The Walt Disney Company

[[File:Walt Disney 1946.JPG|right|thumb|165px|The legend himself looking gorgeous in 1946.]]
{{Film|1}}{{Bronze}}
'''The Walt Disney Company''' is a massive publicly traded [[United States|American]] multinational media conglomerate that owns ABC, ESPN, A+E, Marvel Entertainment, 20th Century Studios, and several studios such as Lucasfilm and Pixar, and that's not even the half of it. '''Walter Elias Disney''' {{lived|1901|1966}} created what would become the eponymous conglomerate in 1923, and created the well-known Mickey Mouse character in 1927.<ref>[http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/disney-history Disney History, The Walt Disney Company]</ref> Disney himself won a total of 32 [[Academy Awards]] and received 59 nominations.<ref>[http://www.waltdisney.org/blog/walt-disneys-oscars%C2%AE "Walt Disney's Oscars®:, The Walt Disney Family Museum]</ref>

Both the Walt Disney Company and Disney himself have been controversial. Many films produced by the Disney company are cited as classic examples of [[fakelore]], in creating manufactured folklore out of traditional stories or characters. Walt Disney was a staunch [[conservative]] and opposed [[trade unions]],<ref>[http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6458 "We Must Keep the Labor Unions Clean' History Matters, George Mason University]</ref> while being an enthusiastic supporter of [[Barry Goldwater]] in 1964.<ref>''Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination'', Neal Gabler, Vintage Books. p. 612</ref><ref group=note>All this is in contrast with his father Elias, who was a [[socialist]] and strong supporter of [[Eugene V. Debs]]. Hadn't his colleagues at Universal Studios betrayed him when he was fighting for better money…</ref>

Many [[conspiracy theories]] involve the Walt Disney Company, such as [[subliminal messages]] in films and other media. Walt Disney has been the subject of several different [[Conspiracy|conspiracies]] and [[urban legend]]s.

==Walt Disney himself==
[[File:Walt Disney 1935.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Walt in 1935, looking less like your favorite uncle and more like a man who'll make you an offer you can't refuse.]]
Disney was born on December 5th, 1901 in Chicago, and was an ambulance driver during [[World War I]]. In animation, Disney became successful after the creation of ''Silly Symphonies'',<ref group=note>''Silly Symphonies'' was the first appearance of many recognizable Disney characters, such as Donald Duck and Pluto.</ref> and became famous after the creation of the first full-length animated feature film ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''.<ref>[http://www.biography.com/people/walt-disney-9275533 "Walt Disney" ''Biography.com'']</ref>

===Nazism===
One of the most popular conspiracy theories surrounding Disney is that he was an active [[Nazi]] sympathizer, despite the fact that he would go on to create several different [[propaganda]] cartoons attacking Nazism in the United States during [[World War II]]. This theory also ignores the fact that the B'nai Brith Organization (a [[Jewish]] [[civil rights]] group in Beverly Hills) named him Man of the Year.<ref>[https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/defense-walt-disney In Defense of Walt Disney], Walt Disney</ref>

Former Disney animator Art Babbitt accused Disney of meeting frequently with the German American Bund,<ref>[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1623/was-walt-disney-a-fascist "Was Walt Disney a Fascist?", ''The Straight Dope'',April 12, 2005]</ref> which fanatically supported [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref group=note>Even though Hitler considered the Bund a nuisance interfering in his plan to keep the US neutral.</ref> Disney was also accused of being a Nazi for seeing Leni Riefenstahl when she was promoting her movie ''Olympia'' about the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. It also didn't help that Hitler had copies of ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' in his private film collection, and was said to have drawn, er, traced, artworks of the dwarfs and Pinocchio in his spare time.<ref>[https://boingboing.net/2008/02/23/adolf-hitler-disney.html Adolf Hitler, Disney fan-artist]</ref> Hitler was also quite displeased at how German filmmakers could not match what the Americans were doing.<ref>[http://covenantzone.blogspot.com/2008/02/hitler-plagiarized-disney-cartoons.html Hitler Plagiarized Disney Cartoons]</ref>

The idea of Disney being a Nazi has been promoted mostly by the television shows ''Family Guy'' (which, thanks to Disney's purchase of Fox, is now owned by Disney) and ''Robot Chicken'', and parodied in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' with [https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Meyers_Sr. Roger Meyers Sr], the shows' equivalent to him. In ''Family Guy'', it is used as a recurring gag,<ref>http://familyguy.wikia.com/wiki/Walt_Disney</ref> such as in the episode "Road to the Multiverse", where Stewie and Brian travel to a Disney-themed universe where Mort Goldman, a Jewish character, is viciously attacked.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlk36vgygh4</ref> Not surprisingly, the appearance of the conspiracy on ''Family Guy'' has done a lot to introduce it to people, and has given it a new lease on life since being published by Babbitt.<ref>http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/why-walt-disney-is-a-jew-hating-hitler-loving-racist-37185.html</ref>, while in ''The Simpsons''' case Roger Meyers Sr. is stated to have produced a cartoon titled "Nazi Supermen Are Our Superiors".

On [[YouTube]], there are several creepypastas about either a Nazi Donald Duck or a Nazi Disney movie. The videos are made using scenes from one of two short films: ''Education for Death'' and ''Der Fuehrer's Face'', both vehemently anti-Nazi World War II films featuring images of [[swastika]]s.

Disney took a 1923 novel that was a parable forewarning of the persecution of Jews in Europe and the coming [[pogrom]] ([[Holocaust]]), ''Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde'' by Felix Salten, and totally whitewashed it without the original ending as just a story about deer with the World War II era film ''Bambi'' (1942).<ref name=ferguson>[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/dec/25/bambi-cute-lovable-vulnerable-or-a-dark-parable-of-antisemitic-terror Bambi: cute, lovable, vulnerable … or a dark parable of antisemitic terror? A new translation of Felix Salten’s 1923 novel reasserts its original message that warns of Jewish persecution] by Donna Ferguson (25 Dec 2021 07.00 EST) ''The Guardian''.</ref><ref>''The Original Bambi: The Story of a Life in the Forest'' by Felix Salten, translated by Jack Zipes (2022) Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691197741.</ref> Disney had read a 1928 translation of ''Bambi'' that had made the parable substantially less obvious.<ref>''Bambi: A Life in the Woods'' by Felix Salten, translated by Whitaker Chambers (1928) Cape.</ref> But well before the film was made, in 1935, the German edition of the [[Book burning|book had been burned]] by the Nazis as 'Jewish propaganda'.<ref name=ferguson/>

===McCarthyism===
During the [[Red Scare]], kindly old Uncle Walt testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee and kindly pointed the finger at several animators and union organizers who had previously worked for him, and claimed that the Screen Cartoonists Guild was a [[communist]] [[Front group|front]]. And that a strike during production of ''Dumbo'' was part of a commie plot. See a pattern here? [[FBI]] memos indicate that he fed them information until his death.<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20080514003423/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/06/documents/huac/disney.html</ref> So he wasn't a Nazi, but he had no problem teaming up with the American right-wing to ruin the lives of people who disagreed with him on union or political issues.

===Frozen (cryonics)===
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with Disney's ''[[Frozen]]'', which was released in order to [[WAKE UP|suppress the results]] one would receive upon Googling "Disney frozen" prior to 2013 {{nofact}}}}

A persistent urban legend maintains that Walt Disney was frozen in 1966 after dying of lung [[cancer]]. This may stem from an interview of [[cryonics]] advocate Robert Nelson in a attempt to show that Disney supported the idea of cryonics, and who himself has said multiple times that he did not freeze Disney.<ref>http://mentalfloss.com/article/54196/disney-ice-truth-about-walt-disney-and-cryogenics</ref><ref>http://www.lamag.com/askchris/walt-disney-is-still-not-frozen/</ref> Disney's family members have repeatedly stated that he was in fact cremated.<ref>http://www.snopes.com/disney/info/wd-ice.htm</ref> This is also what appears on his death certificate.<ref>http://www.snopes.com/disney/info/wd-death.htm</ref> The rumour's origin has often been credited to a bunch of Walt Disney Animation Studios animators "who had a bizarre sense of humour".<ref>[https://www.mouseplanet.com/11862/Walt_Disney_Was_NOT_Frozen Walt Disney Was NOT Frozen]</ref> Despite this being dismissed as a mere urban legend, some aren't willing to ''let it go.''

