Disney Movies with Subliminal Messages

[MamaBear]

Hello,

My daughter, who is a college student in California, was invited to a party where they planned to watch The Little Mermaid on a bigscreen (film projector). It was college guys who invited her. This seems really ODD to say the least! Has anyone heard of any get-togethers where ppl sit around and look for and discuss sexual innuendos in Disney movies?

Thanx :dubious:

[RealityChuck]

What exactly is odd about it?

[MamaBear]

What exactly is odd about it?

I would think most college students would be watching something other than a kiddie cartoon, especially the young men. Get real...don't you think that's odd? She played it off like it was innocent, and maybe it was. Or maybe it wasn't.

[astro]

1. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs

2. Pinocchio - Size does matter

3. Fantasia - Hippy, dippy drug tripping

4. Dumbo -

5. Bambi

6. Saludos Amigos

7. The Three Caballeros -

8. Make Mine Music

9. Fun And Fancy Free

10. Melody Time

11. The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad

12. Cinderella

13. Alice In Wonderland -

14. Peter Pan - NAMBLA's Night out

15. Lady And The Tramp -

16. Sleeping Beauty

17. 101 Dalmatians

18. The Sword In The Stone

19. The Jungle Book

20. The Aristocats

21. Robin Hood - Crypto Communism

22. The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh

23. The Rescuers

24. The Fox And The Hound

25. The Black Cauldron

26. The Great Mouse Detective

27. Oliver & Company

28. The Little Mermaid

29. The Rescuers Down Under

30. Beauty And The Beast

31. Aladdin

32. The Lion King

33. Pocahontas

34. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame

35. Hercules

36. Mulan

37. Tarzan

38. Fantasia/2000

39. The Emperor's New Groove

40. Atlantis: The Lost Empire

41. Lilo And Stitch

42. Treasure Planet

43. Brother Bear

44. Home On The Range

45. Chicken Little

[RealityChuck]

I find the assumption that any animated film is not for adults just a short-sighted prejudice. I go see Disney films all the time and I'm 54; my daughter, who still loves them, is of college-age, too.

The Little Mermaid is an excellent film, and adults can enjoy it just as much as kids. In addition, it has a nostalgia factor for anyone who saw it when they were young.

I'd much prefer my daughter watch The Little Mermaid than Saw II.

As for subliminal messages, it's pretty well documented that they don't work in any meaninful way.

[Raguleader]

Heh, yeah, in favor of college guys watching Little Mermaid: That is one of the more graphically violent movies I've seen in a while. I mean, do you REMEMBER how the sea witch octopus lady met her end?

[CurtC]

The Palace with the Phallus (http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/mermaid.htm)

The Aroused Minister (http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/minister.htm)

[Otto]

7. The Three Caballeros
Three gay caballeros, IIRC.

[melondeca]

I think this sort of thing was more common several years ago. If you are curious as to what they are looking for, Snopes (http://www.snopes.com/disney/disney.asp) has an entire section on Disney films.

[Anne Neville]

I would think most college students would be watching something other than a kiddie cartoon, especially the young men. Get real...don't you think that's odd? She played it off like it was innocent, and maybe it was. Or maybe it wasn't.

There are college students, and people older than most college students, who enjoy cartoons and animated movies, for reasons not related to sexual innuendo that might or might not be in those cartoons. College-age is when some of us got over the idea that we "shouldn't" like kids' cartoons, and became comfortable with just liking what we like.

I think you're reading way too much into this.

[GargoyleWB]

If it was college, I almost guarantee it was a drinking game.

We played one with Disney flicks when I was in school, where you would take a drink upon noticing any ethnic stereotype. Rarely did we make it through a whole movie :)

Additional rules for Little Mermaid:
Drink anytime someone says "sea" or "ocean"
Drink whenever Ariel looks wistful
Drink for any sexual innuendo

[groman]

I'm a little more disturbed as to what you were expecting.

I'm not even sure I understand the implication. Why would people get together in front of a big screen to revel in some subliminal messages in Disney movies? I mean, drinking game or just nostalgic fun is probably the most likely candidate. I've had get togethers fairly recently for the sole purpose of watching the Goonies and the median age in the room was probably 23-24. Are we weird? :dubious:

[CurtC]

My daughter, who is a college student in California, was invited to a party where they planned to watch The Little Mermaid on a bigscreen (film projector). It was college guys who invited her.
Maybe they had just heard this episode (http://thislife.org/pages/descriptions/02/203.html) of This American Life? It features a story that originated with a college guy who liked the movie The Little Mermaid.

[Anne Neville]

If it was college, I almost guarantee it was a drinking game.

I want to point out that not everything that all college students do has something to do with drinking and/or sex. When I was in college, I was one of the students who wasn't doing either one most of the time, and I got very frustrated by people assuming I was.

