Is it too much to ask Disney to at least have the courage of its oppressively woke convictions?
An episode of the new Disney animated show “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur” that centered on a transgender character was pulled from the series and there are no plans to broadcast it.
The Disney Channel will not show the episode in 2025 apparently because of its LGBTQ storyline, which involves a transgender character named Brooklyn who is on the girl’s volleyball team and faces discrimination from the opposing team’s coach. The evil coach uses a magic key to lock Brooklyn and her teammates in the girl’s locker room so they can’t play. Brooklyn, who wears pride-themed kneepads and has a “Trans is beautiful” sticker on her water bottle, tells her team mates, “I’m trans, my very existence breaks Greer’s rules.”
Although Disney claims that the timing of the cancellation notice is a coincidence, it seems that all of the artists involved in creating the episode believe that the Presidential election results motivated the decision. Emmy Cicirega, a storyboard artist, wrote on X, “Disney should be ashamed of themselves for canning this episode. You don’t get to approve approve approve something and then destroy it at the last minute, shattering the crew’s hard work and hopes.” Another animator tweeted, “If an episode got this far, it was approved multiple times by multiple divisions, only to suddenly be struck down at the last second? Total breakdown of process and spitting on your team’s careful/thoughtful work…The action being preemptive makes it so much worse to me. The absolute cowardice and second guessing when actually this is when this content is needed most.”
Disney denies it all, but why should anyone trust Disney these days? It does seem spectacularly stupid to self-censor a work of art because of a Presidential election and a close one at that. It seems just as stupid to pull an episode that everyone will think became too controversial because of Trump’s win. If Disney believes as fervently in its all-in support of LGBTQ issues as its much maligned output in recent years suggests, then the company should show some integrity and guts, stick to its metaphorical guns, and tell Brooklyn’s story. One thing you could count on Walt for: if he had a vision, he didn’t care whose ire it aroused. Like all great artists, innovators and creators, if where he was going was into a headwind, he wouldn’t turn back. The decision to red pencil Brooklyn’s story reeks of a company without principles just trying to go where the winds seem to be blowing. Weenies.
Now watch everyone blame the lost episode of “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur” on Trump.
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Pointer: Willem Reese [This is a correction: I initially credited JutGory for the tip, who quickly disavowed. EA apologizes to all concerned.]
Ethics Alarms 
It’s unethical to support, normalize or otherwise promote mental illness. Even more so among children, at the most confusing time of their lives.
What’s the bottom line in doing the ethical thing for the wrong reasons?
Pulling the episode is an ethical thing to do. Disney just did it to avoid hemorrhaging even more money because of wokeness.
I came to the comment section to say just this. I agree that Disney did the right thing for all the wrong reasons.
That’s about right.
Too bad Payton McNabb’s coach wasn’t an “evil” coach who could lock away the opposing team.
Volleyball seems like an especially bad choice for this. I have a hard time believing it was just a coincidence.
Disney made that bed, and I regard them as obligated to lie in it if that’s where their principles are.
For some time now the general sentiment here was that Disney had succumbed to woke culture and was in the midst of destroying itself. Now when it reverses course to adapt to actual culture and not trying to push a very minority ideology we call it unethical for not sticking to its ideology. This is a business and if it is losing markets from pushing the LGBTQ victimization agenda then it cannot be unethical.
Sarah’s comment above is well taken but I disagree that its decision was for the wrong reasons. The reason was based on rational business concerns.
The public’s significant objection to extreme trans “rights” have been evident for years. It was at least half the country two years ago, maybe more. Why is Trump’s win so significant? In that issue, it shouldn’t be. It would be like Martin Luther King giving up if Goldwater beat LBJ in 1964.
Also, the term “unethical” doesn’t appear in the post. I said that Disney shows no integrity here, and also that they are weenies. I think they were looking for an excuse to back off their woke-obsession. OK, it might be good business. But that means we shouldn’t take their virtue-signalling as genuine, ever.
I had not heard of this show, which is not surprising. We have a 20 year old son who never watched Disney. He was more interested in “Phineas & Ferb” and “Dexter’s Laboratory.” So, I googled it. I find it interesting that the “Brooklyn” character issue did not come up in any of the top search results. Is this issue being downgraded to spare Disney further embarrassment? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t doubt it.
jvb
if you google with “volleyball transgender” you will find that currently a transgender male player, Blaire Fleming, playing in womens volleyball is a hot topic.
There are law suits by Fleming’s own team mates against them (them being Fleming); opposing teams that refuse to play against their (again Fleming) team
Airing this episode would place Disney very visible on the wrong side of this issue. Imo is this businness wise a correct decision.
Here an example of an article about this mess with — strangely enough — a rather unexpected plot twist.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/trans-volleyball-player-mobbed-team-winning-play-after-teammates-sue-over-danger-trans-inclusion
“[A] close one”? What?? C’mon man.
In the popular vote, closer than Hillary’s advantage in 2016, closer than any recent election. The Electoral Collge reflected the breadth of Trump’s win, but it will be less than 2% by the time all the votes are in. That’s very close: almost anything could have flipped it.
Wait. What headwinds did Walt Disney face? When did he treat transgenderism? I guess I missed that watching The Wonderful World of Disney on our little black and white in the ‘fifties and ‘sixties every Sunday night. The current asshats who’ve taken over Disney can just eat a bag of shit.
Oh, over-protective parents who objected to the genuine emotional thwack of kid’s movies like Bambi, Pinnochio and Old Yeller; civil rights activists who thought “Song of the South” was racist (it wasn’t and isn’t)…he bucked conventional wisdom for artistic integrity throughout.
Maybe Disney heard that Trump was fixing to appoint Governor DeSantis as head of the Department of Magical Kingdoms.
It isn’t the election that spooked them. It is the loss of media power that spooked them. They have a minority opinion that is horrifying to a vast majority of the population. Most of that majority, however, has been cowed into silence by a smear campaign by the unified front of the government and their official media. Without the constant smear campaign, the majority won’t be cowed into silence and a major backlash could occur.
Take note, Mr. Walz, wherever you are:
Jack, while I have pointed out many fine articles to you, I do not believe that I sent you this one and, as much as I appreciate being remembered (or mis-remembered), I can’t take credit for it.
(I did send you the one on the 17-year old lawyer, though.)
-Jut
Ugh. Sorry. Careless of me. Fixed. The pointer goes to Willem Reese.