This would explain why I had to do some ridiculous work arounds (piracy - in Minecraft) a while back in order to recover the ability to use *my* images that I'd had on Photobucket album. It literally went from them being visible to a "hosting error" overnight. They wanted a (ridiculous) fee for *everything* ranging from functional html links, "sharing", and resolution for download. I was just... welp, that was a neat decade or so, guess it's time to go to imgur. (While not *wise* I can understand wanting compensation for server space, but to try to charge *me* for *my* own images and photographs and with zero notice of a terms/policy change? I don't think so. Since D loves them so much, if they have an issue they can suck on my copyright.
I'm a theatre artist who mostly works in literary adaptations and Disney's abuse of copyright which is supposed to protect artists and make sure they're paid for their work is infuriating. There's a book I want to adapt but I'll never be able to because Disney owns the rights. There's already a film version of it but Disney won't let anyone else do anything creative with it. It's absurd. Shakespeare stole all his stories. I can't begin to imagine the amount of IP Disney is holding indefinitely and will never use. Especially as all they want to put out now is Marvel and Star Wars. Not only is creativity stifled but it stops the original author getting royalties for adaptations for stuff that never gets made.
@Louise E Disney would have paid less or not done the project at all without the exclusive rights. It's the author's work, and the author can sell the rights as the author sees fit.
@@allanrosenberg4773 the point is that there's no coherent reason for copyright should last the authors lifetime + 70 years, which Disney has definitely lobbied for
I got to see a videogame play last week because the developers gave their express approval... after being confused why they would be asked to begin with
Similarly, as close to Disney as an independent director can be, Stephen Spielberg owns the rights to Martin Luther King's speeches and refuses to let Black artists use them. He is also a staunch Zionist, and his opus, Schindler's List, ends with an Israeli war song, symbolizing the rewarding of the victims of a genocide with their own brand of ethno-nationalism, a terrible contortion of the lessons we should have taken from the Holocaust.
If you go to the Walt Disney family museum in San Francisco, they really try to rewrite history and focus on how hard the strike was on Walt and that Walt was some kind of superhero for coming around on the union. It was bizarre.
Great video, lots to learn. I was a Disney teen with an annual pass back when a middle class family could afford one, so I think this was a great way to honor and interrogate the whole enterprise.
Methinks he doth protest too much. Yes, this direct quote merely adds credence to the idea that he was ALWAYS the master of artifice, storytelling and controlling the narrative.
I finally get why Disney has negative appeal for me now. The sickly sweet sterilization of all-positivity all the-time was used to deny me the reality of my childhood; it wasn't a fantasy I concocted myself to deal with that cruelty.
Visited Disneyland this summer with my 14 year old. Third time for me, first for him. There were bitter and sweet moments. My last day I went on a concerted hunt for some sort of queer Disney gear after searching more casually. Store after store I got, "Huh. If we have some left over from Pride it will be over there." Vague hand wave to back of store. I gave up when an older lady looked me up and down and literally sneered, "We don't carry anything like that *here."* I still don't know if "here" was just that store or was meant to mean the entirety of Disneyland. It's important (even while enjoying the magic) to remember that the history Disney is rewriting is historically a white, cis, straight, middle class, Christian by default and able bodied history. Small, faltering, and often erroneous efforts have been made to expand that history to be more inclusive. But only because they *have* to, not because they want to.
Wow that was a comprehensive. You really managed to hit the marks you set yourself. A masterclass of the genre. I can't wait until Disney hire you as part of their big breadtube takeover.
This was excellent, also truly reading that sentence multiple times was a weird time. I just fucking can't with this exec being like "we want you to experience being a slave at our park" 🙃🙃🙃🙃
@@hootsyoutube Yep, it was also fun seeing which of the voices you'd choose. I really like that delivery though I don't even know what to call it I know its based in some voice from an old film I saw.
Awesome content, and I *really* dug your mentioning of Luxottica, as most people don't realize just HOW MUCH of that market they have managed to capture despite not being ruled as a monopoly which is baffling.
The obvious comparison to Lindsay Ellis I hope comes as a compliment. This is the first content that has scratched that itch, really well put together video on all levels. Well done.
For millennia people have used fantastic stories, myths featuring popular cultural figures (mainly being Gods and fabled heroes, who were more likely to be known by people from different cities and communities) to tell narratives that, while not strictly factual or historical, provide value as cultural touchstones that tell metaphorical truths about the human condition the way a given culture in a given time and place perceives it. There is value in fantasy and in narrative. The problem is when people take such a rich tradition that often shows the good *and* the bad of humanity, and sanitizes it for the sake of profit, as Disney has done for years.
Great video, especially the ending because it helped me understand my feelings about fantasy better. Watching fantasy movies or playing RPGs makes my inner child happy and I shouldn't feel guilty about it, regardless of the things that companies like Disney or Wizards of the Coast or Blizzard have done. But, that doesn't mean we should be oblivious to the things that these companies are doing. You don't have to always think about how abusive and controlling these big corporations are that make the stuff when you're interacting with it, but it doesn't mean it isn't important to know about it.
