Let's talk Muppets.
Muppets are a fond memory of my childhood. Be it Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, or Fraggle Rock, it's hard to find any faults in the funny felt figures. Well, except for Elmo. Did you ever notice how the number of people diagnosed with A.D.D. quadrupled after that jackhole was introduced? But this isn't about Elmo. Instead it's about a mouse and his kingdom violating a childhood institution.
It all starts with a commercial. It's a scene of your favorite Muppets cavorting around Disneyland/World/Euro/Dungeon. And that is wrong. If you didn't know, Disney bought the Muppets back in 2004. But it's only been recently that they have been exploited to sell the virtues of Disney. And that should say a lot about Disney when the product can't sell itself.
I've always had some issues with Disney. Yes, as a kid I liked Mickey. Or at least until the age of 5. Then I discovered the Muppet Show and Warner Brothers much more interesting Bugs Bunny and friends. Has Disney done good things? Yes. It introduced such radical concepts such as the first bi-polar cartoon character in Donald Duck as well as all his relatives and peers who would make up the universe of Duck Tales. Disney introduced a science fiction movie called the Black Hole which was far from kid friendly and that made it awesome. And lastly they pushed other animation studios and children's outlets to put out much better product then them.
So why hate Disney? I'll give you 3 reasons:
#1: The Princess Mentality. If there is one thing that I always thought was shady on Disney's part and that is the pushing of the Princess Mentality. What is that, you ask? The majority of Disney's animated movie works focused on one common theme: Women can't do shit unless there is someone there to bail them out. Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid...they all fuel a mentality of weak female independence. And ultimately it fuels a mentality in the young girls who look up to these woman as role models that they need to be saved. The first of the 3 movies I listed above were made in a time when it was ok for guys to be douchy and women better know their place. These movies didn't help the women's movement at all and I feel are something that stunts the growth of woman in general. But, hey, that could just be me.
#2: Disney the Whore Factory. Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus, Lindsey Lohan and so on......it's hard to argue that Disney has the ability to make huge stars out of young women. But what they truly suck at is taking responsibility for them creating monsters and then cutting them loose once they outlive their usefulness. Now I will agree that not all of this is on Disney. 3 of the 4 aboves parents are perhaps some of the most manipulative and enabling parent around. But Disney has often been hypocritical of not nurturing their talent and letting them get to the destructive point. And then once their talent does implode, only then does Disney take a moral stance and say "YOU ARE NAUGHTY!" and then distance themselves from them, well after they have wrung every last cent of profit from them. Exploitation at it's worst.
And #3: Mickey is boring as hell. Seriously. Watch any of his cartoons and try your best to not be bored to tears. Mickey has always been a cypher. His character only exists to fill whatever role that needs to be filled by Disney. Mickey is much like a stereotyped model in the sense that he's cute to look at but if you talk to him for longer then 10 minutes you realize that there is nothing there. I have always thought that Mickey pales greatly in comparison to Bugs Bunny. When you see Bugs, you know he is a funny, mischievous character. He has identity, which can't be said for Mickey.
So going back to their recent use of the Muppets, it easily makes me realize that even Disney realizes that their own product is weak. Disney movies are only entertaining if Pixar has a hand in it. Their live TV is only good until their young stars learn about blow. And their former bread and butter of it's characters needs to be pimped by much more interesting intellectual properties.
And in the end, something funny and charming ends up feeling hollow and prostituted.
And that makes me sad.
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I tend to agree with you on most of your points. I would say on the princess mentality though that it is more a product of the fairy tales themselves. Most of the ones that have that problem are pre-existing fairy tales that Disney is merely adapting for a larger audience. I could be mistaken because I haven't seen the newer Disney created princesses such as Mulan and Pocahontas, but it seems to me at least that they are more of a positive role model and not quite as needy as the adapted princesses. Like I said though I could be wrong having not personally seen them.
ReplyDeleteI think you are totally correct in thinking that Disney lately has relied to much on outside forces for it's success. Studios such as Pixar are responsible for it's biggest hits lately. Remember back when Pixar was going to become it's own movie making studio? Disney freaked out and bought them because they new they couldn't compete with them.
I think that for the most part Disney survives on nostalgia. People love it because of what they used to be more than what they are now. Mickey will always carry the company because of the warm fuzzies that he gives people. The sad thing is that it will probably continue that way long after we are gone.
As with any corporation, they're going to swill crap to the millions of consumers who don't know any better. It's the marketing of the masses. The recycle waste and people keep taking it from them. Every once in a while they do put out some quality product.
ReplyDeleteEmperor's New Groove - best Disney movie ever.
I have to admit that I'm looking forward to seeing the Princess and the Frog. It reminds me of the movies they were putting out when I was growing up - Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Lion King. There was a good run there followed by a bunch of inane rubbish.
But, your right about Mickey and I'd lump most of the main Disney characters into the Static character category. Give me some WB Animaniacs and Daffy Duck any day.
Any of you have daughters? Have any of you even watch these movies? Being that I have a daughter, I have. Ariel actually bails out Eric, and Belle helps the beast as well,so, in my opinion your theory is flawed on the helpless women who need a man to bail the out. LITTLE GIRLS LOVE IT BECAUSE IT IS FANTASY. They are useing their imagination. I would rather have my daughter watch these movies then watch the evening news. I just took my daughter th Disney Princesses on Ice and she loved it. You should have seen all of the little girls dressed up as there favorite princess. It was adorable. why not let them have fun and use their imagination? And why is it that if a business is marketing something popular it is an "evil corprate" thing? If you wrote a book that became extremly popular wouldn't you sign with a bigger publisher to get your product out there? Is that not the American Dream? When does it become an Evil corprate thing? It is a business trying to make money. Disney may have its issues, but they also donate millions of dollars, and employ hundreds of thousands Americans. I would definatly agree with the Spears, Lohan thing, but I guess I would hold the parents accountable, not Disney. It truly is a shame that these young woman are chewed up and spit out. They are lost and need help, and that should be from the parents, and it isn't.
ReplyDeleteWB does rock though, and I love Taz. Much better that Mickey...