Disney accused of going woke in casting new ‘Snow White’
‘MediaBuzz’ host Howard Kurtz weighs in on Disney’s controversial casting for the ‘Snow White’ remake on ‘The Story with Martha MacCallum.’
Disney has abandoned its priorities of making family-friendly entertainment to "curry favor with the cultural left," a Wall Street Journal opinion piece argued, and is losing millions in the process.
Disney's latest live-action remake "illustrates" how the company has "elevated progressive pieties over originality and tradition, which may be alienating its customer base," editorial board member Allysia Finley wrote. Set photos from the studio's upcoming remake of the 1937 classic "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" went viral earlier this month, revealing the studio had recast Snow White as a Latina actress and the dwarves as "magical creatures" of various races, heights and genders to "avoid reinforcing stereotypes."
"There’s nothing wrong with casting a diverse crew, but Disney is refashioning a classic fairy tale merely to virtue signal," Finley wrote.
DISNEY BACKTRACKS CLAIM THAT PHOTOS OF NEW ‘POLITICALLY CORRECT’ SNOW WHITE MOVIE WERE ‘FAKE’
A photo from Disney's upcoming live-action Snow White. ((Screenshot/ Gutfeld!))
Beyond diversity casting, Disney has also stirred controversy by adding LGBTQ romance themes to films like "Lightyear" and "Strange World," both of which have performed poorly at the box office.
While the company has lost $659 million across its streaming platforms in its most recent quarter, it could be taking advantage of its built-in audience of families seeking age-appropriate content, she argued.
"Disney’s classic options and audience base gives it an advantage over other streaming services. Parents are willing to pay a premium for content that is entertaining, educational and, most important, age-appropriate. They don’t want to have to screen shows and movies before showing them to their kids," the opinion piece read.
Instead, the company has chosen to browbeat parents with woke messages to "curry favor with the cultural left."
She knocked how Disney now puts disclaimers before its animated classics like "Dumbo," "Peter Pan" and "Jungle Book" on its Disney+ streaming service, warning viewers the films include "negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures" that "were wrong then and are wrong now."
An indigenous actress starring in Disney's new "Peter Pan" reboot claims the film is respectful of Native American culture. ( (Photo by LMPC via Getty Images))
"Thanks for the trigger warning, but most parents don’t need to be hit over the head with things they already know," Finley said. "Yet that’s what Disney’s newer films, along with most Hollywood productions, do: They hit you over the head with left-wing cultural mores—over and over again."
She argued this focus on putting liberal messages in kids' entertainment would only continue to hurt the company financially.
"By projecting their politics into children’s movies, Disney employees may end up casting themselves into the woods," the WSJ journalist argued.
Disney pride flag
Political messages in children's entertainment has left a "rot" inside Disney, New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz told Fox News in February.
Earlier this year, Disney was accused of pushing "anti-White propaganda" after a clip from the rebooted animated Disney show "The Proud Family" stirred controversy when characters were shown delivering messages about slavery and reparations.
"I think Disney is digging its own grave with this woke nonsense," Markowicz said. "They seemed to be on a better path in the last year. They replaced their CEO and had been quiet on political matters, but there's a rot inside this company with leftists in position of power who have decided they simply must insert political messaging to children."
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Disney did not respond to a request for comment.
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