Not to sound weird but that last speech you gave had such a beautiful tone that it moved me. A sincerity to both your voice and the words said capture that feeling of hope amidst a crushing reality. Truly something I’ll have in my mind as time comes.
I wasn't a Disney kid (even if I grew up enjoying a lot of media which is now owned by the Disney corporation) but... damn, this hits right in the hiraeth. Good video.
Incredible, I felt like I was watching a new Lindsay Ellis video, it was so well written, researched and entertaining but with a Hoot of a style to it. Loving your videos!
02:25 part 1 Mythic Walt ______________________(Disney's history) 12:50 part 2 Disney and History _______________(Disney's depictions of history) 27:00 part 3 A Vertically Integrated Tomorrow _(Disney's bad) 36:45 part 4 In Defense of Fantasy ____________(Disney's good) 40:35 Credits
I don't even want to quote my favourite line here, because I want people to have it hit them when they get to that part of the video. That's when you know it's the good stuff.
Also grew up as a Disney Child, as did many of my friends. It was interesting and cringing to see how they reacted to PoC changing out the women auction. We end up creating what, we think, is "historically accurate" while ignoring all the other historically inaccurate parts of a Disney ride. Had a few middle and high school teachers who were sad the Disney America was scrapped, which is just a load of yikes. Then again, they also used Gone with the Wind to teach the civil war soooo they already whitewashed and told us a historically inaccurate and biased Amercain history.
I took my son to see Wish today and it hit all the same things you talk about here. It starts wonderfully, the music was fun and the message about abandoning your dreams as you age hit me where it hurts and then about halfway through the subtle bits of Disney homage became obvious, and then direct references to characters in film from old Disney products. It ends with Mickey fireworks and the swoop of sparkles over the castle and the credits show us characters from other Disney products. At least the live action movies were a plain and obvious play for money using nostalgia. This advertised to me as a new Disney musical fairytale that was made from scratch and it was so nice at the start. It serves me right for thinking that the current Disney company was capable of making the magic it used to for me.
Once again, a fantastic video. I think you're strongest quality with your videos is consistently your conclusions. The last 3 minutes of any video hit the hardest. Only note is that it needed more Brendan Fraser.
Sorry I'm late, but this was great. Its informative but hardly devoid of emotion, particularly a deep melancholy that acts as a counter weight to the infectious blind optimism of Disney. Well done!
I like when I can tell that someone genuinely cares about something they're critiquing in depth. While I've never been a Disney person, I know a good many people who find real comfort in visiting the parks and collecting Disneyana. Very few of them let their love for Disney things get in the way of thinking about how those things came to be and how they themselves are shaped by being fans. Thanks for making a thoughtful and enjoyable video.
We went to Disney world a million times as kids and I went back a bunch as an adult and I understand the feeling of walking through those gates. The more we learn about companies and work in general it’s usually not great. This is a smart and informative take on such an interesting part of people growing up on those big white plastic vhs behemoths lol, but it doesn’t overtly seek to destroy the lies of our childhood but eases us into the seat of awareness.
I never realized Big Fish was a Tim Burton film dang. There are way bigger takeaways from this video, but im just stuck on how I gotta go watch Big Fish again because my grandma absolutely loves that film (it was one of about 7 vhs tapes she owned). I didn’t get it as a kid but I want to go revisit it now
A week ago or something I had an argument with my dad over why I'm kind of over Disney and am not interested in just frivolously giving them more money (bc obviously me "boycotting" them is going to hurt their wallet so much), and basically my point was it's bad that they own basically everything, but I did not explain it very well. Maybe I can get him to watch this video, I don't think so, but in either case you've helped me formulate more clearly why it's bad. So thank you! Great video! Probably your best one so far!
I really appreciated this! I've been a Disney fan my whole life, but at least since I was 10 or 12, I've also been conflicted about it. You examined a lot of the conflicting feelings one can have about Disney. My feelings have been constantly evolving since then, as I've discovered new ways to appreciate Disney, and new ways to be horrified by Disney. I'm always in a state of cognitive dissonance, but sometimes it swings more in one direction or the other. For most of my life, I've been to Disneyland at least once a year, and some years many more times than that. (For about a decade, I was an Annual Passholder, back when that was still attainable by mere mortals.) Currently, I'm having my longest continuous streak of not going to Disneyland in my life. I think it's been about 5 years since I was last at Disneyland. Obviously part of that is due to the pandemic. But I think the Chapek era has been one of the times when I've been more disillusioned with Disney. Among other things, prices have gone up so much faster than inflation. I mean, Disney has never been subtle about its desire to separate us from our money, but during the Chapek era, it's taken on a whole new level. Although it's been decades since I've been to Walt Disney World, I'm also disappointed about what's been happening there (although really across all the Disney Parks across the world), in that all of the parks have been becoming more homogeneous. It used to be that each part had a theme, and an attraction in one park would seem completely out of place in a different park. Although each park still has a theme, now any attraction can be shoehorned into any park by stretching the theme. This is especially obvious at Epcot, but is happening at all the parks.
