Catholics and Disney

Started by Josephine87, February 27, 2019, 05:01:00 PM

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Josephine87

I've heard all kinds of things from years regarding Disney:  the man who started it was a Mason, the movies are anti-family because one or both of the parents are usually dead, exorcists mention its demonic influence, the conpany today promotes all sorts of liberal causes. I'm curious what people here think.
"Begin again." -St. Teresa of Avila

"My present trial seems to me a somewhat painful one, and I have the humiliation of knowing how badly I bore it at first. I now want to accept and to carry this little cross joyfully, to carry it silently, with a smile in my heart and on my lips, in union with the Cross of Christ. My God, blessed be Thou; accept from me each day the embarrassment, inconvenience, and pain this misery causes me. May it become a prayer and an act of reparation." -Elisabeth Leseur

Non Nobis

#1
For myself I grew up with Disney (60s, 70s), and if it was masonic back then that passed me by (after all even Mozart was a mason) and I found it innocent, delightfully creative, and very enjoyable. Sure it is possible I was just blind to what evil was there; but maybe there was enough good in it to still make it worth while. See: https://www.google.com/search?biw=1138&bih=519&ei=DEl3XL72AsWOsQXj6Z6YCA&q=disney+movies+before+1975&oq=disney+movies+before+1975

But, based on what I've read and the bits of movies I've seen, I don't think I would recommend many  Disney movies now (which are probably what you are asking about!), or the Disney company in general.  "Disney's" preceding the name of a movie is no longer a recommendation. I'll let others explain further.

Here's a conservative article on the NEW Beauty and the Beast  (2017) https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/03/disney-beauty-beast-faithless-pc-propaganda/. I never saw it, but enjoyed the animated version (1991).

This also looks like a helpful article: https://nypost.com/2017/12/08/the-disney-channel-is-no-longer-safe-for-our-kids/
[Matthew 8:26]  And Jesus saith to them: Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then rising up he commanded the winds, and the sea, and there came a great calm.

[Job  38:1-5]  Then the Lord answered Job out of a whirlwind, and said: [2] Who is this that wrappeth up sentences in unskillful words? [3] Gird up thy loins like a man: I will ask thee, and answer thou me. [4] Where wast thou when I laid up the foundations of the earth? tell me if thou hast understanding. [5] Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee! Save souls!

Traditionallyruralmom

We watch disney, but are choosey about what we watch.  I think moderation and common sense are important here.  The new Beauty and the Beast is horrid on many levels...but their new live Cinderella is just stunning and has a beautiful message of forgiveness.  Love Rapunzel, and except for the Let It Go song in Frozen, love that one too.  The older cartoons are very well done.  Avoid some of the strange 70's live action stuff like "Return to Witch Mountain"...but "The Gnome Mobile" and much from that era is adorable!  I dont do the channel, or any of the shows in our home.
Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.

Innocent Smith

What can I say? I very much admire the animation and creativity of Disney Studios. You can't go wrong with any of their product up to and including The Jungle Book which was the last film that Walt participated in. Walt was a visionary in shorts, film, TV to raise money for his park, and his amusement park. I will say that Pinocchio still scares the heck out of me. But it might have straightened out some boys who were getting into trouble like the television show Scared Straight attempted to do in the late '70s.

He was a great American even though the jury is still out for me on whether or not that is a good thing. At one time it was a no brainer to me that it was a good thing. Deeper research shows that his Studio was taken over by the government to produce training films for military personnel and propaganda for the home audience. Interesting that all the other studios, owned by Jews, were not taken over during this time especially since Walt was not a Jew. It is believed by some that this was an attempt to put him out of business.

Whether he was a Mason, or not, is of no concern to me. Because he was a true artist and visionary in every sense of those words. His work and life are worthy of study by everyone, including Catholics. You don't have to agree with him on everything to learn a thing or two about business in the 20th Century and the American Way. His work did much to sell the American Proposition to a post War World.
I am going to hold a pistol to the head of the modern man. But I shall not use it to kill him, only to bring him to life.

nmoerbeek

Quote from: Josephine87 on February 27, 2019, 05:01:00 PM
I've heard all kinds of things from years regarding Disney:  the man who started it was a Mason, the movies are anti-family because one or both of the parents are usually dead, exorcists mention its demonic influence, the conpany today promotes all sorts of liberal causes. I'm curious what people here think.

