A Tale of Two Disneys

A lot of us have never been parents.  Including myself.  As a non-parent, I accept certain ideas without scrutiny, or really even a moment's hesitation.  For instance, in general I have faith in Disney to provide children with harmless and generally positive messages.

But when you become a parent (many thanks to my friend Corey for becoming a parent and then inspiring this entire blog post), you have to watch very closely what everything in culture is actually saying, because you are responsible for your children.  And so you develop the skill and discipline of watching things critically -- a skill and discipline we all should have and be exercising.

As I recently thought about this (with Corey's help), kid's movies and TV shows send all kinds of mixed messages, many of them bad.  As an example, let's closely examine two cherished classics.

Case 1: The Little Mermaid

I'll admit up front that I haven't watched either of these in a long time.  But -- and this is all the more reason to watch things critically -- the plots seem to stay with us forever.  And so, here's at least the gist of the plot:

1. Ariel is a mermaid princess.  As such, she is relegated to the sea and has certain royal responsibilities.
2. Ariel becomes fascinated with human culture and longs to be a part of that world.
3. Her father realizes this and forbids her from interacting with humans or investigating human things.
4. Ariel makes a bargain (for her soul) to the most disturbing Disney villain ever, in which she gains human legs for a time.
5. Ariel falls in love with a human pirate (jk, he was probably a prince) and they get married.
6. Ariel's father repents of his... decision?... and blesses the marriage.

But of course we, as children of all sizes and ages, put ourselves in the place of the protagonist (nevermind that it's a female fish-girl hybrid).  So what does LM say to and about me?

To me, it says my parents will sometimes make rules that I don't agree with.  When this arises, I should see disobeying their rules in favor of following my own passions as a viable, if not outright best, option.

Was King Triton's rule unreasonable (not that that's even the point)?  No.  If humans were to actually find mermaids, it would mean unending torture for the mermaid race.  But it doesn't matter how solid the parenting is -- it stands in the way of what Ariel wants.  And so, disobey.

That's ultimately the flow of this movie -- passion; parental rule that prevents that passion; disobedience of that rule; ultimate happiness (and even the parent changing his mind, as if to say, "You were right all along, even considering the fact that you sold your soul to a ghoulish octopus-woman.")

Now maybe to some people this message doesn't seem bad, but from the Biblical perspective from which I see things, this plot is garbage.  Children are commanded to obey and honor their parents.  This doesn't involve judging every rule the parents give and choosing which ones are in line with your heart's desires.  Additionally, as our heavenly Father, God gives us rules for our own good (e.g. "do not be sexually immoral"), and they at times conflict with passions we may feel.

Grade (on my subjective scale with no guidelines given): F


Case 2: The Lion King

1. There is a king who has a son and a brother.
2. The brother greedily wants the crown, so he kills the king and runs off the prince.
3. The prince then grows up on the outskirts of the kingdom and learns a philosophy of laziness and self-indulgence.
4. An old friend tracks him down and (amid lion sparks flying) convinces him to embrace his responsibility and right his uncle's wrongs.
5. The prince returns, defeats the evil imposter king, and restores peace to the land.

How different is this message?!  What this one suggests to me for my life is that it will always be easier to do nothing and just focus on pleasing myself.  But, while harder, doing the right thing, being responsible, and challenging injustice are all worth it.

[Furthermore, these are not only things that God explains in the Bible that we should do, but they're also actions He takes throughout history.]

So when I'm playing Playstation, watching Netflix, eating ice cream, and humming "Hakuna Matata," in the absence of a female lion to snap me out of my senses, I can exhort myself to do something that matters.  Thanks, LK.

Meaningless grade: A


Please chime in (graciously)

I know some of you probably love Disney princess movies.  I'm sorry.  That being said...

What do you think about the messages of kids' movies?
Do you agree with my grades?
For which other movies would you like to see a critical worldview analysis?

Jon