# Disney Movies with Subliminal Messages **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 23, 2006, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587 "2006-10-23T16:27:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/21 "2006-10-23T21:22:07Z")
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 \<…\>) ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/22 "2006-10-23T21:47:26Z")
[QUOTE=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 \<…\>) [/QUOTE] 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. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/23 "2006-10-23T22:19:53Z")
[QUOTE=MamaBear] Has anyone heard of any get-togethers where ppl sit around and look for and discuss sexual innuendos in Disney movies? Thanx :dubious: [/QUOTE] 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** ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/24 "2006-10-23T22:39:33Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/25 "2006-10-24T00:00:56Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] 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. [/QUOTE] 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. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/26 "2006-10-24T00:39:24Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/27 "2006-10-24T00:44:25Z")
[QUOTE=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… [/QUOTE] _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. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/28 "2006-10-24T02:06:02Z")
\ Moved to Cafe Society. \ ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/29 "2006-10-24T02:09:17Z")
[QUOTE=CurtC] 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_. [/QUOTE] He and the Little Mermaid can go fuck themselves. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/30 "2006-10-24T02:18:43Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/31 "2006-10-24T02:31:18Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/32 "2006-10-24T04:09:30Z")
[QUOTE=snailboy] College guys watching _The Little Mermaid_ just for fun? I’m a little skeptical of that. [/QUOTE] 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. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/33 "2006-10-24T04:30:42Z")
[QUOTE=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. [/QUOTE] 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. ---
**Author:** ![baronsabato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@baronsabato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baronsabato)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/34 "2006-10-24T04:40:50Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/35 "2006-10-24T04:42:16Z")
[QUOTE=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. [/QUOTE] 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. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/36 "2006-10-24T11:45:57Z")
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) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/37 "2006-10-24T17:06:13Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Brilharma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Brilharma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brilharma)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/38 "2006-10-24T21:18:37Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/39 "2006-10-24T21:31:56Z")
[QUOTE=Brilharma] …with no drugs, drinking, or sex. [/QUOTE] Hey, young people–clue this Boomer in: does college REALLY suck that bad these days? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587/40 "2006-10-24T21:35:04Z")
[QUOTE=baronsabato] 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). [/QUOTE] 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. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-movies-with-subliminal-messages/377587.md?page=3)