It's eerie. This video appeared on my feed after having a casual conversation with someone about things that shaped us despite their sordid undertones. You made me think of Stephen Fry's documentary on Wagner: there will always be an estranged romance and a slightly self-destructive relationship with the checkered past of the things we grew up loving. I like it here.
This video was fantastic and so so relatable for me. I'm also a leftist and also someone who spent most of his life relishing Disney stuff. We ought to be deeply critical of the corporation and its activities, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm still deeply inspired by the films and the artists and the "experience that's bigger than the self" vibe that the parks can often achieve. The last couple minutes of the video resonated with me for sure; optimism and dreams and, yes, even artifice are very much needed at times, and I don't think I would be as utopian in my leftist worldview these days if I hadn't spent so much of my childhood absorbing the "follow your dreams" themes of Disney media. After capitalism, many people will still desire something in their lives analogous to what Disney provides (that genre of films, theme parks, etc), just maybe with less individualism and consumerism.
One of the things I like about West Country accents becoming accepted as the pirate accent, is that you actually hear it on film. Its only pirates and often negatively depicted country folks. Its nice to actually hear something like it in any production. It's very rare to hear it spoken, even rarer again to hear it spoken properly.
It’s so weird because my mom is a Disney fanatic and I grew up watching movies like The Lion King, and Aladdin. and the more I learn about Walt Disney the more I just question everything I grew up watching. It really is strange.
I remember a Disney parade I saw which featured, among other characters, some of the army men from Toy Story. As part of their audience interaction they were leading a chant which included the phrase "when I say jump, you say how high." This was over a decade ago, perhaps. Down with King Mickey.
What an incredible video essay. Your channel (and this video) are so underrated, this deserves way more views because you can tell the high amount of effort that was put into to making it.
Might be my memory playing a trick on me, but I swear the version of Pirates III I saw kept that cut line in. I wonder if it was a regional thing, or if I am just tricking myself
32:15: But how can this be? Movie theaters have more screens than they did when my parents were kids! (I brought this fact up to my parents one night at dinner, and that was basically their counterargument. Ugh.)
Husband and I were talking about entertainment monopolies last night (we wanted to watch Spiderman Homecoming, but it wasn't on Disney+ because Sony) and he joked that Disney should just buy Sony too and I protested at first........but then I realized that since Sony bought Crunchyroll and Funimation, that that would make Sailor Moon and all other anime princesses Disney princesses and I felt conflicted. 🧐
Honest to God, I would watch an entire video essay breaking down Disney's depictions of pirates and especially their version of "Treasure Island". I feel like almost nobody even knows about the movie anymore, but it's been such a weirdly integral part of the way adventure movies continue to be made, to say nothing of the invention of "the Pirate Accent(TM)". You'd have to set aside whole chunks of time just to talk about Robert Newton and poor Bobby Driscoll (not-so-fun fact: Disney was in serious violation of England's child labor laws by bringing an American kid to film there who was still too young to get a permit--yet another way Driscoll got fucked over by them) and how the movie affected their lives and careers going forward. And I would eat it up with a spoon to hear you tell it. POTC feels like it's only the tip of the iceberg! XD
I was doing dishes and had videos playing in the background and had thought that somehow this was a Lindsay Ellis video I had somehow missed, I hope that this is taken as the compliment that I mean it as.
Hoots if you haven’t read the early 1970s Chilean book“How to read Donald Duck” you should, you could make an amazing video about what it talks about (basically Disney’s role in spreading American hegemony directly to the children of the global south)
wait... mandela effect moment... The "people aren't cargo" was a deleted scene? I could swear I saw that in the movie. And the number of people cpt Jack Sparrow freed was the number of souls Davey Jones' wanted as payment.
I find it very hard to articulate the incredible hatred I have for capitalism in the moments where I feel like this video made me feel. The longing for a world the likes of which a song from a Miyazaki movie promises turns instantly to anger at those who willfully prevent it from being built. How dare such a system continue to exist that so imbitters beauty?
Great essay as always. However, I had to be very active with the TV-remote, adjusting volume up when you were doing voiceover, then abruptly down by a lot when you were at Disney-land, with really loud and windy audio, lol.
just a silly sidenote about ‘pirate speak’ from someone who lives in ‘the west country’ in england- though it is obviously a bit exaggerated there areee quite a lot of people today who do talk like that. (including my dad when he gets particularly loud or passionate in a conversation haha) (edit just to fix a typo lmao)
Thanks for another fantastic video! I agree that that fantasy/narrative perspective is essential throughout a person's life. But I think it loses a lot of its usefulness when it comes down from above rather than from a person's own or a community's own imagination.