Disney is part of the status quo of american culture.  There are good things about the status quo then and now, there were more good things comparatively speaking about the status quo decades ago and we have been on a descent for a long time. 

Disney's content exists on a moral spectrum there are things that are obviously bad like anything that promotes the leftist sexual ethic (Jungle Cruise), things that are bad but cliche (Ratatouille false notion that you can be anything you want to be even if it is absurd), and things that can be neutral or good like the old Zorro shows which displayed a pious Catholic Hero who was expressly allied with the Catholic Church.

I think as we escape the worldly mentality our spirits are less refreshed by these entertainments and we should listen to our instincts, if an entertainment disquites us it is failing to refresh us and we should find something else to provide ease to our mind.
"Let me, however, beg of Your Beatitude...
not to think so much of what I have written, as of my good and kind intentions. Please look for the truths of which I speak rather than for beauty of expression. Where I do not come up to your expectations, pardon me, and put my shortcomings down, please, to lack of time and stress of business." St. Bonaventure, From the Preface of Holiness of Life.

Apostolate:
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http://unamsanctamcatholicam.blogspot.com/
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Chestertonian

I love the classic Disney movies.. I don't like most of the newer ones with the exception of Moana-- I found the music and storyline to be captivating and every time I watch it, I get something else out of it.  I have no desire to see any of the live action remakes.  My

Big Hero 6 is probably my favorite Disney movie
"I am not much of a Crusader, that is for sure, but at least I am not a Mohamedist!"

Non Nobis

#6
Quote from: Chestertonian on February 28, 2019, 08:31:45 PM
Big Hero 6 is probably my favorite Disney movie

It has 5 (well, 4.8 ) stars on Amazon, with over 10000 views!

(Once in a while I check these things out  ;))
[Matthew 8:26]  And Jesus saith to them: Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then rising up he commanded the winds, and the sea, and there came a great calm.

[Job  38:1-5]  Then the Lord answered Job out of a whirlwind, and said: [2] Who is this that wrappeth up sentences in unskillful words? [3] Gird up thy loins like a man: I will ask thee, and answer thou me. [4] Where wast thou when I laid up the foundations of the earth? tell me if thou hast understanding. [5] Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee! Save souls!

Josephine87

Quote from: Chestertonian on February 28, 2019, 08:31:45 PM
I love the classic Disney movies.. I don't like most of the newer ones with the exception of Moana-- I found the music and storyline to be captivating and every time I watch it, I get something else out of it.  I have no desire to see any of the live action remakes.  My

Big Hero 6 is probably my favorite Disney movie

I agree with you on Moana. It was like a true fairy tale and most of the music was great. I haven't liked any of the other new stuff I've seen either, mostly because it's so uninspired and dull.
"Begin again." -St. Teresa of Avila

"My present trial seems to me a somewhat painful one, and I have the humiliation of knowing how badly I bore it at first. I now want to accept and to carry this little cross joyfully, to carry it silently, with a smile in my heart and on my lips, in union with the Cross of Christ. My God, blessed be Thou; accept from me each day the embarrassment, inconvenience, and pain this misery causes me. May it become a prayer and an act of reparation." -Elisabeth Leseur

Traditionallyruralmom

Quote from: Chestertonian on February 28, 2019, 08:31:45 PM
  I have no desire to see any of the live action remakes.  My

Big Hero 6 is probably my favorite Disney movie

we just watched Big Hero 6  :)
I highly recommend the new Cinderella, it is visually stunning and has a good message.
Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.

Lynne

In conclusion, I can leave you with no better advice than that given after every sermon by Msgr Vincent Giammarino, who was pastor of St Michael's Church in Atlantic City in the 1950s:

    "My dear good people: Do what you have to do, When you're supposed to do it, The best way you can do it,   For the Love of God. Amen"

TheReturnofLive

#10
I wish that there existed a clip which gave just a little snippet before this scene, for the context of this clip.

