I have done the usual thing of introducing my daughters to Disney movies, mostly in the name of parental nostalgia. After all, I grew up on them and loved them. This has resulted in no small amount of slapping my head and muttering, “Doh!”
Peter Pan is one of the Disney movies that I haven’t seen in some 15 – 20 years. I was surprised about a few things that I don’t remember.
Number 1: Tinkerbell is a real bitch. How did I not remember this? My daughters idolize this little green flying rat to a ridiculous degree. I don’t want my daughter looking to a bitchy little fairy as something to be admired! If you look at the subsequent Disney bids for more money off the Tinkerbell craze (read Tinkerbell 2, 3 4, etc.) Tinkerbell is a very nice, sweet, innocent little girl who bears no resemblance to her nasty, scheming, conniving fairy Grandmother.
Number 2: American Indian country in Neverland. What the hell? Really. WTF. My brain is exploding right this second. Alright Walt. We need to have a little sit down. This is a what, 1950’s movie? How in the world was this ok? I cannot imagine a more stereotyped, negative depiction of American Indians. We censor the WORD “tits” and this goes without an uproar? I don’t remember this being a big deal when I was growing up. In fact, I honestly forgot all about the American Indian angle altogether. Perhaps it was because when I was growing up in the 80’s, cowboys and Indians was an acceptable game. You know, before we sanitized everything with a thick layer of PC righteousness. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with the way Disney made the move, I’m just a little surprised that the PC/religious right Nazis didn’t get all up in arms. I’ve seen quite a few less offensive things get people all hot under the collar.
As a side note, does anyone else notice the dissonance of British children having dreams of cowboys and Indians?
Becky