This video does a lot to explain the issues I have with Disney as a media entity. They are primarily a vacation and destination based company, the movies are just something they can theme their vacation stuff with and serve as advertisements, but their commercial art has grown to the point of chocking out so much other stuff. People only have so much psychic headspace in which to keep things, only so much time and money, why would they try independent material that might be good when they can watch a Disney product that will at the very least be okay and play on what they already like?
The Disney stuff is so interesting to me. I liked the cat movies but as a kid who was afraid of 1 costumed characters 2 puppets 3 upclose magic going there was not on the table even tho we lived close 😅
This was a well-done an informative video. It probably would have gotten me in the feels if I had any feels for anything related to Disney that didn't range from loathing to rage. The ending reminded me of the comic "Saviors" in The Matrix Comics Volume 2. So, I'm sorry in advance, Little Hitch - I mean - Hoot. One big thing that didn't get mentioned that kind of scares me is that Walt Disney was a eugenicist who was a Nazi sympathizer until it hurt his pocket book. Also, Disney's idyllicism came with a lot of racism. That quote about New Orleans (remember how white washed "Princess and the Frog" was?) in reference to Disney Land (whichever one Walt lived to see) and the theme park certainly being a lot cleaner: that was probably a reference to a lack of black folks. Don't believe me? Song of the South.
I was not a Disney kid. My parents were older when they had me, and they both grew up before Disney had taken over family entertainment. So while we certainly watched Disney films, I have never been to the parks, nor did I own a pair of mouse ears, and my parents refused to even buy shirts and backpacks laden with princesses for me. But still... I'm a Star Wars nerd, my brother and I grew up watching Marvel together, and we watched Disney buy those things out and build parks. Then X-Men and Spider-man. It's been weird? To watch The Mouse take over things like this and have it feel alien to me. And I wish it wouldn't. But I still wish I could have experienced the magic when I was a kid.
"antebellum South"? From Wikipedia: "The film takes place in the U.S. state of Georgia during the Reconstruction era, a period of American history after the end of the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery."
14:28 if we can invent time travel then we have a moral obligation to undo all of history, and If I have to do it personally in the future myself for everyone's sake then I will, all evil history must metaphorically burn
I literally spat out my drink upon learning that Disney owns both GoPro and Photobucket
This would explain why I had to do some ridiculous work arounds (piracy - in Minecraft) a while back in order to recover the ability to use *my* images that I'd had on Photobucket album.
It literally went from them being visible to a "hosting error" overnight. They wanted a (ridiculous) fee for *everything* ranging from functional html links, "sharing", and resolution for download.
I was just... welp, that was a neat decade or so, guess it's time to go to imgur.
(While not *wise* I can understand wanting compensation for server space, but to try to charge *me* for *my* own images and photographs and with zero notice of a terms/policy change? I don't think so.
Since D loves them so much, if they have an issue they can suck on my copyright.
Mygod😅
I'm a theatre artist who mostly works in literary adaptations and Disney's abuse of copyright which is supposed to protect artists and make sure they're paid for their work is infuriating. There's a book I want to adapt but I'll never be able to because Disney owns the rights. There's already a film version of it but Disney won't let anyone else do anything creative with it. It's absurd. Shakespeare stole all his stories. I can't begin to imagine the amount of IP Disney is holding indefinitely and will never use. Especially as all they want to put out now is Marvel and Star Wars. Not only is creativity stifled but it stops the original author getting royalties for adaptations for stuff that never gets made.
@Louise E Disney would have paid less or not done the project at all without the exclusive rights. It's the author's work, and the author can sell the rights as the author sees fit.
@@allanrosenberg4773 the point is that there's no coherent reason for copyright should last the authors lifetime + 70 years, which Disney has definitely lobbied for
I got to see a videogame play last week because the developers gave their express approval... after being confused why they would be asked to begin with
what book?
Similarly, as close to Disney as an independent director can be, Stephen Spielberg owns the rights to Martin Luther King's speeches and refuses to let Black artists use them.
He is also a staunch Zionist, and his opus, Schindler's List, ends with an Israeli war song, symbolizing the rewarding of the victims of a genocide with their own brand of ethno-nationalism, a terrible contortion of the lessons we should have taken from the Holocaust.
If you go to the Walt Disney family museum in San Francisco, they really try to rewrite history and focus on how hard the strike was on Walt and that Walt was some kind of superhero for coming around on the union. It was bizarre.
Oof. He was not a sympathetic in that situation, even from an anti-unionist's perspective. He very nearly drove his car into the crowd.
Great video, lots to learn. I was a Disney teen with an annual pass back when a middle class family could afford one, so I think this was a great way to honor and interrogate the whole enterprise.
Good to hear your sultry tones in this one, as well!
"I don't have depressed moods and I don't want to have any. I'm happy, just very, very happy."