You know your daughter better than I do, of course, but don't automatically assume that, because she's in college, everything she does must have something to do with sex or drinking. Don't assume that about her male friends, either- some male college students do do things that have nothing to do with sex or drinking. That's a stereotype in the same way that "all Latino-looking people are illegal immigrants" or "all attractive blonde women are dumb" is.

[gazpacho]

I want to point out that not everything that all college students do has something to do with drinking and/or sex. When I was in college, I was one of the students who wasn't doing either one most of the time, and I got very frustrated by people assuming I was.Yeah, how could they leave out drugs and rock and roll?

[WhyNot]

Hello,

My daughter, who is a college student in California, was invited to a party where they planned to watch The Little Mermaid on a bigscreen (film projector). It was college guys who invited her. This seems really ODD to say the least! Has anyone heard of any get-togethers where ppl sit around and look for and discuss sexual innuendos in Disney movies?

Thanx :dubious:
(bolding mine)

Well, I think that's it right there. It's a good movie, it's not been in theaters for some time, it's one that (if your daughter is 18-22) was popular when these kids were toddlers, so there's a HUGE homesick/nostalgia factor (and I don't care how relieved they are to be at college, they also miss you and miss being little kids, especially this time of year) and it's just, y'know, fun. Especially if she's NOT into drinking herself stupid and having indiscriminate sex. It may possibly be clean, wholesome Disney fun for young adults.

Or they're going to slip LSD into the drinks and have massive group sex to the tune of "Under the Sea". Could go either way, really. But if your daughter says it's cool, it's probably cool, unless you have reason to disbelieve her.


I would totally jump at the chance to see Ariel on the big screen again.

[Miller]

I would think most college students would be watching something other than a kiddie cartoon, especially the young men. Get real...don't you think that's odd? She played it off like it was innocent, and maybe it was. Or maybe it wasn't.

I'm not entirely clear on what you suspect was going on, or what it has to do with subliminal messages in The Little Mermaid. Are you suggesting that these guys invited a bunch of girls over with the expectation that a vaguely phallus-shaped spire in the background of a cartoon would compel the girls to strip off their clothes and have wild and kinky sex? That doesn't strike me as particularly likely. Subliminal messages don't work like that (or at all, for that matter). Besides, if that was their goal, they have this stuff these days called "beer" that works much better than Disney cartoons about hybrid fish-women.

[Marley23]

There were "Disney Nights" at the dorm more than once in my four years of college. It was exactly what Mama Bear describes - guys and gals gathering and watching not just one movie, but a bunch, on the big screen. There was no drinking or sex. Sometimes people made comments during the movies, but usually the gatherings happened just because people wanted to watch them and be nostalgic. It wasn't my scene, but there wasn't anything to be suspicious of. We had movie nights constantly, and there was rarely any drinking at them.

[Carlyjay]

Aw, relax, they're going to sit around with a few beers and watch a Disney movie. At the part where the priest appears to have a raging hard-on, they'll all laugh and clap each other on the back and act generally foolish as college kids do.

As others have said, they could be doing far worse.

[Antinor01]

Hello,

My daughter, who is a college student in California, was invited to a party where they planned to watch The Little Mermaid on a bigscreen (film projector). It was college guys who invited her. This seems really ODD to say the least! Has anyone heard of any get-togethers where ppl sit around and look for and discuss sexual innuendos in Disney movies?

Thanx :dubious:

Just to clarify, did she say they planned to look for and discuss sexual innuendo or are you reading that into it?

If the first, then yes it's a bit odd but not neccessarily that far out there. If the latter then I wouldn't worry about it. Cartoons are fun for kids of all ages. :)

[groman]

There's also a possibility this is group work for an assignment or extra credit for some media or communications class. I've had similar assignments in college (watch <....> and note <....> and write up a <....> about <....>)

[Anne Neville]

There's also a possibility this is group work for an assignment or extra credit for some media or communications class. I've had similar assignments in college (watch <....> and note <....> and write up a <....> about <....>)

That's certainly true. I took an honors seminar called "America in the 1960s", and one of the class assignments was to watch a movie that was either made or set in the 1960s and write a one-page paper about it.

[Lobelia Overhill]

Has anyone heard of any get-togethers where ppl sit around and look for and discuss sexual innuendos in Disney movies?

Thanx :dubious:

I'd a friend who had a toddler and a collection of Disney videos, when we heard about the "erection" in The Little Mermaid and the "sex in the dust" in The Lion King we watched both. We didn't see anything in The Little Mermaid, but we did see the word SEX in the cloud of dust in The Lion King

[Philster]

This went on when I was in school. I'm 38. Someone charged a buck or two per head to offset basic costs (projector and bulbs, film, etc)and one girl's lawyer daddy shut us down (can't charge...read the fine print).

