Disney has drawn the ire of many adoring fans because it only
releases its movies to the public for home consumption for a limited
amount of time. They even coined a term for this tactic, “The Disney
Vault.” Audiences think this is corporate greed at its ugliest. Disney
has a commodity, and they try to build fervor and revenue by only
letting the consumer have access to it for a short period. It’s
basically the same business model McDonald’s uses with the McRib – and
we all know how much everyone hates that. Can you imagine if the Star Wars
movies were only sold periodically? That’d be an outrage, right? Well,
you can expect it to happen since Disney bought the rights in 2012 to
all things Star Wars, from George Lucas for over $4 billion. It’s no wonder why Disney movies have been pirated since VCRs came on the scene in the 1980s.
14. Everyone Is Sick Of Pixar
Remember the first major Pixar movie, Toy Story? It was a
cool new type of animation that made you fall in love with Disney all
over again, and the story wasn’t half-bad, either. Disney struck gold by
tapping into this market, and bought Pixar in 2006 after numerous
disagreements with the company about rights and revenue. Steve Jobs
and Disney’s then-CEO Michael Eisner, butted heads repeatedly before
the deal for the $7 billion acquisition was made. Well, Disney wanted to
make sure it got its money worth, so now all they seem to churn out
are Pixar movies. Disney is laughing all the way to the bank, because
computer-generated animation is less expensive than the typical kind.
Cha-ching.
Critics have also complained that Pixar movies lack the simple sophistication of Disney classics like Snow White.
For example, Pixar movies have plot problems like having too many
buddies in the picture, too many movies have sequels, and storylines
that are too linear. Another big criticism is that Pixar movies aren’t
children’s movies that adults can tolerate, but that they are really
adult movies that children can tolerate.
13. Long Lines At Theme Parks
via bestorlandovacationpackages.com
When you spend hundreds of dollars on something, you expect excellent
service. But this just isn’t the case with Disney theme parks. They
consider it a success if line times are long, because that means bigger
profits. Meanwhile, the customer gets the royal screw-job. Wait times
for Space Mountain average 45 minutes, yet the ride is only
three minutes long. For those of you who aren’t good at math, this means
that the wait time is 15 times longer than the ride. And the cherry on
top is that you get the pleasure of standing in line in the blinding
heat while listening to a bunch of children whine their heads off.
Where else in life would you tolerate this nonsense? Even the line to
get through TSA isn’t this bad! You wouldn’t wait 30 hours in line to
see a two hour movie. You’d never sit in a restaurant for 15 hours
waiting to eat a one hour meal. And you certainly wouldn’t wait 75
minutes with a cart load of groceries before you are rung up at the
supermarket. We don’t know what’s worse – the company that operates this
way, or the consumer who puts up with it. Disney discovered the perfect
business model – people waddle in, empty their pockets, then leave.
12. Everything Is So Expensive
via disneyfanatic.com
Everything about Disney is expensive. It costs a family of four
$3,500 to stay at Disney World for five days. A Disney movie DVD costs
$20. And everything at the Disney store is marked up at least 300
percent. And what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt! But
people begrudgingly pay this because they are parents, and they have to
get the kids the Disney stuff. Disney forces you to play the whole game
of “keeping up with the Joneses” for the sake of the kids. As a parent,
you can’t be the only one not to take your kids on a Disney vacation or
you’ll scar them for life and then you’ll have to pay thousands of
dollars for them to be in therapy. You can’t have your kid not being the
only one not to see the latest Disney movie or else they’ll be social
outcasts. And you can’t have your kid playing with sticks and stones
when there are princess costumes to dress up in.
Disney has you by the short and curlies, and you know it! You’d
better start saving now for when your children grow up and want a Disney
wedding. And it won’t even be over then – because you’ll have the
pleasure of doing the Disney thing again with your grandchildren.
11. Disney Ran Out Of Ideas Long Ago
via videobuster.de
Disney ran out of ideas years ago. So what do they do now? They remake their old movies. On what planet is this acceptable? War and Peace hasn’t been re-written, and neither has The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar. But for some reason, the public is expected to put up with this claptrap in the movies. Disney has taken classics like Flubber, The Parent Trap and The Shaggy Dog
and “modernized” them for new audiences to discover. What a load of
garbage. Disney is just recycling ideas and pushing them on the younger
generation who don’t know any better. It’s disgusting when you think
that Disney queen Hayley Mills, gave a seamless performance in the original Parent Trap movie, but all kids these days know about the franchise is Lindsay Lohan.
The newest craze is taking classic animated films and making them live action. Disney did this with Cinderella, and is gearing up for a live action version of Beauty and the Beast
to be released in 2017. They just can’t leave well enough alone. Sorry,
but there’s profit to be made. While they’re at it, maybe they should
animate Gone with the Wind and Casablanca.
10. Mickey Is A Has-Been
Fans have had it with Mickey Mouse. The last time he was popular was on The Mickey Mouse Club – and we’re not talking about the one with Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake – we’re talking about the one in the 50s with Cubby and Annette.