==The Disney businesses==
[[File:The WaltDisney Company-Logo.svg|right|thumb|200px|''When you wish upon a star…'']]
After Walt's death, the Walt Disney company became a media empire that continued to make animated and live-action movies and operate its theme parks. It also branched out into family-friendly [[children]]'s entertainment featuring teenage stars.

===Folklore and literature in Disney media===
[[File:Snow white 1937 trailer screenshot (2).jpg|right|thumb|200px|''Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, It's home from work we go.'']]

Walt Disney and his company made many films based on traditional [[folklore|folktales]] and stories from the [[public domain]]. Films based on folktales and [[mythology]] include:

*''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''
*''Pinocchio''
*''Cinderella''
*''Alice in Wonderland''
*''Peter Pan''
*''Sleeping Beauty''
*''The Little Mermaid''
*''Song of the South''
*''Beauty and the Beast''
*''Aladdin''
*''Mulan''
*''Hercules''
*''Rapunzel (Tangled)''
*''The Snow Queen ([[Frozen]])''

Other folk figures appropriated by Disney include [[Davy Crockett]], [[Pocahontas]] and [[Johnny Appleseed]]. Disney animated or live-action films are also very popular representations of literary characters such as [[Alice in Wonderland]], Peter Pan, Pinocchio, the Little Mermaid, and the Snow Queen (''Frozen'').<ref>"Disney, Walter Elias", in Linda S. Watts, ''Encyclopedia of American Folklore'' (Infobase, 2006; {{Isbn|1438129793}}), pp. 110-111</ref>

[[File:Alice in wonderland 1951.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The familiar face of Disney's Alice.]]

The deep penetration and popularity of the Disney representations of these traditional stories and figures tends to turn the Disney version into the canonical one {{wpl|Mind share|in the public eye}}. This has been called the "[[Fakelore|Disney effect]]", and is regretted by some folklorists. The same thing has occurred with more modern source material; Winnie the Pooh and his companions are far more widely identified with their Disney cartoon incarnation than with the original illustrations by E. H. Shepard, which appeared in A. A. Milne's Pooh stories; and Rudyard Kipling's ''Jungle Book'' stories, along with their illustration by John Lockwood Kipling, are largely forgotten in favor of the Disney adaptation.<ref group=note>Fortunately, Disney has not been able to entirely displace the Tenniel illustrations for ''Alice in Wonderland'' from the canon.</ref>

Similarly, the ''Mary Poppins'' series of children's novels by Australian-British author [[P. L. Travers]] became more widely identified with the 1964 {{wpl|Mary Poppins (film)|musical adaptation}} starring {{wpl|Julie Andrews}} as the titular nanny than the books it was loosely based on, much to Travers's chagrin as she was widely known to have intensely disliked the way her magnum opus was translated to the silver screen, which was later dramatised in the 2013 biopic ''{{wpl|Saving Mr. Banks|Saving 
Private
 Mr. Banks}}''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saving Mr. Banks True Story - Real P.L. Travers, Walt Disney Feud |url=https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/saving-mr-banks.php |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=HistoryvsHollywood.com |language=en}}</ref> Even sadder was with the series' original illustrator, {{wpl|Mary Shepard||,}} daughter of ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' series illustrator {{wpl|E. H. Shepard||,}} who received little recognition over her role in bringing the nanny to life; even Travers herself could be deemed guilty of obscuring Mary Shepard's contributions as she had a rather controlling hand over Shepard's depiction of her character.<ref name="Baguley">{{Cite web |last=Baguley |first=Margaret |last2=Kerby |first2=Martin Charles |date=2020-12-24 |title=Mary Shepard: the artist who brought Mary Poppins to life |url=http://theconversation.com/mary-shepard-the-artist-who-brought-mary-poppins-to-life-131150 |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=The Conversation}}</ref> While Shepard was infamously snubbed over royalties from the 1964 film, she did win a rather measly compensation for the depiction of Poppins's feet in a ballet position.<ref name="shepard">{{Cite web |last=Lloyd |first=Shelley |date=2020-03-20 |title=Forgotten Mary Poppins illustrator finally recognised after international search reveals rare original drawings |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-21/mary-poppins-queensland-illustrator-recognised/12042834 |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=ABC News (Australia}}</ref>

Folklorists also accuse Disney of bowdlerizing the source materials, removing disturbing or tragic elements.<ref>Mikel J. Koven, ''Film, Folklore, and Urban Legends''.  (Scarecrow, 2008; ISBN 0810860252), pp. 10-11.</ref> Most traditional folktales involve climaxes involving retribution, revenge and physical justice meted out on the villains. These features are muted or absent in the Disney versions (though at least the evil queen in ''Snow White'' was righteously crushed by a boulder after falling off a precipice). The effect is generally most pronounced on the folktales from the Brothers Grimm, such as ''Cinderella'' and ''Sleeping Beauty''.  To be sure, the Grimm heroines tend to be passive and underdeveloped; most of them suffer a range of mild to severe abuse, but they are not quiet and uncomplaining. But the Disney heroines are paragons of the passive virtues: patient, industrious and quiet.<ref>Kay Stone, "[http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~amtower/KayStone.pdf Things Walt Disney Never Told Us]", ''The Journal of American Folklore'', Vol. 88, No. 347, Women and Folklore (Jan. - Mar., 1975), pp. 42-50</ref>  

This effect is by no means confined to the Grimm folktales, and affects the literary and mythology-based stories as well.  In Hans Christian Andersen's ''The Little Mermaid'', the mermaid sheds her tail and gains her legs in an agonizingly painful ritual, but fails to win her prince's heart, and as a result, is doomed to die because of her bargain with the Sea-Witch. She is given the opportunity to recover what was taken by the Sea-Witch if she murders the prince with a [[magic]] knife. She cannot bring herself to do this, and is rewarded with an immortal [[soul]].<ref>Hans Christian Andersen, ''[https://da.wikisource.org/wiki/Den_lille_Havfrue Den lille Havfrue]'', 1837 (in Danish)</ref>  In Disney's version, of course, the mermaid Ariel bags her prince. This alters the story so drastically that it's been said to "betray Andersen's tale while it exploits society's obsession with physical beauty and romantic love".<ref>Anne E. Altman, Gail DeVos, (2001). ''Tales, Then and Now: More Folktales As Literary Fictions for Young Adults.'' Libraries Unlimited. p. 187. {{Isbn|1563088312}}.</ref>. Likewise, in the [[Classical mythology|original version of the myths]], {{wpl|Heracles}} ("Hercules" is as Romans knew him even if that name is ''far'' more popular than the former) is (yet another) bastard son of {{wpl|Zeus}} with a mortal (Alcmena) who was harassed by the former's wife, the goddess {{wpl|Hera}}, until the latter ended up forgiving him when Hercules was admitted into Olympus and who, as many other characters from Greco-Roman mythology, was not exactly virtuous by modern standards, being also someone intelligent and cunning and who resolved problems such way instead of using strength. The Disney's version presents him both as a legitimate son of Zeus and Hera and way more different, being more brawns than brains and sanitized like the very deities themselves, except for {{wpl|Hades}} who is presented as not just the movie's villain (even if arguably one of the coolest ones of Disney) but also a stand-in for [[Satan]]<ref group=note>To be fair, Hades as the villain and an equivalent of Satan, even if in Greek mythology he was one of the ''nicest'' deities by comparison to others, being seen as a stern but fair judge and ruler of the dead and associated with the richies of Earth and even its fertility, and whose main fault was his association with death, very feared by the Greeks back in the day, and the Underworld is so common that [[TVTropes]] has {{trope|EverybodyHatesHades|Main|a trope}} just devoted to that</ref> and the Titans, who appear as hulking brutes and basically forces of nature when in the myths they were a previous generation of gods to the Olympic ones, not very different of the latter, with [[Hecate|some]] {{wpl|Selene|of}} {{wpl|Prometheus|them}} {{wpl|Eos|even}} receiving worship.

