Disney’s next animated motion picture release titled Strange World will mark a first for the company founded by Walt Disney in 1923. It will feature a gay teen romance.
Produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, the adventure film “introduces a legendary family of explorers, the Clades, as they attempt to navigate an uncharted, treacherous land alongside a motley crew that includes a mischievous blob, a three-legged dog, and a slew of ravenous creatures,” according to the Strange World website.
The movie opens in theaters on Nov. 23.
To promote the upcoming film, Disney screened three separate segments of the movie at the 2022 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in Annecy, France last June.
In the first segment shown to the film festival audience, the character of Ethan (voiced by actor Jaboukie Young-White) flirts with another boy named Diazo in front of his friends, “teasing him in a friendly way and warm-hearted way” in the scene described by Variety at the time.
Then Ethan’s father Searcher Clade (voiced by Jake Gyllenhaal) joins in, but embarrasses his son with an overeager show of acceptance, the outlet noted.
The cast of actors voicing the characters for the film includes Young-White, Gyllenhaal, Gabrielle Union, Lucy Liu, and Dennis Quaid.
‘Not-at-all-Secret Gay Agenda’ to Target Kids
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro is warning parents prior to the film’s release date about Disney’s ongoing push at their “not-at-all-secret gay agenda” to target children.
In a tweet Tuesday, Shapiro wrote: “As Disney begins pushing ‘Strange World’ for next week’s release, here’s the reminder that their ‘not-at-all-secret gay agenda’ to target kids is ongoing. It’s a part of the plot of this movie, just as it was with ‘Lightyear.’ Your kids, your choice.”
As Disney begins pushing “Strange World” for next week’s release, here’s the reminder that their “not-at-all-secret gay agenda” to target kids is ongoing. It’s a part of the plot of this movie, just as it was with “Lightyear.” Your kids, your choice. https://t.co/lMjsaDF8Lp
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 15, 2022
The Company That You Knew as a Child, ‘Doesn’t Exist Anymore’
As CBN News has reported, long considered the place to turn for family-friendly entertainment, recent moves and statements by the Walt Disney Company indicate a turn toward a cultural agenda that threatens that legacy and possibly its future.
“I grew up with the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights and you curl up with a blanket with your family and watch a great Disney movie, and that, that company doesn’t exist anymore,” Adam Holz, director of Focus on the Family’s Plugged In told CBN News in June
In April, amid the controversy centered on Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, Disney CEO Bob Chapek pledged during an internal summit to be “a better ally for the LGBTQ+ community.” And Karey Burke, president of general entertainment for Disney, said she would like to see “many, many, many LGBTQIA characters” in Disney movies and series.
The company seemingly made good on that promise. The Disney-Pixar film, Lightyear, released in June, featured a lesbian couple, and Thor: Love and Thunder, released in July, had a major LGBTQ lead character.
Holz contends Disney is losing touch with a large portion of its traditional audience in an effort to stay culturally relevant.
“There are parents saying, ‘Wait a minute, why do we have to import a sexual message into kids’ programming?’ And so even if we talk beyond this specific LGBT agenda, I think there’s concern that why does everything have to be sexualized? Is it possible to just have entertainment that’s innocent, that leaves that for later and doesn’t bring that into everything we’re doing,” Holz questioned.
Parents Should Be More Intentional with Entertainment, Talk With Their Children
According to a Trafalgar Group national survey, nearly 70 percent of American voters say they are less likely to do business with Disney due to their push to expose young children to woke sexual ideas.
“Disney was absolutely synonymous with trust. There’s all this other stuff out there, but Disney was okay. And now, this is just another entertainment provider and we don’t trust them. And we don’t want that agenda necessarily preached to our children,” explained Holz.
This has led to calls to boycott or cancel Disney, and while some families are choosing to cut the cord, Holz said, ultimately this is an opportunity for people to be more intentional about their entertainment.
Other streaming services becoming popular alternatives for parents include Pure Flix, Minno, and DW Kids. Another option is just sticking with the classics.
“I think an interesting alternative is just rewinding the clock a few years. I don’t know about you. We have a cabinet full of movies right on DVD and Blu-ray,” Holz said.
He shared some key advice for parents navigating the ever-changing entertainment world – talk with your kids. Conversations about content they’re watching and ideas coming at them can help teach critical thinking and ultimately shape their worldview, rather than allowing the agenda of Hollywood to do it for them.
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