Rating  - Pure tripe
The editorial review of this book is spot on. As a long time lover of Disney, I picked up this book at the library, interested in seeing something more akin to the history of the studio or an analysis on animation as an ever-evolving artform. Instead I found a book written by an author who can't decide to praise Disney or bash it. In every entry, he practically gives away the plot of each movie by summarization. He then finishes off with a hyperbolic overanalyzation of the "message" of the movie. It would be wrong to call this book "propaganda" because he flip flops between love and hate. While it IS great that he shows love for Disney's accomplishments in many movies, including the underrated The Fox and the Hound, the author has a habit for picking out "messages" and "themes" that nobody in their right mind would honestly believe. Okay, it's easy to see how The Fox and the Hound is a parable about civil rights and the issues of color, just as it's easy to see how The Lion King is either an adaptation of King Lear or a ripoff of Kimba, but that simply wasn't the point of the movie. In other places, the author gets downright looney. Most viewers saw Atlantis: The Lost Empire as either a straightfoward, gung ho action adventure movie or a seering disappointment. The movie according to the book? Atlantis was an attack on the ideas of "venture capitalism", saying that western ideas of progression are poorly disguised evil imperialism. More importanly, with the movie, Eisner is deliberately attacking Walt's ideals. "Walt must be spinning in his grave" the author writes. So I guess Rourke isn't the villain and what he's doing is right? In The Emperor's New Groove, the author doesn't enjoy the movie simply for its outrageous humor but takes a look at the villain Yzma and quips "once again Disney shows its misogynistic hatred of old and ugly females." It was at that point that I closed the book and put it back on the shelf. I would like to close by noting that the earlier movies, with their "passive" princesses and dead parents, weren't all bad and that we don't always need to have fiery, headstrong types. Furthermore, by writing everything in a religious light, the author makes Disney sound like a big religion itself, with sole ownership on movies with "moral messages", instead of just the simple entertainment giant that it is.
Rating  - Couldn't put it down, BUT...
As an avid Disney fan, this book catered to my interests. It was written well, and the writer brought up some interesting positive themes in Disney movies both old and new. However, he was a bit too liberal for my tastes...I really don't think a four-year-old is going to get the idea that the crows in Dumbo are perpetuating stereotypes about African-Americans. There were a few such examples in the book that just seemed like a bit too much...but all in all, it was worth reading!
Rating - Textbook Writing
I found this book to be boring and reminded me of reading a text book in college. Big disappointment.
Rating  - Discussing ideological themes in thirty-one Disney films
Religion journalist Mark Pinsky presents The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust, a sober exploration of the role that the animated features of the Walt Disney Country have carried out in the spiritual, emotional, and ethical development of generations of young adults. Discussing ideological themes in thirty-one of the most popular Disney films including "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", "Beauty and the Beast", and "The Lion King", The Gospel According to Disney also reaches beyond the impact of the morality plays on the big screen to such issues as the postive and negative contributions that theme parks have on American culture, why the Southern Baptist Convention chose to boycott Disney in the 1990's and the repercussions of that movement, and much more. An astutely researched and written exploration of the interesection between spirituality and one company's domain of popular entertainment.
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