George Monbiot writes in The Guardian: “Walt Disney’s characters are sinister because they encourage us, like those marchers, to promote the hegemony of the corporations even when we have no intention of doing so. He captured a deep stream of human consciousness, branded it and, when we were too young to understand the implications, sold it back to us. Comcast’s hostile takeover bid suggests that the power of his company to seize our imaginations is declining. A giant media corporation may be about to become even bigger, but if the attack means that Disney is losing its ability to shape the minds of the world’s children, this is something we should celebrate.”

As a parent, I largely agree with Monbiot about Disney iconography’s insidious grip. American children and, increasingly, those of the rest of the world, are supposed to march in lockstep to the beat of the latest Disney formulaic blockbuster, devotion to whose characters is then cemented by the latest premiums with MacDonald’s Happy Meals, clothing and action figure product lines and, most beguiling to my way of thinking, insipid books that fill the children’s sections of the bookstores and choke out legitimate children’s picture books. (If you don’t have children and don’t believe me, take a stroll through the children’s section the next time you visit your local bookstore. You do remember bookstores, don’t you? They are still a large part of my village’s life…) I have been nauseated by the stultifying influence of this Disnifornication on the interior landscapes of the children I see, and attempt to steer my children to less mental chainstore junkfood in their entertainment choices. Just today a thoughtful co-worker asked me if our family had “done Disney” yet and had a difficult time with my indications that this was, to say the least, not a priority for us anytime in this life…

I am dubious about Monbiot’s anticipation of a loosening of the grip, however, over and above the fact that the Comcast bid appears to have failed for now. The Pixar features Disney distributed were the only creative stimulating breaths of fresh air in their panoply. Now that Pixar has dropped Disney, look for more stultification.