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It's been mused over and pointed out that without fail, in almost every Disney cartoon, the mother is killed off post haste and the main character is left an orphan. Within minutes of the opening credits. Who didn't cry when Dumbo's mom gently rocked her baby in her trunk as he cooed, unsuspecting, on the other side of that wooden pen - all she could do as she awaited being led to her death? I still cry when I think about it. I cried when I was a kid and saw that. I knew what it all meant. What about Bambi's mom getting shotgun blasted to death and him, not knowing, wandering around calling her? Jesus! How sick is that? Let's kill the Mothers! That'll set up the story nicely.

A call to my niece Diana confirms my suspicion. She tells me that in the in The Lion King, the father is murdered right in front of the little lion and not too nicely, either. You have Disney Cartoon parents who don't give a rat's ass and are off gallivanting, leaving the Disney Kids baby-sat by dogs or left on their own, period. Basically, kids without or neglected. A friend told me she was horrified into mortification to hear her 4 year old twins playing, prefacing some role-play with stuffed Disney toys: "OK, pretend our parents are dead..." What the hell kind of family value is this to have as a running thread through the decades of family animations? Isn't the bond between Mother and Child one of the most scared and immutable things there is? Shouldn't that be celebrated? Treated as assumed stability? Why does Disney pick this particular icon to rip up, religiously, in every movie? Granted, the old Sleeping Beauty and such are tales which tell of horrors that would stun even Stephen King. If you go read the originals - oh my word, you're talking sick stuff. But Disney's writing this stuff new, fer chrissakes. How about some family bonding, some family units, some family love and strength and teaching the lesson that We'll Get Through It Together? I mean as long as they're peddling fantasy why not go for the wholesome stuff they're claiming they stand for? Now that'd be fantasy for once. Why keep choosing to have film after film chock full of stuck up heroines who only really "win" because some Male Hero saves their day and bails then out? Why so much violence? Where exactly are the good morals and lessons Disney used to pretend to be basing their movies on? The only lesson I see in the movies now, is that their movies are 70 minute infomercials to go buy the Crap that comes out even before the damn movie these days.

Anyway. Sis gets on the phone after The Niece finishes the Lion King Murder Tale and says you know what got to me? When I saw Snow White as a kid and the Evil Queen was going on about some such or other potions and what she was going to do with Snow White when she got her? And she was cackling that she was going to BURY HER ALIVE...BURIED ALIVE! Jesus!

• In "Aladdin", there is a scene where he flies up to Jasmine's balcony and is heard to whisper "Take off your clothes". Disney insists it's really "Take off and go", spoken to Jasmine's tiger. It's easy to pick up both when you listen

• During a wedding scene in "The Little Mermaid", it's said the minister conducting the wedding gets an erection as he sits on the chair. Disney says it's his knee, and it pretty much looks like a knee, so I didn't include a photo of these frames. But hell, I've seen less phallic-looking knees, too.

• In "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". Daffy and Donald have a piano duel, Daffy is seen to sprout an erection during the scene.

• WDIV -TV in Detroit found a dirty word spoken in the cartoon short "The Clock Cleaner", Daffy Duck was clearly heard to say "Fuck You". When this was discovered, Wal-Mart pulled the video from the shelves. Disney edited it and re-released it for sale. Even though they said it really wasn't there, you dirty minded people

• In the movie 'The Santa Clause" the wife was given an emergency '800' phone number which was the actual number of a phone sex service. Why anyone would call it the first place is beyond me but those innocent victims sure spread the word :) Hee hee.

• Disney's female characters have been described as being turned into "full figured, big breasted , sexually charged Male Fantasy Icons" instead of the clean living role models they once were. There have been complaints from Moms that this sends out bad messages to young girls who once again see female 'role models' as only being perfect if they're built like a sex toy. Like oh...Britney Spears. Or, say, underage, jailbait Lolitas

• The New York Times commented that the Pocahontas character was an "animated Playboy Centerfold that has no place in a children's movie". Disney said she was designed to "appeal to the adult male". Why adult males need to be appealed to in a children's animation? Are adult males now masturbating to Disney animations? Did Playboy increase their prices or something? .

• In the Pocahontas film, the English are all stereotyped as evil buffoons and Native Americans stereotyped as good and kind. But then, it was the other way around for decades in films, wasn't it? The real Pocahontas was 12 years old when she met John Smith, but Disney couldn't stick to any kind of historic accuracy; a possible learning experience here - they had to turn her into a 20-something sex nymph. Kind of like Britney Spears. .

• For the voice of chief Powhatan, Pocahontas' father, Disney hired Native American Activist Russell Means. Means led a group of armed activists in the occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973. Two people died and twelve were wounded. 1200 people were arrested. Means once gave a speech entitled "For America to Live, Europeans Must Die" It's constantly amazing how no one remembers their deep personal convictions when money is involved.

• In 1989 Disney threatened to sue three Florida day care centers that had Mickey Mouse painted on their walls as decoration. The murals were removed. The Hanna-Barbera company contacted the centers and sent them some of their wall-ready, pre-made characters to use, and even threw them a party. Take that, you Disney poopyheads!

• White River, Ontario is the home of Winnie the Pooh. No, really. Yes, the bear. Yes, there was a real one. Yes. No, I'm not drunk. I know it's a cartoon. Yes, I know. Look, I don't even drink. No. Really. Anyway ... When the town tried to erect a statue of the real bear that the cartoon bear was modeled after in 1990, the 75th anniversary of the book that AA Milne wrote (that clearer? Sheesh!), Disney sent a nasty letter threatening a law suit if they even thought about trying to put the statue up because they owned the the copyright to Pooh. No, the cartoon one. No you can't copyright a real one, and he was dead by then. Bears don't live to be 75, you goof. Anyway, after lots of bad publicity, Disney backed down for once in it's miserable, money grubbing life and White River was able to put up it's Pooh. It reminds me of a certain web site who looks into things I put up, writes about them, then sends me Email telling me I'm in copyright violation of them because they now have an article up about my subject and topic and took all my information for it. :)

• Disney has even gone so far as to send letters threatening legal action against 12 year olds who used Disney images on their web sites, and webmasters who make a cartoon evil Mickey Mouse background for their Disney section. Legal terms such as "kiss my lilly white ass" were bantered around.

• In "Toy Story", Woody mocks Buzz Lightyear's gadgets and is told he has "Laser envy"...hardly a joke a 5 year old would get..

• Will Finn, the head of "the Hunchback"s story team, said the film is "full of incredibly dark and mature subject matter about a religious figure torn between chastity and lust, and chock full of physical abuse and making fun of the handicapped guy."

• In "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". not only does Animated Playboy Fantasy Esmerelda do a sexy stripper pole-dance, but Kirk Wise, director of the film, said, "I think she's the first Disney heroine to carry a concealed weapon and we're proud of that fact".