“Families can’t trust Disney!”
With those words, Focus on the Family President Dr. James Dobson declared that the ministry he heads was joining the boycott of The Walt Disney Company. This announcement was relayed on August 27, 1997 on the Focus on the Family radio broadcast, heard on nearly 2,000 radio outlets by an estimated 3–5 million listeners a week.
“It has become clear that the Disney organization has utter disdain for those who hold traditional moral principles and family values,” said Dr. Dobson. “Year after year its I leaders have insulted this large segment of the population by producing films, television and music that contradict cherished beliefs.”
For example:
• Disney theme parks host annual “gay days” when unsuspecting families find themselves surrounded by offensive homosexual behavior.
• Disney-owned Miramax and Dimension films were responsible for movies such as Priest, Pulp Fiction and The Crying Game.
• Disney-owned Hyperion Books published Growing Up Gay, a book aimed at children.
• Disney-owned Hollywood Records produces the death-metal band, Danzig.
• Even Disney’s recent “family” films contain objectionable material. The Hunchback of Notre Dame presents a corrupt Scripture-quoting judge who lusts after a woman; Pocahontas portrays its heroine as a New Age pantheist, never hinting that she was in fact a Christian convert; and in Hercules, the title character prays to Zeus.
Focus joins a growing list of denominations and organizations boycotting Disney including the Southern Baptist Convention, Assemblies of God, Free Will Baptists, Presbyterian Church of America, Citizens for a Better America, Concerned Women for America and the American Family Association.
Because of Disney’s size (the conglomerate owns some 225 companies), Focus is directing its boycott to products that bear the Disney name.
“We won’t bankrupt Disney, given their enormous financial resources, and we may not even damage them financially,” said Dr. Dobson, “but we can certainly let our constituency know that Disney is no longer friendly to the family and call attention to the immoral material they are now producing.”
TAKE ACTION: Do not purchase any item that bears the Disney name, including items from the Disney stores, movies and videos, as well as tickets to Disney theme parks. Contact Disney, voicing your objections to their policies and informing them in writing of how much you will not spend on their products. Write to: Michael Eisner, c/o The Walt Disney Company, 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521.