After footage of Disney’s “reimagine tomorrow” internal meetings leaked, parents all across America were appalled by executive producer Latoya Ravenau’s “not-at-all-secret gay agenda.” She even admits on screen, “I was just, wherever I could, basically adding queerness.”
To add fuel to the fire, Disney recently released a statement to decry a Florida bill that makes it illegal for teachers to talk about gender identity and sexual orientation to kids third grade or below. In response, Gov. Ron DeSantis also signed a bill that revoked Disney’s autonomous status, which had shielded them from millions of dollars in taxes.
In their theme parks, Disney also stopped using gendered phrases like “ladies and gentlemen” or “boys and girls.” Instead, the workers are now trained to say, “Hello, everyone,” or “Hello, friends.”
These recent developments motivated investigative journalist Christopher Rufo, who has two kids, to launch the #dropdisney campaign.
His website, titled dropdisney.com, reads, “They hate you for protecting your children’s innocence. They hate you for not handing your kids over for indoctrination. They hate you for not traumatizing them with fake ideologies about race and gender. It’s time to stop giving money to people who hate you.”
I understand his campaign, but as a parent, it would be hard to tell my 3-year-old that we’re dropping all of her favorite movies, especially ones involving Elsa, Anna and Olaf. If you’re a parent of a little girl, you get the reference. In fact, as I was writing this, my 3-year-old sat down, snuggled with me, and said, “I want to watch Disney. Can I watch Disney?”
This dilemma between dropping Disney+ and keeping it for shows and movies like Frozen and Encanto made me hunt for alternatives. While the list of genuinely entertaining options is short, it’s growing:
Tuttle Twins (youtube.com/c/TuttleTwins)
A crazy grandma and her zany pet raccoon travel through time with the Tuttle Twins to learn lessons about everything from inflation to the effects of government regulation. Each animated episode is laced with laugh-out-loud physical and verbal humor. When I watch the show with my 3-year-old, she always asks to watch another episode, but I laugh the most.
Based on a hit children’s book series that takes the “learning first” approach, the Tuttle Twins cartoon takes the opposite approach. It’s refreshingly “entertainment first,” which means it’s not a chore for you or your kids to watch. You can stream it for free on YouTube, or to skip the ads you can subscribe to Angel Studios and get other content like The Chosen as well.
VeggieTales (youtube.com/veggietales/videos)
Since the 1990s, VeggieTales has been the gold standard for Christian kids’ entertainment. Even though it’s been a long time since Larry’s first silly song, “The Water Buffalo Song,” Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber haven’t aged. They’re still clever, and they’re still funny.
Here’s a pro tip. Don’t watch the VeggieTales episodes that were produced by Netflix. There’s nothing evil about them, but they’re weird and not funny at all. The Netflix version features Bob with blue eyes and Larry with hazel eyes, and it’s written for 2-year-olds. The entertaining VeggieTales episodes feature characters with black dots for eyes.
Minno (gominno.com/)
With tried and true shows like VeggieTales, Owlegories and Buck Denver Asks … What’s in the Bible?, Minno Kids features some of the best shows to teach kids biblical truths. Their two taglines are “Stories Kids Love” and “Stream shows where God is real.”
I haven’t watched every show on Minno, but at $6.99 per month, they have enough time-tested kids’ content to make it worth every penny.
DW Kids (dailywire.com/dw-kids)
In response to Disney’s attack on children, Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing announced his company would “invest a minimum of $100 million over the next three years into a line of live-action and animated children’s entertainment on its streaming platform.”
Although the platform won’t host the well-funded kids’ content until spring 2023, this shift toward kids’ entertainment on conservative platforms is worth noting. In the words of Boreing, “The magic has left the kingdom. It’s time to build new things we can believe in.” {eoa}
Rob Vischer is a freelance writer for Charisma News.
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