===Disney Princesses===
[[File:Disney Princesses at Merida's coronation.jpg|right|thumb|300px|''Some day my prince will come...'']]

One stock character that has emerged from the Disney animated film series is the "Disney princess".  Princesses figure prominently as the protagonists of ''Snow White'', ''Sleeping Beauty'', ''Cinderella'', and ''The Little Mermaid'', while non-royal characters such as Belle from ''Beauty and the Beast'' and Megara from ''Hercules'' also fit many aspects of the stereotype.  

The Disney princess stock character has been criticized by [[feminism|feminists]] for enforcing received cultural ideas about beauty, body type and femininity. Disney princesses are chaste but highly sexualized, being frequently cast in the damsel in distress role. Snow White cleans the cottage to ingratiate herself with the dwarfs. Ariel gives up her singing voice for a man. Belle endures an abusive and violent Beast, whom she redeems with love.<ref>Chyng Sun and Miguel Picker, ''[http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=112 Mickey Mouse Monopoly: Disney, Childhood, and Corporate Power]'' (Media Education Foundation, 2001); [http://www.mediaed.org/assets/products/112/studyguide_112.pdf study guide] for the film.</ref>

On the flip side, the Disney princes initially barely received screen time ''at all'', let alone any character development. Go ahead, name the Disney princes from ''Snow White'', ''Cinderella'', ''Sleeping Beauty'', or ''Beauty and the Beast''.<ref group=note>Well, the one from ''Sleeping Beauty'' has a name. He's called Prince Phillip. These characters are all typically called {{wpl|Prince Charming|"Prince Charming"}}. That phrase was first used in English literature in [[Oscar Wilde]]'s ''The Picture of Dorian Grey'', where it is used ironically to refer to the title character as he abandons his actress girlfriend, and she commits suicide. Wilde's use of the phrase suggests that this name was already current for the stock character.<br>In the Francophone tradition the "Prince Charming" character is often called ''Avenant'', "fine" or "pretty" in French..<br> In Jean Cocteau's ''La Belle et la Bête'' (1946, translated as ''Beauty and the Beast''), Belle is given a human suitor called Avenant, who plots to kill the Beast.  Disney borrowed Cocteau's amendment to the original folktale without credit, but renamed the corresponding character Gaston.<br>The equivalent of "Prince Charming" in Spanish and Italian is the 'Blue Prince' (''Príncipe Azul, Principe Azzurro'').  In Portuguese, it is the "Enchanted Prince" (''Príncipe Encantado'').<br>Snow White's Prince is a bit of a complicated affair: While official literature did not give him a name (cast members roleplaying as characters will simply refer to him as "The Prince"), expanded universe material would occasionally refer to him as Florian, e.g. on ''Disney on Ice'' and foreign-language affiliates of the Disney Channel. Contrary to popular belief, the "Ferdinand" mentioned by [[Shirley Temple]] in a speech where she presents a honorary Oscar to Walt Disney was actually ''Ferdinand the Bull.''</ref> If the Disney Princess told girls that they should be happy in the kitchen, it told boys that they didn't even exist outside of their wives. Possibly they were just victims of narrative efficiency. In fact, Belle in the Disney movie doesn't show any affection towards the Beast until he changes his abusive behavior, learning to control his temper and replacing his cruelty with affection, in marked contrast to even more modern stories where the girl simply accepts the boy for who he is. The Beast is required to alter himself before Belle shows interest in him, which directly contradicts the abuse narrative.  

Progressing further, we have the likes of Fa Mulan, who is basically trying to survive in a man's world (army) as she doesn't want her father (Zhou) to shoulder that burden in his old age. Her inability to keep up with the male recruits is averted [[sexism]], as she eventually does catch up to them; the real problem is that she is unused to hard physical labor, not that she has the wrong chromosomes. As fantastical as some of the story is, she is shown as strong, intelligent and capable, feeling like an extremely strong departure of the formula. Even further is the entire plotline of ''Frozen'', featuring two princesses (and sisters) having to deal with their own issues without so much man help. The "princess" issue is lampshaded in ''Moana'', where the title character gets into an argument with the demigod Maui as to whether the daughter of a chief counts as a princess or not.

===Copyright extension myth (and the reality)===
[[File:Steamboat Willie (1928) by Walt Disney.webm|thumb|220px|right|That one movie that gained notoriety for allegedly putting a damper on public domain laws.]]
Disney lobbyists are said to have fought hard for the {{wpl|Copyright Term Extension Act}} of 1998, which added twenty-five years to the extension of copyright in the United States (i.e. adopted a copyright term of life plus seventy years). Fears that the first Mickey Mouse short ''Steamboat Willie'' (1928) was about to enter the public domain have often been cited as one of the motivating factors for the legislation; there have even been attempts to link the times it almost entered the public domain with the times at which copyright extensions were adopted.<ref name="copyhype">Terry Hart (July 15, 2014), [http://www.copyhype.com/2014/07/a-brief-history-of-us-copyright-term/ "A Brief History of US Copyright Term"] (Copyhype).</ref> As a result, the law is derisively known by its detractors as the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act".<ref> Lawrence Lessig, "Copyright's First Amendment", 48 UCLA L. Rev. 1057, 1065 (2001).</ref>

The United States, however, adopted this longer term rule so that it would have the same copyright term as the [[European Union]], which in turn (as the European Community) adopted it in 1993 to match the length of copyright terms in its member states (of these, [[Germany]] adopted it first in ''1965''!) so the copyright's protection would effectively protect both the author and the first two generations of their descendants.<ref name="copyhype"/> In the directive that adopted the larger term, the EU also adopted the {{wpl|rule of the shorter term}}, which means that the term that is valid for foreign works in the EU is either the EU's term or the country of origin's term, whichever is the ''shortest''.<ref name="nova">Stephen Carlisle (July 15, 2014), [http://copyright.nova.edu/copyright-duration/ "Copyrights Last Too Long! (Say the Pirates): They Don’t; And Why It’s Not Changing Anytime Soon"].</ref> After all, the US is the world's largest exporter of cultural goods, and the EU, when taken together, is the world's largest market.<ref name="nova"/>