The previous scene is an animation of Satan (Due to secularization over time, Disney has "officially" dubbed him "Chernobog," but the movie itself literally calls him Satan) set to Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain," and demonic looking creatures and ghouls who are dancing around and being tortured by Satan in fire - but then the sounds of a Church Bell are heard, with light beaming on them, which causes these creatures to retreat away and Satan to flinch back in annoyance, causing him to cover himself with his wings, effectively disappearing into the mountain.



And then this scene plays, which concludes the entire Movie.
"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but irrigate deserts." - C.S. Lewis

Josephine87

I always liked that part...one little village's church bell and a ray of sunlight get rid of all the evil things in the night.
"Begin again." -St. Teresa of Avila

"My present trial seems to me a somewhat painful one, and I have the humiliation of knowing how badly I bore it at first. I now want to accept and to carry this little cross joyfully, to carry it silently, with a smile in my heart and on my lips, in union with the Cross of Christ. My God, blessed be Thou; accept from me each day the embarrassment, inconvenience, and pain this misery causes me. May it become a prayer and an act of reparation." -Elisabeth Leseur

TheReturnofLive

Quote from: Josephine87 on February 27, 2019, 05:01:00 PM
I've heard all kinds of things from years regarding Disney:  the man who started it was a Mason, the movies are anti-family because one or both of the parents are usually dead, exorcists mention its demonic influence, the conpany today promotes all sorts of liberal causes. I'm curious what people here think.

If you care to hear my opinion, I think there's two reasons that Disney gets a lot of antagonism - the first is it is much the same reasons Harry Potter gets a lot of antagonism - there's a clear theme of "magic" throughout Disney, and the second is the fact that animators do - either out of boredom or out of maliciousness - put in sexual images as gags and adult jokes in their movies.

For instance, in the Rescuers, there's one frame of animation where you can very clearly see a topless woman in the window in the background, or on the Little Mermaid cover, one of the buildings looks very clearly...well...Phallic.

In Toy Story, there's a joke where Little Bo-Peep tells Woody that she could maybe get "someone else to watch the Sheep tonight."

In Frozen, there's a gag where one of the characters is asking Anna what qualities she likes in a guy, and he asks her about "feet size," and she says "feet size doesn't matter," and there's an awkward silence. It's an obvious intentional joke that most kids wouldn't get.

But I don't think this is something peculiar to Disney - it's just something animators do and a lot of children's content creators do. Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, as well as children's Anime shows, do this stuff all the time. Like there's a scene in the "Amazing World of Gumball" where the protagonist turns on a cold shower, and a character who is a hot dog shrinks in size.

And even growing up, my parents took me to a "Wiggles" show when I was little, and apparently my mom and dad were laughing because the whole show was filled with adult jokes that the kids wouldn't get - like the Wiggles want to "get some drinks" and stuff like that.

The bigger question is do they do these things to either make adults laugh or just because they want to spite their bosses for making them work hard and get paid little for it, or is it some kind of conspiracy to "subliminally program" the youth.

Those who believe in the latter will likely find Disney very objectionable.

While I don't claim to have all the answers, I tend to think it's the former, and I don't think that many kids will even get the jokes or notice the things that it will harm them. I grew up to a large degree with Toy Story, and I didn't even notice the Bo Peep joke or get it until I was much older.

I think the bigger problem with Disney today is that in the newer content, there's a clear ideological shift from the older days of what was agreed upon "morality," to the standards of selfishness and self-gain morality that the Left embraces.

I think Ben Shapiro brings up a great point on why Pinocchio is much better than Frozen, just because the moral teachings are much better.



I think it's like anything - books, movies, etc. Just make sure you know what you are showing your kid and make the decision yourself if you think it's healthy for the kid or not.

If I had kids, I would never allow them to watch Steven Universe no matter what they say, because it's a very dangerous show with a clear and malicious agenda of proving to children the legitimacy of the LGBTQ movement and Feminism as an ideology. I wouldn't go overboard and censor anything secular or popular (I feel like that would create a lot of resentment for the child towards Christianity and lead them to rebellion during adolescence and probably apostasy), but I would still be very careful.
"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but irrigate deserts." - C.S. Lewis