Cast Member Confidential: A Disneyfied Memoir
Mitchell’s contribution to the behind-the-scenes-at-Disney lit tells inconvenient truths and a few heartwarmers about working in Florida’s Disney World. Mitchell confirms a few rumors or urban legends, such as the allure that wearing cute little Disney-character costumes has for “furries” (people who sexualize plush creatures and related anthropomorphic beings). He discusses the alleged existence of a gay hiring cabal that quietly infiltrated Disney after the untoward news several years ago concerning corporate mistreatment of gay employees and guests, and in passing he mentions being “surprised by just how gay” the Disney milieu is. Other highlights include a brief disquisition on how “Christians and conspiracists have long been convinced that Donald Duck is a racist based on a snippet of dialog . . . in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” in which Donald calls Warner’s Daffy Duck a “stubborn nitwit.” And then there’s Mitchell’s furtive initiation into the SOP (i.e., Sex On Property) Club in a storeroom full of Tinkerbell pens and Little Mermaid T-shirts. Good clean fun. --Mike Tribby