{"id":2253941,"date":"2024-05-27T18:53:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T22:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iconic-disney-director-speaks-out-you-need-to-put-entertainment-above-social-messaging\/"},"modified":"2024-05-27T18:56:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T22:56:25","slug":"iconic-disney-director-speaks-out-you-need-to-put-entertainment-above-social-messaging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iconic-disney-director-speaks-out-you-need-to-put-entertainment-above-social-messaging\/","title":{"rendered":"Renowned Disney Director Says: Prioritize Entertainment Over Social Messaging"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ficonic-disney-director-speaks-out-you-need-to-put-entertainment-above-social-messaging%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2253941&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>John Musker, the acclaimed Disney director behind hits like\u2064 &#8216;The Little Mermaid&#8217; and &#8216;Moana&#8217;, has\u2062 criticized \u200dDisney\u2019s increasing political messaging at \u2062the expense of captivating storytelling. In\u200c an interview with El Pa\u00eds, Musker argued for a return to creating enthralling, character-driven \u2063films over advancing agendas. He pinpointed\u200c excessive involvement of executives\u200b in the creative process and overt political messaging in modern Disney\u200d productions as major issues. Despite retiring,\u2062 Musker encourages his former employer to \u2063prioritize entertainment and storytelling over messaging.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<header> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/news\/\">  News <\/a>  <\/p>\n<h2>Iconic Disney Director Speaks Out: You Need to Put Entertainment Above Social Messaging<\/h2>\n<p> <span> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/igcolonel\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p> <span>   By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/igcolonel\/%20\"><span>Warner Todd Huston<\/span><\/a> <\/span> <span>   May 27, 2024 at 1:28pm <\/span> <\/span>  <\/header>\n<section>\n<p>One of Disney\u2019s most successful creators took the company to task for putting an agenda ahead of good storytelling.<\/p>\n<p>John Musker, who wrote and directed hits such as \u201cThe Little Mermaid\u201d and \u201cMoana,\u201d has retired from big-budget filmmaking, but he has some advice for his former employer.<\/p>\n<p>That advice is to get back to making entertaining films.<\/p>\n<p>In a long interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/english.elpais.com\/culture\/2024-05-18\/the-director-who-shook-up-disney-and-hollywood-animation-with-a-mermaid-a-genie-from-a-lamp-and-a-polynesian-princess.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">El Pa\u00eds<\/a> during a recent visit to Spain, Musker said that in his later years with the studio \u2014 long after he became a major success with \u201cMermaid\u201d in 1989 \u2014 films became hard to make because too many Disney executives were trying to dip their fingers into the creative process.<\/p>\n<p>He said it was bad enough having famously tyrannical executive Jeffrey Katzenberg running the studio when he was first working with Disney.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the \u201990s, we had Jeffrey,\u201d Musker said. \u201cHe was an emperor, you know. But there weren\u2019t 10 Jeffreys.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow, you have too many people to satisfy. Before, we didn\u2019t have 15 directors telling you how to make the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But interference from the top is also a problem when it comes to political messaging, Musker told El Pa\u00eds.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s just too much of it, he said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-container\">\n<p>Do you think Disney will ever find its way again?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe Little Mermaid,\u201d for instance, was remade as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-hilarious-honest-trailers-episode-shows-that-hollywood-truly-is-out-of-ideas\/\" title=\"WATCH: Hilarious Honest Trailers Episode Shows That Hollywood Truly Is \u2018Out Of Ideas\u2019\">live-action film<\/a> in 2023 and was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/worst-thing-happened-matt-walsh-absolutely-torches-woke-little-mermaid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">roasted<\/a> by critics as too woke because of all the changes from the original.<\/p>\n<p>Musker\u2019s last big success for Disney was 2009\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/leftists-not-content-toppling-statues-now-targeting-beloved-disney-attraction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Princess and the Frog<\/a>,\u201d which featured the studio\u2019s first black princess.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe weren\u2019t trying to be woke, although I understand the criticism,\u201d he said of the animated film.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe classic Disney films didn\u2019t start out trying to have a message,\u201d Musker said. \u201cThey wanted you to get involved in the characters and the story and the world, and I think that\u2019s still the heart of it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t have to exclude agendas, but you have to first create characters who you sympathize with and who are compelling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think they need to do a course correction a bit in terms of putting the message secondary, behind entertainment and compelling story and engaging characters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said the 1992 film \u201cAladdin,\u201d which debuted amid the Persian Gulf war, was changed for political reasons.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of being set in Baghdad, it took place in Agrabah, an anagram for the Iraqi city.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause of the war, we couldn\u2019t even go there to do research. Our big research took place at the Saudi Arabian expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center,\u201d Musker told El Pa\u00eds.<\/p>\n<p>Disney has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/disneys-pixar-retaliates-conservatives-reportedly-puts-disgusting-scene-back-movie-kids-see\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">taken much heat<\/a> for pushing radical left-wing political and cultural messages in its films and TV shows and for hiring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/report-family-outraged-disney-world-realized-evil-queen-actress-took-pics-man\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">men who claim to be women<\/a> to portray female characters at its theme parks.