In fact, Disney did not — and does not — need copyright protection for Mickey Mouse based on ''Steamboat Willie''. First, the copyrights Disney was in risk of losing were over ''Steamboat Willie'' and a couple of other early Mickey cartoons, not the whole repertoire; second, Mickey has ''overwhelmingly'' changed over the years: he "gained distinctive colors, put on weight, gained eyeballs and eyelashes, acquired white gloves and an opposable thumb, and learned to speak (originally he could only whistle and play music), among other changes", so it's doubtful whether modern-day Mickey would be in any way protected by the copyrights on his early shorts; third, Mickey Mouse is a trademarked character, which has ''perpetual protection'' and covers a much wider range of products,<ref group=note>According to academic Scott M. Martin, "Disney holds federal trademark registrations that, unlike copyright, can confer perpetual protection for classes of goods, including motion pictures, comic strips, songs, books and newspapers, paper goods and other printed matter, clocks and watches, entertainment services, hair shampoo, lip gloss, bubble bath, skin soap, sunglasses, decorative refrigerator magnets, jewelry, photograph albums, address books, appointment books, paper party bags, ball point pens, binders, paper gift wrap bows, paper cake decorations, calendars, gift cards, greeting cards, pen and pencil cases, decorative paper centerpieces, paper table cloths, paper party decorations, diaries, gift wrapping paper, pencils, stationery, athletic bags, baby backpacks, backpacks, book bags, duffel bags, gym bags, tote bags, coin purses, fanny packs, knapsacks, waist packs, umbrellas, wallets, decorative non-metal boxes, beverage glassware, bowls, lunch boxes, hair brushes, hair combs, cake molds, wind chimes, decorative plates, cookie jars, mugs, paper cups, paper plates, soap dishes, vacuum bottles, bed sheets, pillow cases, comforters, curtains, dust ruffles, towels, bathing suits, robes, beachwear, underwear, sweaters, dresses, infant wear, jackets, pajamas, pants, sweat pants, sweatshirts, shirts, shorts, sleepers, t-shirts, tank tops and vests, Christmas tree ornaments, rubber balls, plush toys, action skill games, bath toys, board games, toy building blocks, dolls, children's play cosmetics, electric action toys, jigsaw puzzles, kites, music box toys, inflatable pool toys, and children's multiple activity toys".</ref> so why even bother with copyright extensions on cartoons so old that not even one person involved in making them is still alive?<ref>Scott M. Martin (2002), [https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2343&context=llr "The Mythology of the Public Domain: Exploring the Myths Behind Attacks on the Duration of Copyright Protection"], section "XXI. Myth #10: 'The CTEA was the worst kind of special-interest legislation, engineered by Disney in order to satisfy its insatiable corporate greed'", subsection "B. Sub-myth B: 'Disney was about to lose all rights to Mickey Mouse and would stop at nothing to get an extension of the term of copyright extension'" (''Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review'').</ref>

Furthermore, while Disney ''did'' lobby for the law, a wide range of interests were also involved (the Motion Picture Association of America, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, the George Gershwin estate, and others), and contrary to popular belief, the bill was not "snuck in" to Congress; a large number of people went there or wrote them to discuss it beforehand.<ref group=note>Scott M. Martin states: "At the congressional hearings on the issue of copyright term extension held on September 20, 1995, Bruce A. Lehman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, and Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights and Associate Librarian of Congress for Copyright Services, testified on behalf of the Administration.<br/>The Committee also heard testimony from Jack Valenti, president and chief executive officer of the Motion Picture Association of America; Alan Menken, composer, lyricist, and representative of AmSong; Patrick Alger, president of Nashville Songwriters Association; and Professor Peter A. Jaszi, American University, Washington College of Law. In addition, written statements were received from Senator Christopher J. Dodd, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the National Music Publishing Association Inc., the Songwriters Guild of America, the Graphic Artists Guild, the National Writers Union, the Coalition of Creators and Copyright Owners, Author Services Inc., the Midwest Travel Writers Association, Donaldson Publishing Co., the American Library Association, the American Film Heritage Association, the Society for Cinema Studies, Lawrence Technology, Bob Dylan Jr., Don Henley, Carlos Santana, Stephen Sondheim, Mike Stoller, E. Randol Schoenberg, Ginny Mancini, Lisa M. Brownlee, Professor William Patry, and Professor Dennis Karjala writing on behalf of forty-five intellectual property law professors." (Karjala et al. were in fact ''[http://homepages.law.asu.edu/~dkarjala/OpposingCopyrightExtension/commentary/term-of-protection.html opposed]'' to the copyright extension.).</ref><ref>Scott M. Martin (2002), [https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2343&context=llr "The Mythology of the Public Domain: Exploring the Myths Behind Attacks on the Duration of Copyright Protection"], section "XXI. Myth #10: 'The CTEA was the worst kind of special-interest legislation, engineered by Disney in order to satisfy its insatiable corporate greed'", subsections "C. Sub-myth C: 'The CTEA was Snuck Through Congress Without Debate and Without Legislative History'" and "E. Sub-myth E: 'The CTEA was Special-Interest Legislation that Only Disney Cared About'" (''Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review'').</ref>

''Steamboat Willie'' and the earliest version of Mickey Mouse that appears in it finally entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2024.<ref>Noor Nanji, [https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67833411 "Disney's earliest Mickey and Minnie Mouse enter public domain as US copyright expires"] [[BBC]] News, 1 January 2024</ref> This inevitably opened a Pandora's box of [[meme]]s ridiculing both the copyright situation and Disney in general, though some of them ended up being of questionable taste,<ref>[https://www.indy100.com/viral/steamboat-willie-mickey-mouse-memes Public domain Mickey Mouse is already being used to create controversial memes]</ref> particularly the survival horror video game ''{{wpl|Infestation: Origins}}'', whose original title ''Infestation '88'' brought about concerns regarding the developers' alleged use of [[neo-Nazi]] themes and [[antisemitic]] tropes which the developers vehemently denied,<ref>Bailey, Kat (January 2, 2024). [https://www.ign.com/articles/mickey-mouse-horror-game-devs-respond-to-neo-nazi-and-ai-claims "Infestation '88 Renamed as Developers Disavow 'Nazism and Hate in Any Form' [Update]"]. IGN. Retrieved January 2, 2024.</ref> never mind that the former title itself and a number of references such as its use of the number 14 and the aforementioned "88" are evidently [[dog whistle]]s to the developer's true intentions.<ref>[https://mashable.com/article/infestation-88-steamboat-willy-horror-game Mickey Mouse horror game to change name after Nazi dog whistle accusations]</ref>

===''Song of the South''===
[[File:Song of the South poster.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|Poster for ''Song of the South''. Don't expect to see this movie on  Disney's streaming services anytime soon.]]
Disney's 1946 mixed animation and live-action film {{wpl|Song of the South|''Song of the South''|,}} based on the Uncle Remus<ref>Joel Chandler Harris, [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Uncle_Remus:_His_Songs_and_His_Sayings ''Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings''] (1886).</ref> stories by {{wpl|Joel Chandler Harris||,}} won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1948 for "Zip-a-Dee Doo Dah", which itself bears a strong resemblance to the [[minstrel shows|minstrel]] song "Ole Zip Coon".<ref>[https://www.debisimons.com/whats-the-historical-background-of-zip-a-dee-doo-dah/ What’s the Historical Background of “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”?], Debi Simons, ''Behind the Song'' 10 September 2018</ref> But the film has never been released on video in its entirety in the United States, although home video releases exist in [[Europe]] and [[Japan]]. The film is also remembered as the basis for the ride Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World; said ride was re-themed to a ''Princess and the Frog'' attraction following the [[George Floyd]] protests where companies have reviewed and reconsidered their use of potentially offensive racial stereotypes in their products. At-the-time Disney CEO Bob Iger has stated that ''Song of the South'' will never be added to their streaming service Disney+, even though they included some other films with racist content like Peter Pan and Dumbo with a disclaimer about "outdated cultural depictions".<ref>[https://deadline.com/2020/03/bob-iger-song-of-the-south-disney-disclaimer-1202879464/ Bob Iger Confirms ‘Song Of The South’ Won’t Be Added To Disney+, Even With Disclaimer], Tom Grater, ''Deadline'' 11 March 2020</ref>