Sure thing, buddy.
Methinks he doth protest too much. Yes, this direct quote merely adds credence to the idea that he was ALWAYS the master of artifice, storytelling and controlling the narrative.
I finally get why Disney has negative appeal for me now. The sickly sweet sterilization of all-positivity all the-time was used to deny me the reality of my childhood; it wasn't a fantasy I concocted myself to deal with that cruelty.
Disney's America sounds like a layer of Hell.
"yu gi oh is like a disney version of magic the gathering"
i'm dying
Visited Disneyland this summer with my 14 year old. Third time for me, first for him. There were bitter and sweet moments. My last day I went on a concerted hunt for some sort of queer Disney gear after searching more casually. Store after store I got, "Huh. If we have some left over from Pride it will be over there." Vague hand wave to back of store. I gave up when an older lady looked me up and down and literally sneered, "We don't carry anything like that *here."* I still don't know if "here" was just that store or was meant to mean the entirety of Disneyland.
It's important (even while enjoying the magic) to remember that the history Disney is rewriting is historically a white, cis, straight, middle class, Christian by default and able bodied history. Small, faltering, and often erroneous efforts have been made to expand that history to be more inclusive. But only because they *have* to, not because they want to.
Wow that was a comprehensive. You really managed to hit the marks you set yourself. A masterclass of the genre. I can't wait until Disney hire you as part of their big breadtube takeover.
This was excellent, also truly reading that sentence multiple times was a weird time. I just fucking can't with this exec being like "we want you to experience being a slave at our park" 🙃🙃🙃🙃
I want to know what he mean't by the Underground Railroad comment. I just know in my heart someone pitched it as a ride.
@@hootsyoutube guess colson whitehead wasn’t the only one to think, “what if the Underground Railroad was a real train, under the ground?”
@@hootsyoutube Yep, it was also fun seeing which of the voices you'd choose. I really like that delivery though I don't even know what to call it I know its based in some voice from an old film I saw.
@@Aranock you gave me so much to choose from 😂
oompa loompa doopity doo
Such an adorable lady with a wonderful voice.
"There's a flicker of optimism that can't be snuffed...."
See, that's why Disney can do what they do. They know that people will keep coming back.
Awesome content, and I *really* dug your mentioning of Luxottica, as most people don't realize just HOW MUCH of that market they have managed to capture despite not being ruled as a monopoly which is baffling.
I truly resent them. Glasses are so expensive and... you need them???
The obvious comparison to Lindsay Ellis I hope comes as a compliment. This is the first content that has scratched that itch, really well put together video on all levels. Well done.
"Yu-Gi-Oh is like a Disney version of Magic the Gathering." ...The dubbed version, maybe.
For millennia people have used fantastic stories, myths featuring popular cultural figures (mainly being Gods and fabled heroes, who were more likely to be known by people from different cities and communities) to tell narratives that, while not strictly factual or historical, provide value as cultural touchstones that tell metaphorical truths about the human condition the way a given culture in a given time and place perceives it. There is value in fantasy and in narrative. The problem is when people take such a rich tradition that often shows the good *and* the bad of humanity, and sanitizes it for the sake of profit, as Disney has done for years.
Great video, especially the ending because it helped me understand my feelings about fantasy better. Watching fantasy movies or playing RPGs makes my inner child happy and I shouldn't feel guilty about it, regardless of the things that companies like Disney or Wizards of the Coast or Blizzard have done. But, that doesn't mean we should be oblivious to the things that these companies are doing. You don't have to always think about how abusive and controlling these big corporations are that make the stuff when you're interacting with it, but it doesn't mean it isn't important to know about it.
which is why pirating their media is ethical af
Not to sound weird but that last speech you gave had such a beautiful tone that it moved me. A sincerity to both your voice and the words said capture that feeling of hope amidst a crushing reality. Truly something I’ll have in my mind as time comes.
I wasn't a Disney kid (even if I grew up enjoying a lot of media which is now owned by the Disney corporation) but... damn, this hits right in the hiraeth.
Good video.
Incredible, I felt like I was watching a new Lindsay Ellis video, it was so well written, researched and entertaining but with a Hoot of a style to it. Loving your videos!
02:25 part 1 Mythic Walt ______________________(Disney's history)
12:50 part 2 Disney and History _______________(Disney's depictions of history)
27:00 part 3 A Vertically Integrated Tomorrow _(Disney's bad)
36:45 part 4 In Defense of Fantasy ____________(Disney's good)
40:35 Credits
I don't even want to quote my favourite line here, because I want people to have it hit them when they get to that part of the video. That's when you know it's the good stuff.
Also grew up as a Disney Child, as did many of my friends. It was interesting and cringing to see how they reacted to PoC changing out the women auction. We end up creating what, we think, is "historically accurate" while ignoring all the other historically inaccurate parts of a Disney ride.
