview with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro that Pascal had been able to get away with such an act because he was a liberal, while she was punished because she was conservative.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis assured Wednesday ‘there’s a new sheriff in town’ when it comes to the handling of Disney’s formerly self-governing Reedy Creek Improvement District, which he vowed would pay it’s debts and pay taxes going for war
Disney CEO Bob Iger is planning to lay off some 7,000 employees as he restructures the company
Nelson Peltz (left) with daughter Nicola Peltz (right). Peltz ended his proxy bid against Disney on Thursday after the company agreed to billions of dollars in cost cutting measures
It all comes as Disney continues to suffer at boardroom level and faces a populist revolt led by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
On Wednesday, CEO Bob Iger announced he will lay off 7,000 employees in a ‘significant transformation’ to cut costs. The job losses represent a little over three percent of Disney’s global workforce, and are likely to predominantly affect the entertainment and ESPN divisions, despite the company beating analysts’ expectations for the fourth quarter of 2022.
He also revealed plans to restructure the company, effectively eliminating the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution group set up under his predecessor Bob Chapek.
The new structure will have only three divisions: Disney Entertainment — which will include film and TV assets as well as Disney+; ESPN — which will include ESPN and ESPN+; and Parks, Experiences and Products — which will include theme parks and the consumer products team.
Iger, 71, also issued a statement that he will step down in two years.
In response to the moves, activist investor billionaire Nelson Peltz, who had thrown his considerable wealth behind a campaign over the company’s wasted funds following a woke agenda, declared his proxy fight with Disney over.
Thursday morning, Peltz, 80, told CNBC’s ‘Squawk on the Street’ that ‘Disney plans to do everything we wanted them to do,’ calling the ending of his activist battle a ‘great win.
‘We wish the very best to Bob [Iger], this management team and the board. We will be watching. We will be rooting,’ said Peltz, who runs Trian Fund Management.
Iger’s news was also delivered via CNBC. He told the outlet his plan is ‘to stay here for two years, that’s what my contract says, that was my agreement with the board, and that is my preference.’
Last month, Trian launched a proxy fight with Disney, pushing for Peltz to gain a seat on the company’s board of directors.
At the time, the firm said it owned about 9.4million shares valued at about $900million, which it accumulated several months before.
Peltz had previously taken a critical stance against Disney’s $71billion acquisition of Fox in 2019, as well as its failed succession planning that resulted in the ousting of Bob Chapek and second reign of Iger.
During the remainder of Iger’s tenure, he will be responsible for crafting a more solid succession plan than the one which left Chapek in place, only to oversee a period of turbulence for the company.
Meanwhile, DeSantis has seized control of Disney’s formerly self-governing district in Florida and announced on Monday that the company must repay $700million in debt and begin paying taxes.
The Florida governor took control of the five-member Reedy Creek Improvement District board, which oversees nearly 40 square miles of central Florida, on which the Walt Disney World Resort is built.
Considering most of the land within the special district is owned by Disney and its affiliates, the company has been given unprecedented power since 1967 to determine how the area is run — essentially allowing the Walt Disney Co. to operate as its own form of government.
‘Disney’s going to pay its debt,’ DeSantis said during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
‘What I said really for the last six, nine months is: Disney is no longer going to have self-government. They’re not going to have their own government. Disney is gonna pay their fair share of taxes and honor their debts. And that’s exactly what this proposed piece of legislation will do.’
He then went on to blast critics, saying: ‘A lot of folks in the media were saying that, “Oh my gosh, Disney’s actually going to pay less taxes and Floridians are going to pay more taxes.” They were saying that. And I’m like, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”‘
‘Well, this puts that to bed and so those debts will be honored,’ he continued.
‘This is now obviously going to be controlled by the state of Florida. There’s a new sheriff in town.’
Source: Read Full Article