The Walt Disney Company deems the film's framing story too potentially controversial. It has been called [[racism|racist]] because of its depiction of an idyllic life being led by black freedmen in post-war Georgia, with a curiously integrated plantation manor house to boot, with no obvious indication that it is set during [[Reconstruction]], resulting in many of the film's critics incorrectly dating the film to slavery days and assuming the Black characters are slaves. The [[NAACP]] asked the Disney filmmakers to insert a placard in the film noting the post-war date of the Uncle Remus stories. For whatever reason, this was not included in the release. Besides, it's not as if [[slavery]] in the United States {{wpl|Peon#Peonage in the United States|actually}} {{wpl|Convict leasing|ended}} after the [[American Civil War]].<ref>[https://contemporarybeacon.com/2018/10/18/us-slavery-ended-in-1942/ US Slavery Ended in 1942], Eli Wachs, ''Contemporary Beacon'' 18 October 2018</ref> Perhaps the ultimate irony about it (or most fitting, depending how you look at it) was that the star actor {{wpl|James Baskett}} — who was the first black man to ''win an Academy Award'', albeit an honorary one no less — wasn't allowed to attend the premiere due to segregation.<ref>[https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/how-disney-tried-and-failed-to-remove-song-of-the-south-from-history How Disney tried and failed to remove Song of the South from history], Kayleigh Donaldson, ''SYFY Wire'' 11 October 2020</ref>

===Former child stars===
Many former Disney child stars, especially from its children's-oriented live TV programming, ended up having serious problems in adulthood, including drug issues and stints in rehabilitation, legal problems and other sorts of public scandals.<ref>[http://magazine.foxnews.com/celebrity/celebs-who-went-disney-dark-side Celebs Who Went from Disney to the Dark Side], ''Fox News Magazine'', 03/27/13</ref> {{wpl|Lindsey Lohan||,}} {{wpl|Britney Spears||,}} {{wpl|Miley Cyrus||,}} {{wpl|Demi Lovato||,}} and {{wpl|Shia LaBeouf}} have all experienced similar issues as adults. Another notable Disney alum who went through serious issues in adulthood was ''Peter Pan'' star {{wpl|Bobby Driscoll||,}} who was found dead in an apparent drug overdose after ending up penniless.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20181009002500/http://www.oyla20.de/cgi-bin/designs/clock/index.cgi?page=text&id=757800231184340704&userid=48045629&starteintrag= "The cause of his death".] www.bobbydriscoll.net.</ref> Not helping matters was the 2022 Disney+ film ''Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'' portraying Peter Pan as a washed up former Disney cartoon character, in an apparent parallel to Driscoll's career decline.<ref>Zorrilla, Mónica Marie (May 20, 2022). [https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/chip-n-dale-rescue-rangers-review-disney-plus "'Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers' review: A riotous ode to animation reimagines a classic".] Inverse. Retrieved May 22, 2022</ref>

Former child stars have blamed Disney's control over all aspects of their lives, including the manufacture of relationships for publicity purposes, as a part of the cause of this phenomenon.<ref>Dodai Stewart, [http://jezebel.com/joe-jonas-reveals-how-disney-puppet-masters-control-the-1475027318 Joe Jonas Reveals How Disney Puppet Masters Control Their Teen Stars]. ''Jezebel'', 12/02/13</ref><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/mara-wilson-child-stars-crazy_n_3347953.html Mara Wilson On Why Child Stars Go Crazy: Former Child Actor Offers An Insider's Perspective], ''[[Huffington Post]]'', 05/28/13</ref>

===''The Lion King''===
[[File:Hakuna Matata - La vacuna mata.jpg|right|thumb|250px|''It's our trouble-free philosophy''<ref group=note>The graffiti, painted in [[Spain]] in 2021 during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], originally read, ''La vacuna mata'' ("[[Anti-vaccination movement|The vaccine kills]]"), before being altered to reference the song "{{wpl|Hakuna Matata (song)|Hakuna Matata}}" from ''The Lion King''.</ref>]]
In 1994, Disney released the animated film ''{{wpl|The Lion King||,}}'' which received universal acclaim. However, it also faced a variety of protests:

*Accusations of [[plagiarism]] of the Japanese TV series {{wpl|Kimba the White Lion|''Kimba the White Lion''|.}}<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5B1mIfQuo4 YMS: Kimba the White Lion]</ref>
*Donald Wildmon of the [[American Family Association]] went apeshit when he thought he saw the word "[[sex]]" spelled in some dust that Simba creates in one of the scenes. An animator claimed that it actually read "SFX" as in "special effects".
*A [[boycott]] by hyena [[biologist]]s who claimed the film misrepresented hyenas.
*Accusations that the film advanced racism and sexism.
*An accusation that the film (along with other Disney films) advanced fascism. This accusation by Matt Roth also repeated the accusation that Walt Disney at one time had Nazi sympathies.<ref>[http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC40folder/LionKing.html The Lion King: A short history of Disney-fascism] by Matt Roth (1996) ''Jump Cut'' 40:15-20.</ref>
Just before the 2019 remake was released, Dan Hassler-Forest called its plot line irredeemably fascist:

{{quotebox|At a moment when the [[far right]] is on the rise, when we debate whether to call the horrific shelters on our border [[concentration camp]]s, and when [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] and [[Islamophobic]] [[hate crimes]] continue to increase, we should ask ourselves what it means to obsessively revisit narratives that celebrate the strong, the beautiful and the powerful, while looking down upon the rebels, the outcasts and the powerless. "The Lion King" is exactly that kind of story, and it will take more than Beyoncé's regal vocal cords to redeem it for the next generation.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/07/10/lion-king-is-fascistic-story-no-remake-can-change-that/ 'The Lion King' is a fascistic story. No remake can change that. No matter how you look at it, this is a film that introduces us to a society where the weak have learned to worship at the feet of the strong] by Dan Hassler-Forest (July 10, 2019) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>}}

==="UFO" documentary===
{{main|Unidentified flying object}}
In 1995, Disney quietly broadcast a documentary in five states (including [[California]] and [[Florida]]) that contained supposed evidence about UFOs. However, it was mainly a promotion for the ''Extraterrorestrial: Alien Encounter'' ride in Disneyland Florida, and none of the cases shown in the documentary have been proven with certainty to be extraterrestrial. Then there are conspiracy theorists that [[shoehorn]] in the [[Illuminati]] and [[New World Order]] to propose that the video and ride were part of a plot to prepare citizens for real abduction and alien colonization (or perhaps [[Project Blue Beam]]).<ref>http://horrorfreaknews.com/see-disneys-banned-ufo-documentary-extraterrorestrial-alien-encounter</ref>

===''Mulan''===
Disney's 2020 live-action remake of ''Mulan'' featured in its credits a "special thanks" to "four Chinese Communist Party [[propaganda]] departments in the region of Xinjiang as well as the Public Security Bureau of the city of Turpan in the same region — organizations that are facilitating [[crimes against humanity]]" against the [[China#Xinjiang internment camps|Uighur ethnic minority]].<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/07/why-disneys-new-mulan-is-scandal/ Why Disney’s new ‘Mulan’ is a scandal] by Isaac Stone Fish (September 7, 2020 at 9:12 a.m. PDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> ''Mulan'' has also been described as a [[nationalist]] [[pseudohistory]] that denies Uighur history.<ref>[https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/08/mulan-xinjiang-uighur-genocide-disney/ 'Mulan' Has a Message: Serve China and Forget About the Uighurs: Disney’s live-action remake was filmed partly in Xinjiang amid mass human rights abuses.] by Jeannette Ng  (September 8, 2020, 1:17 PM) ''Foreign Policy''.</ref>