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">SCOOP: I\u2019ve obtained video from inside Disney\u2019s all-hands meeting about the Florida parental rights bill, in which executive producer Latoya Raveneau says her team has implemented a \u201cnot-at-all-secret gay agenda\u201d and is regularly \u201cadding queerness\u201d to children\u2019s programming. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eJnZMpKIXT\">pic.twitter.com\/eJnZMpKIXT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Christopher F. Rufo \u2694\ufe0f (@realchrisrufo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realchrisrufo\/status\/1508912865293619202?\">March 29, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In 2022, Disney CEO Bob Iger <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/woke-disney-employees-get-rude-awakening-new-ceo-tells-steering-ship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">insisted<\/a> the company was going to begin dialing back the politics. Many are still waiting for evidence that this directive has been implemented.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p><b><i>A Note from Our Deputy Managing Editor:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span>\u201cWe don\u2019t even know if an election will be held in 2024.\u201d Those 12 words have been stuck in my head since I first read them. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Former Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn recently made that comment to Floyd Brown, founder of The Western Journal. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>And if the leftists and the elites get their way, that\u2019s exactly what will happen \u2014 no real election, no real choice for the Electoral College, and no real say for the American people. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Western Journal is fighting to keep that from happening, but we can\u2019t do it alone.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We work tirelessly to expose the lying leftist media and the corrupt America-hating elites.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>But Big Tech\u2019s stranglehold is now so tight that <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>without help<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  from you, we will not be able to continue the fight. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The 2024 election is literally the most important election for every living American. We have to unite and fight for our country, otherwise we will lose it. And if we lose the America we love in 2024, we\u2019ll lose it for good. Can we <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>count on you<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  to help? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>With you we will be able to field journalists, do more investigative work, expose more corruption, and get desperately needed truth to millions of Americans. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We can do this only with your help. Please don\u2019t wait one minute.<\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>  Donate right now<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Thank you for reading,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Josh Manning<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Deputy Managing Editor<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>P.S. Please <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>stand with us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  today.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"author-info-43\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/igcolonel\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<div>\n<p><label for=\"summary-tab-radio-43\">Summary<\/label><label for=\"more-info-tab-radio-43\">More<span> Biographical Information<\/span><\/label><label for=\"posts-tab-radio-43\">Recent<span> Posts<\/span><\/label><label for=\"contact-tab-radio-43\" onclick=\"if( typeof grecaptcha=='undefined' ) { let cap_s=document.createElement( 'script' ); cap_s.src='https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api.js?render=6LeJFcsUAAAAAPsIEqvB1EebWbZfqRUe6ebMpGy7'; document.body.appendChild( cap_s ); }\">Contact<\/label><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Warner Todd Huston has been writing editorials and news since 2001 but started his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/byron-donalds-takes-shot-at-host-of-the-view-dares-panel-to-invite-him-on-as-a-guest\/\" title=\"Byron Donalds Takes Shot at Host of 'The View,' Dares Panel to Invite Him On as a Guest\">writing career penning articles<\/a> about U.S. history back in the early 1990s. Huston has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business Network, CNN and several local Chicago news programs to discuss the issues of the day. Additionally, he is a regular guest on radio programs from coast to coast. Huston has also been a Breitbart News contributor since 2009. Warner works out of the Chicago area, a place he calls a &#8220;target-rich environment&#8221; for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/poll-shows-growing-democratic-opposition-to-cheap-labor-migration\/\" title=\"Poll Shows Growing Democratic Opposition to Cheap Labor Migration\">political news<\/a>. Follow him on Truth Social at @WarnerToddHuston.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>  Warner Todd Huston has been writing editorials and news since 2001 but started his writing career penning articles about U.S. history back in the early 1990s. Huston has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business Network, CNN and several local Chicago news programs to discuss the issues of the day. Additionally, he is a regular guest on radio programs from coast to coast. Huston has also been a Breitbart News contributor since 2009. Warner works out of the Chicago area, a place he calls a &#8220;target-rich environment&#8221; for political news. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Esteemed Disney director, John Musker, known for blockbuster hits like &#8220;The Little Mermaid&#8221;, criticized the company&#8217;s approach of prioritizing social messaging over compelling storytelling. He urged the entertainment giant to restore its focus on providing top-tier entertainment, indicating a shift away from its current agenda<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":2253942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Musker.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2253941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Musker.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2253941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2253941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2253941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2253942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2253941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2253941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2253941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}