“I believe firmly in the efficacy of religion, in its powerful influence on a person’s whole life,” said Walt Disney. “It helps immeasurably to meet the storm and stress of life and to keep you attuned to the Divine inspiration. Without inspiration, we would perish.”
Those wise words came from one of the most imaginative people in the world – Walter Elias Disney. However, the reasons why Disney’s company is making news today make it difficult to imagine that its founder ever referred to inspiration from the Lord.
Since I was young, different Disney aspects have touched my life tremendously. The movies, shows, and resorts were a huge part of my childhood. My family and I would take yearly trips to Disney World. And as a family of eight, it was not a small ticketed price. My parents would save all year.
However, once at Disney, dreams came true. I fondly remember bus rides where we packed in like sardines with a bunch of random strangers eagerly awaiting the “Magic Kingdom” sign. Once inside the gate, our storybook fables came to life. Princes, princesses, and an overtly rich mouse fought the villains and saved the day while we zoomed through lines and indulged our inner kid.
In fact, to this day, when walking into the Magic Kingdom, guests are welcomed by a plaque with a Walt Disney quote that reads: “Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.”
That was the goal. Escape reality for a moment and enter into worlds unknown.
But today, that plaque is becoming a lie. Instead of fantasy and escapism, it is controlled by money, greed, and political “wokeness.”
For the past few weeks, Disney has been the center of attention. The drama started after Disney’s CEO, Bob Chapek, decided not to weigh in on Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill. The purpose of the bill is to give parents more knowledge about what is going on in the classroom and “prohibit classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels.” (For anyone curious, those grade levels are kindergarten through third grade.)
So, when Chapek decided to avoid the controversy, the Left-wing baboons awoke with a roaring vengeance. They demanded that the Walt Disney Company stand up for the LGBTQ+ community and do something about “underrepresented groups.” But instead of sticking to their guns and staying out of it, Disney execs ran full force into the arms of the radical advocates.
The company decided to create a task force that would “ensure that more LGBTQ+ awareness content is available for children.” Following that decision, they chose to restore a lesbian kiss in the upcoming animated (and supposedly family-friendly) film, Lightyear. And just last week, they vowed that “50% of regular and recurring characters will come from underrepresented groups.”
Excuse me, what?
A small group of people cried, and now 50% of every Disney production will have characters promoting an agenda? Gone are the days of sitting down with your family and seeing a family-friendly-Disney-appropriate film. But if you want your kid to learn about homosexuality and what they should identify as, Disney might have something for you.
I often thought about taking my future kids to Disney. I wanted them to see and feel the same magic I once did as a child. However, that magic has been replaced by a mob who wants to snuff out individuals who don’t believe what they do.
And out of all of these troubling thoughts, I can only seem to think of one person – Walt.
“All I ask of myself is to live a good Christian life and toward that objective, I bend every effort in shaping my personal, domestic, and professional activities and growth,” Disney said in an interview.
He was a dreamer, but more than that, he was a believer. He wanted families to have a magical place where they could come and escape from the stress of the real world and celebrate the day! Did you know that in his parks Walt was utterly against alcohol? In a 1956 interview, he said, “No liquor, no beer, nothing. Because that brings in a rowdy element. That brings people that we don't want, and I feel they don't need it.”
Could you imagine today’s Disney executive’s saying something like that?
I couldn’t because they are cowards.
They are cowards because instead of tales of hope and triumph, they're focused on indoctrinating kindergarteners.
They are cowards who are now painting the villains as moms and grandmothers instead of evil queens and dragons.
They are cowards who care more about what China thinks of their films than the morals of their American-born creator.
They are cowards because they slip content on their streaming platform hoping parents don’t notice.
But mostly, they are cowards who choose to insult the large majority of their customers to appease 5% of the population that is screaming.
Walt’s biggest hope was that his team would not “…lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.” Unfortunately, I'm afraid they not only forgot the mouse but the man behind it.