===''Snow White'', ''The Lil' Mermaid'' and the perceived wokeness===
<!-- Editor's note: The Lil' Mermaid title was written on purpose in reference to African-American rappers using "Lil'" in their stage names -->
[[File:Two Princesses and a Queen.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Not a screenshot from the 2025 live-action ''Snow White'' remake.]]
As with other major film studios who received similar criticism for what amounts to {{wpl|Message picture|message pictures}} prioritising sociopolitical agendas over apolitical stories, Disney in recent years gained backlash for what was perceived as pandering towards [[political correctness]] and [[Woke|wokeness]] by shoehorning persons of color in roles traditionally portrayed by white actors, a notable example being Latina actress {{wpl|Rachel Zegler}} as the title character in the 2025 ''{{wpl|Snow White (2025 film)|Snow White}}'' live-action remake.<ref>[https://variety.com/2022/film/news/rachel-zegler-snow-white-casting-backlash-1235165496/ Rachel Zegler Recalls Snow White Casting Backlash: “People Were Angry”]</ref> While some have indeed mocked Zegler on racist grounds,<ref>[https://nypost.com/2022/01/31/rachel-zegler-blasts-snow-white-casting-backlash/ Rachel Zegler blasts 'Snow White' casting backlash]</ref> other critics argue that the casting of a non-white actor in the role of Snow ''White'' makes next to no sense considering the ''character herself'' ("Lips red as the rose, ''skin white as snow''...")<ref group=note>This is addressed in the 2025 film itself, in which it is stated that Snow White gets her name as a result of being born during a blizzard and not because of her pale complexion, as in the Grimms' original fairy tale.</ref> and the setting of the story, i.e. a 16th-century Germanic kingdom where Latino people are unlikely to wind up in such a locale, not to mention that such casting choices have been perceived as a cynical publicity stunt done for the sake of "brownie points" both to woo audiences who are understandably sick and tired of other ethnic groups being underrepresented,<ref>[https://www.quora.com/Why-do-some-people-use-the-term-forced-diversity-when-they-cast-a-non-white-actor-for-a-Disney-movie-when-diversity-its-actually-representative-of-modern-Western-countries Why do some people use the term 'forced diversity' when they cast a non-white actor for a Disney movie, when diversity it's actually representative of modern Western countries?]</ref> never mind the fact that Disney has been hypocritical towards representation when scenes featuring [[LGBTQ]]+ characters have been excised from certain localised releases to appease [[authoritarian]] regimes. Some have also opined that the concept of using ethnic minorities in traditionally-white roles aka {{wpl|Color-blind casting|color-blind casting}} have become something of an equally cynical business model, where companies anticipate controversy from bigots and plays into both their sentiments and those of the actors themselves and the general public, i.e. the "corporate monetization of bigotry".<ref>[https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1568182048564875265.html Thread by @DrThalaSiren on Thread Reader App – Thread Reader App]</ref>

A similar controversy ensued with the 2023 ''{{wpl|The Little Mermaid (2023 film)|The Little Mermaid}}'' live-action remake, starring African-American singer and actress {{wpl|Halle Bailey}} as Princess Ariel. Wingnuts took to dish out bigotry against what they pejoratively called a [[Nigger|"nigmaid"]];<ref>[https://filmboards.com/board/t/The-Little-Mermaid-trailer-flooded-with-racist-YouTube-comments-and-dislikes-3409150/ The Little Mermaid trailer flooded with racist YouTube comments and dislikes]</ref> Halle Bailey herself chose to just largely ignore all the bad rap she got from portraying the traditionally-white role;<ref>[https://insidethemagic.net/2019/08/halle-bailey-the-little-mermaid-response-ba1/ "Halle Bailey, Auli'i Cravalho respond to #NotMyAriel backlash from "The Little Mermaid" casting"]</ref> a Black blogger opined that while the casting of an African-American actress is important to them and "goes against literally centuries of White beauty standards and societal norms", they also noted that Disney ignored the more unpleasant aspects of being a Black person during the time period the film takes place, i.e. the Caribbean during the 18th century where Ariel would've ended up being sold at a [[Slavery|slave]] auction should she be unlucky (assuming that she was not caught as mermaid instead of as human and ended up in some sort of menagerie, that is).<ref>[https://blackonwhitetv.blogspot.com/2023/05/disneys-little-mermaid-caribbean.html Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Caribbean Slavery, and Telling the Truth to Children]</ref> Another Black author also expressed a nuanced stance on the issue, stating that while they do appreciate the push towards the much-needed representation of ethnic minorities in Hollywood (e.g. the casting of {{wpl|Ncuti Gatwa}} as the {{wpl|Fifteenth Doctor}} among other things), they also remarked that the trend of recasting established characters such as Ariel and Snow White with actors from other ethnic groups is "nothing but cheap, second-hand representation" which only serves to nominally pass off as "diversity" without the depth of casting said actors into roles that would retell the story from a different perspective which would have showcased people of color for what they are worth.<ref>[https://medium.com/@jpeekay/i-dont-want-a-black-ariel-e6fe9d2ea417 “I Don’t Want a Black Ariel.” — Why We Shouldn’t Be Satisfied With Race Switching]</ref>

Another point of criticism with the ''Snow White'' remake is the portrayal of the Seven Dwarfs, which prominent dwarf actor {{wpl|Peter Dinklage}} (of ''Game of Thrones'' fame) criticised in a 2022 interview, stating that the remake is "renewing damaging stereotypes", and later went on to say "You’re progressive in one way but you’re still making that fucking backward story of seven dwarves living in the cave. What the fuck are you doing, man?"<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/movies/peter-dinklage-snow-white.html Peter Dinklage Calls Disney's 'Snow White' Remake 'Backward']</ref>{{efn|Never mind the fact that Dinklage made factual errors in his criticism: while they do earn a living by mining [[diamond]]s in a cave, the titular dwarfs live in a ''cottage''.}} Others in the dwarfism community expressed dissenting views, however, such as professional wrestler Dylan Postl, better known by his ring persona {{wpl|Hornswoggle}}. Postl accused Dinklage of [[virtue signalling]] and expressed concern about Disney potentially replacing the dwarf characters with magical creatures, [[Ableism|depriving dwarf actors of a potential major acting role]], and denounced Dinklage as "hypocritical" and "selfish...trying to get roles away".<ref>[https://movieweb.com/dwarf-actors-peter-dinklage-refute-comments/ "Peter Dinklage's Snow White Criticism Draws Ire from Actors with Dwarfism"]</ref> Comedian Brad Williams also expressed a similar sentiment: while he did partially agree with Dinklage by ironically calling the portrayal "mildly offensive", he opined that there are ways to amend the portrayal  by depicting the Dwarfs as a potential love interest for Snow White and de-emphasizing the prince's role in the story, also complimenting the positive aspects of the characters: "I mean, they have jobs, you know? They got good friends. They got a house. They like to protect her [Snow White]. They're [[diamond]] miners, so they're rich. They're self-made, wealthy."<ref>[https://movieweb.com/brad-williams-snow-white-controversy/ Brad Williams Pitches His Fix for Controversial Snow White Remake]</ref> In August 2023, television personality and ''{{wpl|Jackass (TV series)|Jackass}}'' alum {{wpl|Jason Acuña}}, better known by his stage name Wee Man, also harshly criticised Disney for casting average-sized actors in place of little people, opining "You’re replacing jobs that people could have as little people. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, it’s for dwarfs. Why are you hiring Snow White and the Seven 'average people?'", comparing it unfavourably to the similarly controversial casting decision with the 2023 ''{{wpl|Wonka (film)|Wonka}}'' prequel film where {{wpl|Hugh Grant}} was cast as an Oompa-Loompa.<ref>[https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/jackass-star-wee-man-lays-into-disney-backlash-snow-whites-seven-dwarfs-casting Jackass Star Wee Man Lays Into Disney Following Backlash Over Snow White’s Seven Dwarfs Casting]</ref><ref>[https://movieweb.com/wee-man-disney-snow-white-remake/ Wee Man Blasts Disney Over Snow White Remake]</ref>