Had a few middle and high school teachers who were sad the Disney America was scrapped, which is just a load of yikes. Then again, they also used Gone with the Wind to teach the civil war soooo they already whitewashed and told us a historically inaccurate and biased Amercain history.
Anyonr caught teaching with Gone With the Wind (unless the topic has to do with the effects of propaganda) should lose their license.
@@justinwatson1510 Well that teacher ain't teaching anymore, he became a counselor at my my MS and HS
@@mehlover somehow that is worse. I didn't know I was making a wish with the monkey paw
@@justinwatson1510 Dude's still working there over a decade later. That monkey's paw finger curled and all that's left is the middle finger
Such a fantastic video! Very happy I got to lend my voice for this one.
I took my son to see Wish today and it hit all the same things you talk about here. It starts wonderfully, the music was fun and the message about abandoning your dreams as you age hit me where it hurts and then about halfway through the subtle bits of Disney homage became obvious, and then direct references to characters in film from old Disney products. It ends with Mickey fireworks and the swoop of sparkles over the castle and the credits show us characters from other Disney products. At least the live action movies were a plain and obvious play for money using nostalgia. This advertised to me as a new Disney musical fairytale that was made from scratch and it was so nice at the start. It serves me right for thinking that the current Disney company was capable of making the magic it used to for me.
Love the vocalized versions of classic Disney tunes. Recognized each one, and the way magical way they made me feel, right away. Great video
Once again, a fantastic video. I think you're strongest quality with your videos is consistently your conclusions. The last 3 minutes of any video hit the hardest.
Only note is that it needed more Brendan Fraser.
Thank you! I always find conclusions difficult so I appreciate that!
Sorry I'm late, but this was great. Its informative but hardly devoid of emotion, particularly a deep melancholy that acts as a counter weight to the infectious blind optimism of Disney. Well done!
I like when I can tell that someone genuinely cares about something they're critiquing in depth. While I've never been a Disney person, I know a good many people who find real comfort in visiting the parks and collecting Disneyana. Very few of them let their love for Disney things get in the way of thinking about how those things came to be and how they themselves are shaped by being fans.
Thanks for making a thoughtful and enjoyable video.
We went to Disney world a million times as kids and I went back a bunch as an adult and I understand the feeling of walking through those gates. The more we learn about companies and work in general it’s usually not great. This is a smart and informative take on such an interesting part of people growing up on those big white plastic vhs behemoths lol, but it doesn’t overtly seek to destroy the lies of our childhood but eases us into the seat of awareness.
I never realized Big Fish was a Tim Burton film dang. There are way bigger takeaways from this video, but im just stuck on how I gotta go watch Big Fish again because my grandma absolutely loves that film (it was one of about 7 vhs tapes she owned). I didn’t get it as a kid but I want to go revisit it now
A week ago or something I had an argument with my dad over why I'm kind of over Disney and am not interested in just frivolously giving them more money (bc obviously me "boycotting" them is going to hurt their wallet so much), and basically my point was it's bad that they own basically everything, but I did not explain it very well. Maybe I can get him to watch this video, I don't think so, but in either case you've helped me formulate more clearly why it's bad. So thank you! Great video! Probably your best one so far!
I'm so in love with your storytelling. Incredible video!
"once" critically acclaimed series. single punch tko, stunning.
I really appreciated this! I've been a Disney fan my whole life, but at least since I was 10 or 12, I've also been conflicted about it. You examined a lot of the conflicting feelings one can have about Disney.
My feelings have been constantly evolving since then, as I've discovered new ways to appreciate Disney, and new ways to be horrified by Disney. I'm always in a state of cognitive dissonance, but sometimes it swings more in one direction or the other.
For most of my life, I've been to Disneyland at least once a year, and some years many more times than that. (For about a decade, I was an Annual Passholder, back when that was still attainable by mere mortals.) Currently, I'm having my longest continuous streak of not going to Disneyland in my life. I think it's been about 5 years since I was last at Disneyland. Obviously part of that is due to the pandemic. But I think the Chapek era has been one of the times when I've been more disillusioned with Disney. Among other things, prices have gone up so much faster than inflation. I mean, Disney has never been subtle about its desire to separate us from our money, but during the Chapek era, it's taken on a whole new level.
Although it's been decades since I've been to Walt Disney World, I'm also disappointed about what's been happening there (although really across all the Disney Parks across the world), in that all of the parks have been becoming more homogeneous. It used to be that each part had a theme, and an attraction in one park would seem completely out of place in a different park. Although each park still has a theme, now any attraction can be shoehorned into any park by stretching the theme. This is especially obvious at Epcot, but is happening at all the parks.
It's eerie. This video appeared on my feed after having a casual conversation with someone about things that shaped us despite their sordid undertones.
You made me think of Stephen Fry's documentary on Wagner: there will always be an estranged romance and a slightly self-destructive relationship with the checkered past of the things we grew up loving.
