Evil, you say? Disney?? Anyone who doubts Disney is evil clearly doesn't have a little kid.
Anyone in this country - the world, really - with a child knows what I mean. The slick print ads that leave small children pleading for the DVDs so innocently pictured next to a doe-eyed mermaid or fairy or, well, doe (yours on Blu-ray for the low, low price of $14.99)... the brightly-colored, music-filled TV commercials that lure kids into the movies (for $20, you can take your kid to Bambi, or Snow White or The Princess and the Frog - then spend the next week trying to reassure your angst-ridden youngster that the bad guy was "just pretend")... and oh yes, the stores. Those most foul stores with those poofy princess dresses and light-up shoes and flowery bouquets AND SPARKLING TIARAS... where no one gets out of the mall for under $75. I always figured that parents of little girls had it the worst, but one day I turned away from the persistent cajoling of my pre-schooler just long enough to realize that the parents of little boys were having the exact same arguments in front of the Buzz Lightyear costumes... and the 'tween-age girls milling around the Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers videos... well, that was just too scary to contemplate.
But despite it all, I still believe in giving credit where credit is due. And Disney is due a little credit in my book today, so here goes.
I was walking around a botanical gardens in southern California today when I read some of the promotional material about the grounds... and apparently all the Koi in the pond came from Disneyland. Disney, the brochure explained, was renovating its theme park in the next county over, and the new plans did not call for any decorative fish. But rather than toss the Koi out with the Koi water (which undoubtedly would have been faster and cheaper), it donated all 250 Koi to the botanical gardens.
So, without expressing any opinion on its initial decision to have a koi pond, or any of its other business practices (marketing to children arguably being only the tip of an iceberg), thank you, Disney, for doing the right thing at least 250 times.
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3 comments:
Totally know where you're coming from about Disney. being a father myself, I have first hand experience with the "disney addiction" that plagues our kids in America. ;) Good to know that they do think about the environment and giving back. Funny thing is that most mega-corps do have good intentions, its usually just our perception and the fact that they're actions are magnified that make them evil in our eyes. There was a study by the folks at http://bbmg.com that showed Wal-mart to be the most evil AND most well-liked company in the minds of the test subjects.
oh also, i didn't find contact info on your blog but would like to share the new book by noted Catskill Animal Sanctuary (http://casanctuary.org) Director Kathy Stevens with you.
Picking up where she left off in her first acclaimed book, Where the Blind Horse Sings, Kathy Stevens inspires us in her second book Animal Camp (http://animalcampbook.com) with life-altering lessons shared by the animals in her charge and a plea to see them for “who,” not “what,” they are.
Please feel free to share the press release, images, and video we've put together at http://go.markandphil.com/animalcamp. Interviews, galleys, and private tours of Catskill Animal Sanctuary with the author are all available upon request - just let us know and we'd be happy to set it up for you.
Thanks so much for your help spreading the word!
All the best,
Dan
Daniel - Thanks for the book info! Best, Amy
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