I watched Cinderella this way. The girls chose it, but let me tell you this: I really was stunned to find myseld liking the movie. Sure, I fantasized about a real Cinderella, but in the end I am very normal. Their is something cool/erotic about makeovers -- in case Howard Stern or national TV doesn't convince you. But forget that -- the mice alone were worth the price of admission.

And when Cindy-rella pulled out the spare glass slipper after the evil stepmother tripped one of the King's men resulting in a broken test slipper...well, let me tell you...that was one of my favorite movie moments right there. I'm not ashamed to like that movie, and when my kids fire up the VCR, I am quite happy to pop that in.

There is my $.02

[The Hamster King]

And when Cindy-rella pulled out the spare glass slipper after the evil stepmother tripped one of the King's men resulting in a broken test slipper...well, let me tell you...that was one of my favorite movie moments right there.It's a great moment. And the flipside is when the stepsisters destroy the first dress that Cinderella makes from her mother's old gown. It's one of the purest depictions of selfishness and evil I've ever seen on the screen. It's really an amazing movie.

[snailboy]

College guys watching The Little Mermaid just for fun? I'm a little skeptical of that. Girls, sure. I just find it hard to believe there are many college guys that would care to see it. Don't get me wrong, if The Transformers Movie was playing in a nearby cinema, I wouldn't be typing this right now. But The Little Mermaid? Come on...

[WhyNot]

College guys watching The Little Mermaid just for fun? I'm a little skeptical of that. Girls, sure. I just find it hard to believe there are many college guys that would care to see it. Don't get me wrong, if The Transformers Movie was playing in a nearby cinema, I wouldn't be typing this right now. But The Little Mermaid? Come on...
psssst...The Little Mermaid gets the chicks. They watch the movie, you watch them. Everyone wins - it's like free drinks for ladies to draw men to a bar.

[Rico]

<mod>

Moved to Cafe Society.

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[mobo85]

Maybe they had just heard this episode (http://thislife.org/pages/descriptions/02/203.html) of This American Life? It features a story that originated with a college guy who liked the movie The Little Mermaid.

He and the Little Mermaid can go fuck themselves.

[DxZero]

Whenever we drove down the shore, my friend would pop in The Little Mermaid soundtrack and sing the entire way. He also dressed up as Ariel for a talent competition at some drunken backyard festival a few months back and sang the theme song.

He's a weird cat.

[HazelNutCoffee]

A bunch of my friends (we're all grad students) were actually planning to do this (get together and watch Disney movies) one weekend. Nostalgia + noticing and laughing like idiots over sexual innuendoes. Probably drinking games as well. No ulterior motives. I wouldn't read too much into it.

[CurtC]

College guys watching The Little Mermaid just for fun? I'm a little skeptical of that.
Hey, Ariel was hot.

BTW, does anyone know why mermaids wear seashells?

Because B-shells would be too small, and D-shells too large. Works better when you're telling it as opposed to typing it.

[DesertDog]

Aw, relax, they're going to sit around with a few beers and watch a Disney movie. At the part where the priest appears to have a raging hard-on, they'll all laugh and clap each other on the back and act generally foolish as college kids do.If they're using the just-released 2-disk DVD they'll be disappointed. Knee, phallus, whichever it was, it's gone.

I couldn't help but notice, though, that when Ursula turned Ariel human, she (Ariel) was naked. When her Pop did the same, he threw in a set of clothes. Above or below the surface, fathers are the same.

[baronsabato]

Hm, you know, as soon as "Little Mermaid" came out on DVD, my housemate and I rushed out to buy it. And when we got back, we watched it with some friends, mostly guys. Not to point out any sexual innuendos, not to play a drinking game, just to watch it because it's a really great movie and lots of fun. We sang along with the songs, made fun of some of the sillier parts a la Mystery Science Theatre, and reminisced about when we first saw it as wee children.

College guys aren't all drunken frat boys. I hate alcohol, personally, and while most of my friends drink, we've gotten past that rush of freshman independence and are usually too busy with school to party all the time, if at all. And yes, this is speaking from UC Santa Cruz, commonly seen as a party school (or at least a stoner school). Unfortunately, stereotypes die hard.

And I don't think I've ever seen the Transformers movie, nor do I have any interest in doing so. "Ghostbusters" was more my thing.

[Cat Fight]

A bunch of my friends (we're all grad students) were actually planning to do this (get together and watch Disney movies) one weekend. Nostalgia + noticing and laughing like idiots over sexual innuendoes. Probably drinking games as well. No ulterior motives. I wouldn't read too much into it.

