Disney has done a lot of great things for popular culture, and touched countless lives
across the globe.
Their movies are touted as being wholesome and full of morality, in addition to being
fun for the whole family.
Through the ages, their heroines, heroes, and villains have been some of the most iconic
in all of cinematic history.
But there are some critical eyes out there too, and some adults aren’t convinced that
the lessons on the big screen are always the right ones.
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Here are 10 Times Disney Was A Bad Example For Kids.
Consent (Sleeping Beauty, Snow White) Here at Screen Rant, we love a good nap.
But when a quick snooze turns into an eternal slumber, well that’s cause for concern.
It’s even worse when the only antidote is an intrusive smooch from a complete stranger.
Some of the criticisms leveled at Snow White and Sleeping Beauty revolve around the importance
of consent.
Some weirdo strides out of the woods to make out with an unconscious woman, without her
permission, only to become his property.
This has led critical thinkers to the conclusion that Disney should be doing more to empower
women, instead of just putting them to sleep.
Judgment (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) Have you ever heard the saying “it’s what’s
on the inside that counts”?
There’s no better example of this than in 1996’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
As the title suggests, Quasimodo doesn’t conform to social standards of handsomeness.
But he’s a really great human.
So when it comes time for Esmerelda to choose between him and the hot guy, it seems like
she should follow her heart instead of her eyes, right?
WRONG.
Esmerelda goes for the eye candy, which is a very un-Disneylike thing to do.
Especially since, when it comes to what’s inside, he doesn’t hold a candle
to Quasimodo.
Self-Esteem (Cinderella) Perhaps one of the most common pieces of advice
handed down through the generations is to just “be yourself”.
And anyone who doesn’t like you for you probably isn’t worth your time anyway.
Sure, if a Fairy Godmother showed up on our doorstep, we might ask for a few nips here,
a little tuck there, and maybe take a bit off the top — nothing crazy.
But when Cinderella is in the same position, she gets extreme with it.
So when Prince Charming falls in love with her, it’s not exactly her he’s falling
for.
Critics have argued that the movie sends the message that “if you wanna land a prince
charming, you’re going to have to change everything about yourself”.
Avoidance (Frozen) Ever had a problem that just seemed too big
to solve?
An overwhelming obstacle that makes you want to say “screw this, I’m going to live
in the forest”?
Same.
But life demands that we stand up straight, hold our heads high, and deal with the issues
as they come.
Unless you’re Elsa, in which case it’s totally cool for you to run away from your
problems.
Or, at least, that’s the message being sent in the box office behemoth Frozen.
Rather than getting help or relying on her support system, Elsa retreats into solitude
instead.
And while everyone needs a little down time, there’s a fine line between what’s healthy
and what isn’t.
Body Image (All) Animation is cool because the artist can take
whatever they want and make it look however they want.
And while there are a ton of interesting landscapes, monsters, and objects in the Disney universe,
all of the Princesses look the same.
And parents are concerned about the unrealistic body image standards the characters are setting
for young kids.
A very small proportion of the world’s population look like the figures on screen, and might
be putting pressure on the rest of us to conform.
Nice women are beautiful and slim, while good men are buff and noble.
Any anyone who doesn’t fit into that paradigm better have access to a Fairy Godmother.
Villainy (All) Graduates of the Disney School of Villainy
go on to do great and terrible things.
Thanks to an intense curriculum of manipulation and assholery, students gain the confidence
they need to be successful scoundrels in a rapidly-changing animated landscape.
With special focus on intimidation, maniacal cackling, and parental murder, graduates are
some of the most-feared individuals in cinematic history; they take what they want and burn
the rest.
If this is the life you want for your child, simply turn on any Disney movie and tell them
to root for the bad guy.
You’ll be amazed how quickly they learn that the quickest way to the top is to literally
slay the competition.
Criminal Activity (Robin Hood) Theft with positive intent is still theft.
And no parent wants their kid to end up in the slammer, regardless of their intentions.
While stealing from the rich to give to the poor sounds great on paper, at the end of
the day it’s still illegal.
Unless you’re Robin Hood.
Giving what you can to those less fortunate is absolutely the right thing to do, so in
that way the story is spot on.
But the character’s methodology is very, very flawed.
It’s wonderful to imagine a world in which everyone is equal, but critical parents wonder
how many laws need to be broken to get there.
Self-image (The Little Mermaid) If everything was sunshine and rainbows all
the time, movies would be really, really boring.
And even the strongest protagonist would be nothing without their evil counterpart to
squish all their good vibes.
Not all trades are fair, especially when one party has more power than the other.
And sadly, not even everyone’s favorite little mermaid is immune to a bad contract.
Ariel gives up everything in exchange for a “normal” physical appearance by signing
away everything that made her special.
And for what?
That’s right: a guy.
Yet again, all you have to do to land a prince is make a shady deal and change everything
about yourself.
Stranger Danger (Snow White, Alice in Wonderland) There used to be an old commercial whose message
was “if you don't know what it is, don't put it in your mouth”.
And we can think of a lot of circumstances where that advice applies.
But in the interest of keeping things PG, we’ll keep our examples family friendly.
Snow White eats a poison apple given to her by a stranger.
And then falls into a coma.
Alice ingests all sorts of funky stuff while in Wonderland.
And ends up on some psychedelic trip.
Don’t take food from strangers, and don’t drink from unmarked bottles.
It’s really just that simple.
Salmonella (The Princess and the Frog) The majority of entries on this list have
to to with issues of trust and morality.
But after the release of The Princess and the Frog, parents had a physical, real-world
problem on their hands.
It’s an old adage that “you’ve gotta kiss a few frogs before you find a prince”
except you’re not supposed to ACTUALLY kiss frogs.
Aside from just being gross, there’s a serious risk of illness when human lips touch the
bouncy creatures: salmonella.
Kids were allegedly so inspired by the movie’s touching tale that they headed out to smooch
their own swamp princes.
Most of them got diarrhea, and none of them found love.
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