Mickey Mouse’s squeaky voice is grating, and his big ears have become a
symbol for corporate greed. His pals aren’t all they’re cracked up to
be, either. Minnie isn’t hot. Donald Duck is a perv that doesn’t wear
pants, and Daisy Duck is only famous by proxy. Pluto doesn’t talk, and
we’re pretty sure Goofy suffers from dementia. It’s no wonder the gang
only stars in straight to DVD movies these days. Mark our words, Disney
will euthanize these characters soon enough.
9. Planning World Takeover, Or What?
Now that Disney opened a theme park on mainland Communist China, it’s
finally official that they are trying to take over the world. They
weren’t happy with just America, Europe, Japan and Hong Kong, so they
had to plant themselves in the most populous country in the world. In a
country with uniformity gone mad, we can totally see Disney and the
Commies forming an unholy union. Imagine a bunch of Chinamen in a
militarized zone sporting mouse ears. Scary? Now, imagine them having a
revolution and invading capitalist America. Each according to his
ability, and each according to his means. Living under Communist Disney
rule will be the happiest place on Earth…not. No one wants to wake up
each morning living in a commune with the “It’s a Small World” song
blaring and having to pledge their allegiance to a stylized picture of
Karl Marx and Mickey Mouse. The most outrageous thing is that Disney is
being lauded for improving Chinese-American relations with the opening
of this new park.
8. Family Values Are Out The Window
via eonline.com
In the 1990s, Disney made a little movie titled Jungle 2 Jungle starring Tim Allen.
It was typical Disney fare, except for the gratuitous depiction of a
woman filmed in her bra. It’s only been downhill from there. Once Disney
acquired ABC, it showed that it was “evolving” with the times. Disney
was no longer family friendly, but started to openly pander to the
lowest common denominator. The Bachelor is not appropriate for families, what with the catfights and open sexuality. How to Get Away with Murder glamorizes the worst crime of all. And The Real O’Neals
is criticized for promoting homosexuality. It’s only a matter of time
before Disney branches out into the hardcore p*rn industry. Can’t you
just see Snow White servicing all seven dwarves? And what about Beauty
and the Beast getting busy? How about a girl/girl movie with Ariel and
Cinderella? That’d be barely legal.
7. Disney Stars Are NOT Wholesome
via infokami.com
The Disney Channel has been making youth-oriented shows since its
inception in the 1980s. And, while many of its stars went onto
illustrious careers like Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling, way more of its stars have become trainwrecks. Singer Fergie was on Kids, Incorporated
before she made it big with The Black Eyed Peas. Before she found fame
as an adult, she suffered from an addiction to crystal meth. But that’s
nothing compared to the young stars that are on screen today. Jennette McCurdy of Sam & Cat fame made headlines when nude photos of her were released. Vanessa Hudgens of High School Musical also had a similar thing happen. And A.N.T. Farm star Cameron Palatas was rumored to have bedded Ariel Winter of Modern Family when she was underage.
Disney obviously can’t control its stars, and people understand that.
What people can’t get over is how Disney plays both sides to the
middle. When their stars misbehave, Disney puts up a public front of
disapproval. Yet, Disney still employs these troublemakers. In reality,
Disney enjoys the drama as they believe any publicity is good publicity.
6. Disney Is So Litigious
via photosugar.com
Disney has a reputation for being very, very litigious. A.K.A. sue
crazy. Its C.E.O. has been quoted as saying that this is due to
protecting intellectual property. However, most people just see it as
Disney being a big baby – and a big bully. Disney has been accused of
filing petty lawsuits, such ones against daycare centers portraying the
likeness of Mickey Mouse – which is, let’s face it, just three black
circles intertwining. If they’re going to do that, they’d better go
after math textbooks that have Venn diagrams as well.
Disney has also been very active in backing anti-piracy laws. Disney
is a big dog in court, so no one ever wins against them. What is most
outrageous, though, is that they are hypocritical. When thousands of
tributes to Frozen emerged online, Disney stayed quiet and
didn’t shut any of them down. Why not? Because the fans were posting
positive things, and Disney saw this as free publicity. Disney, if
you’re gonna talk the talk, then you’ve gotta walk the walk. You can’t
have it both ways.
5. Collaborations With Tim Burton Are Creepy
via sodahead.com
Tim Burton’s
work on Disney films isn’t just postmodernism at its worst – it’s weird
for the sake of weird. In a desperate attempt to keep its brand fresh,
Disney has partnered with Burton on films like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Frankenweenie and most recently Alice Through The Looking Glass.
These movies were dark, disturbed and downright creepy. They didn’t do
well at the box office, but have garnered a cult following. The
Disney-Burton films are evocative, but in the most terrible way as they
make the audience’s skin crawl and confuse the viewer with odd
juxtapositions. And the fact that these movies are made for children is
all the more hair-raising.