[[File:Snow White consent controversy on IG.png|thumb|left|No, Florian, please, NO!]]
Consensual interactions also became a hot-button topic with the ''Snow White'' franchise (and by extension the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale in general), where the unnamed prince<ref group=note>Named in some spinoff media as Florian, though cast members who are "friends with" the characters simply refer to him as "The Prince".</ref> is shown to be kissing the seemingly deceased princess to bid his last respects to her. This didn't bat anyone's eyebrows for decades, but the current cultural zeitgeist has prompted some especially [[moonbat]]s to go ballistic on what they perceive as "a form of s*xual assault–even if it’s a Disney movie".<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/CghnTIOu7U8/ No, kissing someone while they’re unconscious or otherwise incapacitated is NOT romantic]</ref><ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/CqQnRbvjT0p/ Questioning inequalities in Snow White & Beauty and the beast. ]</ref> Heck, even {{wpl|Kristen Bell}}–who voiced {{wpl|Anna (Frozen)|Princess Anna}} in ''[[Frozen]]''–claims she felt uncomfortable with the portrayal and stated that the film is sending a misleading message to young girls (which is perhaps why her portrayal of Anna as a naïve romantic and Hans as a scheming fiend is seen as a deconstruction of the princess formula).<ref>[https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/snow-white-sends-wrong-message-to-girls-about-consent-kristen-bell-20181019-p50alv.html Snow White sends wrong message to girls about consent]</ref> This outrage extended to the Disneyland dark ride based on the movie where an animatronic portrayal of the kissing scene is shown prominently towards the end.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/america/theme-parks/2021/05/05/disneyland-snow-white-ride-backlash-prince-charming-kiss-without-consent/4962154001/ Backlash over Disneyland's Snow White ride's 'kiss without consent'.]</ref>

Further adding fuel to the fire was with Rachel Zegler herself lambasting the original movie upon which the remake she stars in was based, reportedly stating that she watched the 1937 film once and has since been uncomfortable with it, making spurious claims about how the Prince was (supposedly) a stalker out to hit random noblewomen; this predictably sparked outrage harshly criticising Zegler as a public relations disaster at Disney's expense, with some wondering if this would result in a scenario not unlike the live-action ''Mulan'' remake.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/CwX_e27qR3X/ Snow White Is In Trouble 😳]</ref> It went to the point where even the son of one of the original film's directors harshly criticised the 2025 film, calling it a "disgrace" and opining that the film's direction is an insult to Walt's legacy as a purveyor of animated classics.<ref>[https://gamerant.com/rachel-zegler-snow-white-remake-david-hand-disgrace-disney/ Rachel Zegler's Snow White Remake Called 'Disgrace' By Former Disney Employee]</ref>

This however ignores the fact that the fairy tale is a [[Presentism#Moral judgments|product of its time]] and thereby shouldn't be gauged in a contemporary sociocultural context (in the era of abuse scandals such as #MeToo among others), not to mention that condemning perceived moral indiscretions in ([[children]]'s) media contributes more to [[cancel culture]] and provides a ''cause célèbre'' for equally vile reactionary [[wingnut]]s to take the piss out of. Zegler's remarks also ignore the fact that Snow White and the Prince did have at least a bit of history together to at least somewhat allow for the kiss of true love to happen; Florian isn't simply some stalker or sexual deviant out to violate random maidens he comes across. The SFGate article about the Disneyland ride was also criticised by some as amounting to ''agents provocateur'' to provoke [[Manufactroversy|manufactured outrage]] and discussion.<ref>[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/snow-white-canceled/ Is the Internet Trying To 'Cancel' Snow White?]</ref> Interestingly enough, the Grimms themselves did revise the tales they popularised over the decades, particularly with that infamous original ending where the Evil Queen was forced by the prince to dance to her death wearing ''red-hot iron shoes''. If Uncle Walt did produce the film in the backdrop of the present-day sociopolitical climate, he would've had Prince Florian bring up a computer keyboard and {{wpl|Press F to pay respects|press the letter F to pay his last respects}} instead.<ref group=note>As it turns out, there is no Prince in the 2025 live-action ''Snow White''. A Robin Hood-like bandit named Jonathan (played by {{wpl|Andrew Burnap}}) replaces him as Snow White's love interest. </ref>

This recent rash of [[culture war]] incidents prompted conservative media to come up with their own sane, morally-upright alternatives to "woke" Disney, particularly {{wpl|The Daily Wire|''The Daily Wire''}}–through their children's 
propaganda
 programming arm {{wpl|Bentkey}}–with their own version of the "Snow White" fairy tale entitled {{wpl|Snow White and the Evil Queen|''Snow White and the Evil Queen''}} starring wannabe "actress" Brett Cooper as the title character. Given the timing of their announcement on the Walt Disney Company's 100th anniversary, ''Snow White and the Evil Queen'' was clearly made to spite on the Zegler movie, with a fair-skinned lead in an attempt to drive their wingnut point home. Cooper later departed from ''The Daily Wire'' in 2024, leaving the conservative ''Snow White'' project in jeopardy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cockburn |date=2024-12-11 |title=Brett Cooper departs Daily Wire following days of speculation |url=https://thespectator.com/topic/brett-cooper-leaving-daily-wire-jeremy-boreing/ |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=The Spectator World}}</ref> Zegler's movie fared ''relatively'' better than the aborted Bentkey feature, but the rash of bad audience responses (due in no small part to right-wing troll brigading) and tepid press reception, on top of controversies brought on by the lead actresses made the 2025 ''Snow'' remake a box-office flop if not a complete commercial disaster,<ref name="McIntyre">{{Cite news |last=McIntyre |first=Hugh |title=Disney’s ‘Snow White’ Disappoints At The Box Office And On The Charts |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/04/04/disneys-snow-white-disappoints-at-the-box-office-and-on-the-charts/ |access-date=2025-04-04 |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> potentially discouraging Disney from producing further live-action remakes of their classics.<ref name="metro1">{{Cite news |date=2025-04-04 |title=Snow White box office flop sparks disaster for future Disney live-action movies |url=https://metro.co.uk/2025/04/04/snow-white-box-office-flop-sparks-disaster-disneys-future-live-action-movies-22852892/ |access-date=2025-04-04 |work=Metro |language=en}}</ref> A planned remake of 2010's ''Disney Princess'' feature ''Tangled'' was reportedly put on hold due to the reception ''Snow White'' received.<ref name="reporter">{{Cite news |last=Kit |first=Borys |last2=Galuppo |first2=Mia |date=2025-04-03 |title=Disney’s ‘Tangled’ Live-Action Movie Hits the Pause Button (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/tangled-live-action-remake-pause-disney-1236180940/ |access-date=2025-04-04 |work=Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Funding homophobic politicians===
Disney had already incited a lot of ire from the queer community in recent years, whether due to the lackluster attempts at LGBTQ+ representation despite heavily marketing around such as well as the unexplained semi-cancellation of ''{{wpl|The Owl House||,}}''<ref group=note>The official reason given was that its audience skewed too old, but the show's creator strongly suspects that its LGBTQ content was a factor.</ref> however, things reached a head when it was discovered that the corporation had donated $200,000 to the Republicans behind [[Florida]]'s notorious "don't say gay" bill sponsored by Florida governor [[Ron DeSantis]].<ref>[https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/10/22967765/disney-dont-say-gay-bill-chapek-florida-hrc Disney's queer characters won't hide its funding of real villains], Charles Pulliam-Moore, ''The Verge'' 10 March 2022</ref> Apparently, despite all of Disney's posturing about how they are supposedly LGBTQ+ inclusive, in the end getting tax breaks on their theme park is more important. Ultimately, after a predictable backlash Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek said they would be "pausing" donations to Florida politicians.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/world/us/disney-pause-florida-political-donations-over-law-limiting-lgbtq-discussion-2022-03-11/ Disney to pause Florida political donations over a law limiting LGBTQ discussion], ''Reuters'' 11 March 2022</ref>

