Monday, January 09, 2006

Disney and Sex, Witchcraft, Killing, and More!

Disney and Sex, Witchcraft, Killing, and More!

Even the G-rated stuff has slipped away from us, culturally speaking. Here's my capsule review of Disney's "The Little Mermaid":

"A heart-warming tale of black magic and interspecies dating, in which a scantily clad 16 year old mermaid defies the warnings of her father to pursue a romantic relationship with an attractive man who she has seen but never met. Though shy at first, with the help of a witch the mermaid is able to exchange her most prized possession for the ability to conform to the prevailing standard of beauty and to use sexual appeal to land her man. The movie culminates in a rousing fight to the death between the man and the witch, in which hundreds of people drown and the witch is finally impaled and killed. The mermaid happily achieves her goal of leaving her father and marrying the stranger."

"Beauty and the Beast" is similar:

"A heart-warming tale of black magic and interspecies dating, in which an attractive young girl is pursued romantically by an enchanted monster. Movie highlights include our heroine fleeing a pack of ravenous wolves through a forest at night, her father being beaten up by ruffians in a tavern, her being imprisoned forever in a haunted castle, an ongoing series of threats and angry displays of temper, and much more. The movie ends spectacularly with an extended midnight knife fight to the death between the beast and an evil human on the roof of the magic castle."

Where's Mary Poppins when we need her?

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