Disney recently announced that it has plans to collaborate with Burton on a live-action version of Dumbo. No one wants to see a Burton-inspired Dumbo.
The loveable Dumbo will likely be cachectic, extra-gray and melancholy.
And his magic feather will probably be replaced by some bizarre-Burton
paraphernalia like a femur bone, a rusty nail or a waxy Q-tip. Imagine
what other Disney classics Burton can ruin, like Pinocchio, Lady and the Tramp and Fantasia.
4. Relies On Star Power, Not Plotlines
via hypable.com
Back in the day, Disney movies sold themselves because their plots
were incredible. They showcased fairytales and chronicled the rise of
the underdog. This worked in Disney’s animated and live-action movies,
and the company was untouchable for decades. Then, they had a string of
flops like Mulan, Pocahontas and Hercules.
Suddenly, Disney was fallible. So, instead of hiring better writers,
they took the easy way out – they started to hire big name talent to
headline its projects. And they haven’t looked back. Disney has hired
giants in the film industry to voice its characters, like Miley Cyrus and Oprah. And of course, Disney puts the most popular celebs in its live action movies, like Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.
Disney even has upcoming projects with Emma Stone, Reese Witherspoon and Emma Watson.
But what good is it to have a big star in a movie if the plot is weak?
The only good thing about this change in direction is that it finally
steered Disney away from cramming cultural sensitivity down everyone’s
throats. There was a period of time when it made sure to give every
minority group its own movie, from Hawaiians in Lilo and Stitch to African Americans in The Princess and the Frog. Audiences perceived this to be the pandering that it was.
3. Disney Steals Ideas
via cracked.com
For a company that fiercely protects its own intellectual property,
Disney certainly doesn’t seem to have any qualms about “borrowing” ideas
from others. The Disney movie A Bug’s Life was reported to be a rip-off of the movie Antz. The Lion King was supposedly very much taken from a Japanese manga series call Kimba the White Lion
– going from a character named “Kimba” to “Simba” didn’t seem like much
of a stretch. People have sued Disney for stealing the ideas for Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph.
Disney’s so-called duplicity hasn’t been limited to films, though. It
has been accused of stealing ideas that it later implemented in its
theme parks, too. A court ruled that Disney illegally took ideas from
two businessmen in order to build a sports complex for its Wide World of Sports
attraction in Disneyworld. Disney was ordered to pay damages of $240
million, which is just a drop in the bucket for them. In this case, no
one believed that Disney was innocent. After all, the Disney theme park
attractions are based off of the success of others: the Indiana Jones ride, the Aerosmith ride, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the Backdraft ride… we could go on and on.
2. Dysfunctional Families
via pinterest.com
Many people hate Disney for portraying skewed family values. To begin
with, Disney films are largely criticized for portraying absentee
mothers. For example, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Princess Jasmine and Belle
didn’t have mothers. And let’s not forget that Bambi’s mother was
killed. Other characters have evil step-mothers, like Cinderella and
Snow White. Some say that this is because the death of Walt Disney’s
mother haunted him. Others theorize this is because Walt Disney hated
women.
Another issue people have with Disney films is that they often
portray a damsel in distress that is saved by a man. Critics believe
this is reinforcing a culture of patriarchy, and is also portraying an
unrealistic ideal with the whole happily-ever-after mentality. It’s also
worth noting that most Disney villains are over the age of 50, and are
portrayed as being ugly. The problem many people have with this is that
they contend it teaches children to hate adults.
Finally, Disney has been criticized by many groups for supporting
same-sex couples. Disney made headlines in the 1990s for giving domestic
partnership benefits to homosexual couples. More recently, it came
under fire for portraying a lesbian couple on the children’s program Good Luck Charlie. Many believe that these are ways in which Disney corrupts children.
1. People Loathe Walt Disney
via twitter.com
Where do we start with Walt Disney?
He is a cultural icon. Originally, he was regarded as a warm,
family-oriented man. In reality, his outward personality was all for
show. Close friends have revealed that he was painfully shy, and enjoyed
smoking and drinking. Professionally, he was known as a real stickler
for high standards, and rarely gave his employees praise. Over the
decades, the public perception of Walt Disney has taken a dramatic
downturn.
He is often regarded as a grand manipulator, and a purveyor of
American imperialism. The rumor mill is rampant with reports of Walt
Disney being bigoted against minority groups and women. And the jury is
still out on whether he was a Nazi sympathizer or not. Perhaps the
weirdest rumor, though, was that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen
after his death. According to his family, this is false and he was
cremated after he died of lung cancer.
Whatever your beliefs about Walt Disney are, the fact remains that he
is a polarizing figure. Fans laud him for making feel-good movies and
for his artistic genius. Others loathe him for being a genesis of
cultural debasement. If you’re a hater of Disney’s corporate greed, a
believer in the subversive subliminal messages in Disney movies, or are
just tired of the company’s generic work, you probably agree with the
latter.
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