The outrage over the homophobia controversy prompted Disney to mandate a "no censorship" policy in subsequent features distributed by the company, beginning with the Pixar-produced ''{{wpl|Lightyear (film)|Lightyear|'',}} whose same-sex kiss scene caused the film to be banned in Muslim-majority countries and given an ''NC-16'' rating in Singapore due to their disdain for what they view as perverted and/or sexual.<ref>[https://coconuts.co/singapore/lifestyle/disneys-lightyear-smacked-with-nc16-rating-imda-singapore-lgbt-pixar/ Disney’s ‘Lightyear’ smacked with NC16 rating]</ref> However, after that point, following the box office failures of ''Lightyear'' and ''{{wpl|Strange World (film)|Strange World}}'' (the latter of which featured Disney's first openly gay lead character), Disney seemed to crack down on LGBT representation in their content and they actually blamed the box office failures of both films on their LGBT characters and subsequent anti-LGBT backlash, with executives forcing ''{{wpl|Inside Out 2||''}} to be edited so that its main character Riley would come across as "less gay",<ref>[https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/pixar-wanted-riley-inside-out-2-less-gay-report-1235049147/ Pixar Wanted Riley’s Character in ‘Inside Out 2’ to Appear ‘Less Gay’ — Report], Samatha Bergeson and Brian Welk, ''IndieWire'' 19 September 2024</ref> shelving an already-completed episode from the Marvel animated series ''{{wpl|Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur}}'' that  dealt with a transgender girl competing in a female volleyball team, and removing a storyline about transgender character Kai from the Pixar streaming series ''{{wpl|Win or Lose (TV series)|Win or Lose|'',}} with a spokesperson from Disney saying "When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline", essentially siding with transphobic parents and politicians over trans people (particularly minors).<ref>[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/disney-pulls-transgender-storyline-win-or-lose-1236088172/ Disney Pulls Transgender Storyline from Pixar’s ‘Win or Lose’ Streaming Series], Pamela McClintock, ''Hollywood Reporter'' 17 December 2024</ref><ref group=note>For the record, while Kai is never explicitly referred to as trans in the final product, enough subtext was left in to leave no doubt she is.</ref>

When Disney decided to take a stand against the bill, it unleashed a whole new beast of accusations towards the company, accusing them of supporting child grooming in opposition to the Florida bill. All of this led to DeSantis taking over Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District.<ref>[https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/2022/04/19/florida-gov-desantis-targets-disney-worlds-reedy-creek-district-in-special-session/ "DeSantis goes after Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District," Click Orlando]</ref>

===Supposed subliminal messages===
[[File:DisneyIlluminati.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Disney has secretly been part of the [[Illuminati]] for as long as Photoshop has existed, it seems...]]
While most people criticize Disney for greed and other things, others accuse the company of putting subliminal messages in their productions. Conspiracy theorists have claimed that this is to promote [[Satanism]] or sexual perversion [[Think of the children|within the young people]]. Usually, they would either point to characters using the Horns hand sign, sex symbols <ref group=note> There is a plethora of accusations on this. These include the aforementioned Simba "SFX" dust, a priest's knees mistaken for an erection in ''The Litte Mermaid'', and so on.</ref> or would even claim that the Walt Disney Logo [[pareidolia|contains]] [[666]]. Why would they want to openly give out bread crumbs about their master plan? Who knows. To be fair, the subliminal images in Disney usually are the hidden Mickeys within their productions, and theme parks. The character of [https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Chernabog Chernabog] from the widely-acclaimed ''Fantasia'' is also patterned at least in part after Satan, though he is par for the course with the Disney Villains roster anyway. Ditto with the Tremaineses' pet cat Lucifer who is also portrayed negatively within the ''Cinderella'' mythos.

The biggest issue with these notions is they commonly fail to explain what Disney wants their audience to do. If Disney truly wanted their audience to worship Satan, for example, one would think they could think up a smarter way to promote that idea than just showing a "666" in some of their media.

===Fox===
On December 14, 2017, the Walt Disney Company announced its intention to purchase the majority of 21st Century Fox (TFCF) for US$52.7 billion,<ref>http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/14/media/disney-fox-deal/index.html</ref> which would give them a market share of the North American film industry of two-and-a-half times over its closest rival (Warner Bros.), make them the overwhelmingly dominant force in international sports programming via Fox Sports International which was later absorbed into ESPN,<ref group=note> Except for Argentina and Mexico, which Disney was forced to sell because of its market share overlapping with ESPN.</ref> ([[Rupert Murdoch]] would keep his [[Fox News|propaganda machines]] and the U.S. Fox Sports 1/2/Go channels; all the regional sports channels owned by Fox, including Big Ten Network, were originally part of the deal, but the U.S. Department of Justice ordered the company to divest them upon approving the merger, and they were eventually acquired by [[Sinclair Broadcast Group]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/disney-fox-rsns-sinclair-1203203930/|title=Disney Nears $10 Billion Sale of Fox Sports Networks to Sinclair|last=Littleton|first=Cynthia|date=2019-05-02|work=Variety|language=en|access-date=2019-05-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/disney-fox-shareholder-voting-date-1202861184/|title=Disney, Fox Set Shareholder Voting Date for $71 Billion Deal|last=Littleton|first=Cynthia|work=Variety|date=June 28, 2018|accessdate=June 28, 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628225848/https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/disney-fox-shareholder-voting-date-1202861184/|archivedate=June 28, 2018|deadurl=no|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/disney-21st-century-fox-justice-department-approval-1202859241/|title=Justice Department Approves Disney’s Acquisition of 21<sup>st</sup> Century Fox With Divestiture of Regional Sports Networks|last=Littleton|first=Cynthia|date=June 27, 2018|work=Variety|accessdate=February 13, 2019|df=mdy-all}}</ref> and make them the majority shareholder of online streaming service Hulu, Netflix's closest competitor. The merger was completed on March 20, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Disney Closes $71.3 Billion Fox Deal, Creating Global Content Powerhouse |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-closes-fox-deal-creating-global-content-powerhouse-1174498 |accessdate=March 20, 2019 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=March 19, 2019}}</ref> The day before it was completed, Murdoch's Fox Corporation officially became an operation completely separate from 21st Century Fox; one of the board members of "New Fox" is a [[Randroid]] by the name of [[Paul Ryan]].<ref name="foxcorplaunch">{{cite news |last1=Littleton |first1=Cynthia |last2=Steinberg |first2=Brian |title=Fox Corporation Emerges as Standalone Entity, Paul Ryan Joins Board |url=https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/fox-corporation-debut-disney-murdoch-1203165925/ |accessdate=March 19, 2019 |work=Variety |date=March 18, 2019}}</ref> Fox Corporation retained the Fox brand and trademarks in most countries.<ref group=note> Except in Australia, where the trademarks are owned by News Corp Australia, another Murdoch company. Fox Corporation also licensed the trademarks of "Fox Sports" to external companies in Argentina and Mexico.</ref> To further distance themselves from Murdoch, Disney is gradually rebranding acquired TFCF assets and dropping Fox brand usage worldwide.<ref group=note> Under the terms of acquisition and transitional agreement with Fox Corporation, Disney stopped using the Fox brand internationally in 2024. Fox Corporation also granted perpetual brand licenses for "20th Century Fox" to Disney, although Disney opted to rebrand it to "20th Century Studios".</ref>

==See also==
*[[Kinder, Küche, Kirche]]
*[[Winnie the Pooh]]

==External links==
*[https://www.disney.com Official Disney website]
*[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000370/ Walt Disney on IMDb]
*[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/WaltDisney Walt Disney the man] and [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/Disney the Walt Disney Company] on [[TV Tropes]]
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2|80%}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walt Disney Company}}
[[Category:Business]]
[[Category:Ableism]]
[[Category:Antisemitism]]
[[Category:California]]
[[Category:Cartoons and comics]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorist scapegoats]]
[[Category:Cultural appropriation]]
[[Category:Films]]
[[Category:Florida]]
[[Category:Folklore]]
[[Category:Homophobia]]
[[Category:Media hysteria]]
[[Category:Moral panics]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Urban legends]]

Categories: Business, Ableism, Antisemitism, California, Cartoons and comics, Conspiracy theorist scapegoats, Cultural appropriation, Films, Florida, Folklore, Homophobia, Media hysteria, Moral panics, Racism, Urban legends