That sounds about right. If your daughter is in her late teens/early 20s, I guarantee she and all her friends can sing every line of 'Part of Your World' (or whatever it's called). And as far as fairytales go, this one's pretty guy-friendly, as are most Disney flicks.

[C K Dexter Haven]

This is the Straight Dope Message Board, right? Am I in the right place? This thread has gone on for over 30 posts, and no one has thought to look in the Archives?

Do Disney movies contain subliminal erotica? (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdisneyperv.html)

[susan]

Do you mean "subliminal"? That suggests intent. Ther are other ways of looking at a film's semiotics that are not about the constructors' conscious intent, but the ways in which unconscious cultural messages are embedded in the text or film.

If the former, it doesn't seem unusual that college students would enjoy this activity. If the latter, there are entire departments that study this.

[Brilharma]

Speaking as a college male who is 4 weeks into his freshman year, so far I've watched Finding Nemo, Saw, Beauty and the Beast, Lagaan, Rent, Phantom of the Opera, Boondock Saints, and Butterfly Effect. Most of these have been floor activities (about 25 people, boys and girls) with no drugs, drinking, or sex.

I see nothing odd about a group of kids getting together to watch movies, of any kind, and getting to know each other. It is still possible to have good, clean fun these days.
`Brilharma

[dropzone]

...with no drugs, drinking, or sex.Hey, young people--clue this Boomer in: does college REALLY suck that bad these days?

[MovieMogul]

College guys aren't all drunken frat boys. I hate alcohol, personally, and while most of my friends drink, we've gotten past that rush of freshman independence and are usually too busy with school to party all the time, if at all. And yes, this is speaking from UC Santa Cruz, commonly seen as a party school (or at least a stoner school). Only UCSC students would think they're seen as a "party school". Everybody else in CA knows they're seen as a Hippie School. Not the same thing. ;)

[Mr. Excellent]

Hey, young people--clue this Boomer in: does college REALLY suck that bad these days?

Depends on where you go. Young Brilharma may just be missing out on the fun stuff. (Don't worry, man, you'll find it.) Certainly my own college had as much drinking, drugs and sex as anyone could wish. However, I've visited other schools with lamentable deficits in all three categories.

(I miss college.)

[Brilharma]

Hey, young people--clue this Boomer in: does college REALLY suck that bad these days?
No, college doesn't suck that bad as a whole. My friends tell my stories of buying cases of water, pouring out the water, and filling the empty bottles with vodka. There's still plenty of drugs, drinking and sex to go around, just not in Honors Housing. We're all early to bed, early to rise people who play Euchre in our free time. But, outside of this building, I hear of some pretty wild stories.
`Brilharma

[Raguleader]

No, college doesn't suck that bad as a whole. My friends tell my stories of buying cases of water, pouring out the water, and filling the empty bottles with vodka. There's still plenty of drugs, drinking and sex to go around, just not in Honors Housing. We're all early to bed, early to rise people who play Euchre in our free time. But, outside of this building, I hear of some pretty wild stories.
`Brilharma

Heh, that's actually pretty funny. At my old uni, most of the pretty wild stories took place in the honor's dorm. :rolleyes:

[HazelNutCoffee]

Hey, young people--clue this Boomer in: does college REALLY suck that bad these days?
I go to a school where fun supposedly comes to die, but those of us who are determined enough manage to keep it breathing somehow. We have plenty of alcohol, occasional illicit substances, and the odd rumor of scandalous liasons. But we're the exception, I think - it's been a month since school started and I have yet to see naked freshman running around campus.

[Civil Guy]

Maybe 15 years ago, I remember seeing a re-release of Disney's Pinocchio. Well, no, the Disney version was nothing like the original classic - and that's a study all by itself - but there was some pretty adult-themed references in Pinocchio that would have whooshed over any pre-teen's head.

See Jiminy Cricket slide over the butt of a good-looking wench statuette during a scene in Gepetto's workshop. Watch Jiminy Cricket as he and Pinocchio are talking to the good fairy for the first time. That combined attitude of worship and lust by Jiminy was something to behold, and not something a kid would understand.

[Achren]

I was very sick a couple weeks ago and had a mini-Disney marathon. One of the movies I watched was Pinocchio. Oh my. That Jiminy was one lonely, desperate cricket. My mind boggled. Watching Lady and the Tramp I wondered if the reason Jock makes the marriage offer is because Lady was pregnant.
Oh the difference 15+ years make!

[Sublight]

College was where I learned a greater appreciation of animation styles and techniques. I watched more disney during those four years than during the previous 10, as well as getting into all sorts of American, European and Japanese cartoons I'd never seen before, from Max Fleischer to Miyazaki to Spike & Mike. I watched them because they were fun on their own and because I found the creation process fascinating, no ulterior motives.

I also drank and had sex, but cartoons were enjoyed for what they were.