I like it here.
This video was fantastic and so so relatable for me. I'm also a leftist and also someone who spent most of his life relishing Disney stuff. We ought to be deeply critical of the corporation and its activities, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm still deeply inspired by the films and the artists and the "experience that's bigger than the self" vibe that the parks can often achieve.
The last couple minutes of the video resonated with me for sure; optimism and dreams and, yes, even artifice are very much needed at times, and I don't think I would be as utopian in my leftist worldview these days if I hadn't spent so much of my childhood absorbing the "follow your dreams" themes of Disney media. After capitalism, many people will still desire something in their lives analogous to what Disney provides (that genre of films, theme parks, etc), just maybe with less individualism and consumerism.
"Yu-Gi-Oh is like a Disney version of Magic the Gathering" made me laugh more than it probably should have lmfao
One of the things I like about West Country accents becoming accepted as the pirate accent, is that you actually hear it on film. Its only pirates and often negatively depicted country folks. Its nice to actually hear something like it in any production. It's very rare to hear it spoken, even rarer again to hear it spoken properly.
It’s so weird because my mom is a Disney fanatic and I grew up watching movies like The Lion King, and Aladdin. and the more I learn about Walt Disney the more I just question everything I grew up watching. It really is strange.
I remember a Disney parade I saw which featured, among other characters, some of the army men from Toy Story. As part of their audience interaction they were leading a chant which included the phrase "when I say jump, you say how high." This was over a decade ago, perhaps. Down with King Mickey.
What an incredible video essay. Your channel (and this video) are so underrated, this deserves way more views because you can tell the high amount of effort that was put into to making it.
It is beautiful to recognize the good in the heart of evil, just as it is just to recognize the evil in the heart of the good. Thanks.
This was incredible, thank you! Your writing is truly excellent.
Not finished, very cool video so far, but dang, my ears are exploding from hearing you after turning it up for that dang dad’s quote reads
Might be my memory playing a trick on me, but I swear the version of Pirates III I saw kept that cut line in. I wonder if it was a regional thing, or if I am just tricking myself
the ending of this made me cry i absolutely love ur channel
Loved when you said that the company who taught you to believe in triumph of good over evil might be the evil 😳
That ending song. Imma go cry into my cat now.
Careful not to have an allergic reaction…like I just did
32:15: But how can this be? Movie theaters have more screens than they did when my parents were kids!
(I brought this fact up to my parents one night at dinner, and that was basically their counterargument. Ugh.)
This is yet another great video essay by you. Thanks for making me a part of it!
Thanks for being a part of it!
I love how you sing the songs. Truly lovely.i guess it's because of copyright but it makes it so much better
Your vocal transitions are so beautiful ❤️🎶🎵
I can't with these transitions. Each one gets more batshit than the last, but the tone is still chipper.
29:20 LOL, Hoots, to the DOJ, "Honey, . . ."
Weird thing to note I know but your humming is very soothing 😂 This is a fantastic video, as all of your content is!
this was a really great look at how disney adults can interrogate their passion for the mouse, thank you!
This was phenomenal. What an incredible analysis!!!
amazing video hoots!! 👏🏼👏🏼
Husband and I were talking about entertainment monopolies last night (we wanted to watch Spiderman Homecoming, but it wasn't on Disney+ because Sony) and he joked that Disney should just buy Sony too and I protested at first........but then I realized that since Sony bought Crunchyroll and Funimation, that that would make Sailor Moon and all other anime princesses Disney princesses and I felt conflicted. 🧐
I'm still waiting for Disney to officially recognize Princess Leia as a Disney Princess.
at least disney+ will be tax funded once the disney corporation functionally replaces the US government
Mickey being gray is not controversial, he's canonically Walt's avatar...
10:39 - holy crap... I knew that was apocryphal, but I didn't know it came from the Disney apothecary! Oy!
Honest to God, I would watch an entire video essay breaking down Disney's depictions of pirates and especially their version of "Treasure Island". I feel like almost nobody even knows about the movie anymore, but it's been such a weirdly integral part of the way adventure movies continue to be made, to say nothing of the invention of "the Pirate Accent(TM)". You'd have to set aside whole chunks of time just to talk about Robert Newton and poor Bobby Driscoll (not-so-fun fact: Disney was in serious violation of England's child labor laws by bringing an American kid to film there who was still too young to get a permit--yet another way Driscoll got fucked over by them) and how the movie affected their lives and careers going forward. And I would eat it up with a spoon to hear you tell it. POTC feels like it's only the tip of the iceberg! XD
I was doing dishes and had videos playing in the background and had thought that somehow this was a Lindsay Ellis video I had somehow missed, I hope that this is taken as the compliment that I mean it as.
Hoots if you haven’t read the early 1970s Chilean book“How to read Donald Duck” you should, you could make an amazing video about what it talks about (basically Disney’s role in spreading American hegemony directly to the children of the global south)
During the battle at Manassas, spectators came to watch for fun.
wait... mandela effect moment...
The "people aren't cargo" was a deleted scene? I could swear I saw that in the movie.
And the number of people cpt Jack Sparrow freed was the number of souls Davey Jones' wanted as payment.
I find it very hard to articulate the incredible hatred I have for capitalism in the moments where I feel like this video made me feel. The longing for a world the likes of which a song from a Miyazaki movie promises turns instantly to anger at those who willfully prevent it from being built.
How dare such a system continue to exist that so imbitters beauty?
Just discovered this Hoots and watching all videos now. Impressive woman.
Great essay as always. However, I had to be very active with the TV-remote, adjusting volume up when you were doing voiceover, then abruptly down by a lot when you were at Disney-land, with really loud and windy audio, lol.
Amazing video, you are filling the lindsey ellis sized hole in my life😌
just a silly sidenote about ‘pirate speak’ from someone who lives in ‘the west country’ in england- though it is obviously a bit exaggerated there areee quite a lot of people today who do talk like that. (including my dad when he gets particularly loud or passionate in a conversation haha)
(edit just to fix a typo lmao)
pirates attending an AA meeting and asking the villagers forgiveness sounds like a bit that's gonna happen in S2 of Our Flag Means Death hahahahaha
36:40 I got chills
wow... so delicately handled... also your humming is sublime
The pirate accent is an exaggeration of a Cornish accent, and a lot of English pirates were in fact from southwest England.
Yes, like Blackbeard
Currently binging your channel but I just had to stop to say your singing is lovely! 🥹
Thanks for another fantastic video!
I agree that that fantasy/narrative perspective is essential throughout a person's life. But I think it loses a lot of its usefulness when it comes down from above rather than from a person's own or a community's own imagination.
Thank you. This was terrifying. Keep em coming.
This video does a lot to explain the issues I have with Disney as a media entity.
They are primarily a vacation and destination based company, the movies are just something they can theme their vacation stuff with and serve as advertisements, but their commercial art has grown to the point of chocking out so much other stuff.
People only have so much psychic headspace in which to keep things, only so much time and money, why would they try independent material that might be good when they can watch a Disney product that will at the very least be okay and play on what they already like?
this was so good i think i'll watch it again
The Disney stuff is so interesting to me. I liked the cat movies but as a kid who was afraid of 1 costumed characters 2 puppets 3 upclose magic going there was not on the table even tho we lived close 😅
This was a well-done an informative video. It probably would have gotten me in the feels if I had any feels for anything related to Disney that didn't range from loathing to rage.
The ending reminded me of the comic "Saviors" in The Matrix Comics Volume 2. So, I'm sorry in advance, Little Hitch - I mean - Hoot.
One big thing that didn't get mentioned that kind of scares me is that Walt Disney was a eugenicist who was a Nazi sympathizer until it hurt his pocket book. Also, Disney's idyllicism came with a lot of racism. That quote about New Orleans (remember how white washed "Princess and the Frog" was?) in reference to Disney Land (whichever one Walt lived to see) and the theme park certainly being a lot cleaner: that was probably a reference to a lack of black folks. Don't believe me? Song of the South.
I was not a Disney kid. My parents were older when they had me, and they both grew up before Disney had taken over family entertainment. So while we certainly watched Disney films, I have never been to the parks, nor did I own a pair of mouse ears, and my parents refused to even buy shirts and backpacks laden with princesses for me. But still... I'm a Star Wars nerd, my brother and I grew up watching Marvel together, and we watched Disney buy those things out and build parks. Then X-Men and Spider-man. It's been weird? To watch The Mouse take over things like this and have it feel alien to me. And I wish it wouldn't. But I still wish I could have experienced the magic when I was a kid.
Oh my word your content is amazing. Your incredible at making video essays 😮
Loved the vid. Gave me Lindsay Ellis video essay vibes.
A wonderful video! Thank you for making this!
23:01 "Donald: grey" I laughed out loud
Love it! Great job!
"antebellum South"? From Wikipedia: "The film takes place in the U.S. state of Georgia during the Reconstruction era, a period of American history after the end of the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery."
Goofy would be Blue but Pluto Gray
Damn girl! You have me emotional!! 😭😭😭
4:06 CESAR ROMERO!!!!!? MY FAV ACTOR IN A VIDEO ABOUT DISNEY?? What a nice surprise!!!!! He was in a lot of Disney projects in the 1970s
It's amazing how people with seemingly little knowledge of history, are the always the loudest ones to claim we shouldn't erase it.
Thank you for a lovely video!
All hail the Algorithm
"Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse shouldn't teach kids history, but neither should schools cause that's CRT"
Great essay. Saw this because of Aranock.
14:28 if we can invent time travel then we have a moral obligation to undo all of history, and If I have to do it personally in the future myself for everyone's sake then I will, all evil history must metaphorically burn