A Slavic Disney Princess

Oops, a correction. I had thought Anastasia was made by Disney. A closer look tells me it was made by 20th Century Fox, which was not at that time owned by Disney.

Love365 said:

Should there be a Slavic Disney princess?

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Insofar as Walt Disney reposed and in the past few decades, when his preferred successor was forced out in the 1980s and eventually replaced by others, and especially in the past ten years, the company has been taken over by people of the “woke” movement who are ideologically opposed to all of his core beliefs (Disney was a Christian and a known political conservative who was strongly patriotic and actively opposed to the spread of communism in Hollywood, to the point where many on the left bitterly resented him), who regard many of his best films with extreme contempt, I should say having a specifically Slavic Disney princess is impossible.

On the other hand, I would also argue we already in a sense have one, in that the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty, although based on the ancient Franco-Germanic fairy tale and featuring characters and settings that are evocative of the Holy Roman Empire, was nonetheless more influenced by Tchaikovsky’s ballet than any written version thereof, and indeed uses his music extensively. Although they did not use the terrifying theme Tchaikovsky composed for the character the Disney film calls Malificent, perhaps because it was feared it might be too terrifying for such an audience, or for some other reason as yet unknown to me.*


*It is also a fact that Walt demanded a level of precision in the animation of this film that exceeded all others he made before or after, everything being hand drawn without xerography (which was introduced with 101 Dalmatians and used in subsequent films like The Jungle Book, but which causes noticeable distortions with the lines), and the production at times bogged down to the point where it was taking a month to animate one second of film. It took nine years from start to finish.

I believe this is also the film where the forest was drawn so as to look like a Gothic cathedral, reminiscent of cathedrals such as Gloucester Cathedral’s stained glass windows and arches (I do regard stained glass windows as a valid form of iconography and some Orthodox churches have used them with traditional Eastern painted icons, for example the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sophia in Los Angeles).

If you study the history of Walt Disney himself then you quickly conclude that he was anything but wholesome.

ArseniusTheSilent said:

If you study the history of Walt Disney himself then you quickly conclude that he was anything but wholesome.

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Well certainly he was a flawed man in many respects, but he was more wholesome I would argue than the current leadership of Disney insofar as he could never be accused of making it the official stated policy of the various corporate entities now known as “The Walt Disney Company” to be one of actively encouraging people to engage in various forms of self-mutilation and arsenokoetia, or of glamorizing people who do engage in such perversion, which is at present the current policy of the company which bears his name.

Also for that matter Disney was more wholesome than any other studio owner or CEO in Hollywood at the time, which is probably why his films primarily appealed to the youth market.

Love365 said:

Should there be a Slavic Disney princess?

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if the story can be pitched, sure.

Why?
Given Disney's history, they would likely find the most obscure pre-Christian tale, take everything out of context, then turn it into a veiled anti-Orthodox propaganda piece that also demonizes the entire Slavic people too and anyone who thinks otherwise. Not to mention, given current Disney leadership, they'd likely find a way to turn someone whom we as Orthodox love and hold dear, like St Olga, and turn her into a transgender person who was killed by the evil Orthodox patriarchy. They'd probably "reinterpret" Sts Boris and Gleb into a gay couple martyred for their gay-ness instead of the honorable brothers they were.

Instead, I think a better idea would be to support an acquaintance of mine who is Georgian and has the blessing of Patriarch Ilia himself to make a movie about St Nina. THAT would be a far better cause.

Love365 said:

When Dreamworks made the movie Prince of Egypt,
they got advice from priests and rabbis.

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true, but they didn’t have the crazy agenda Disney does now

E.C. said:

Why?
Given Disney's history, they would likely find the most obscure pre-Christian tale, take everything out of context, then turn it into a veiled anti-Orthodox propaganda piece that also demonizes the entire Slavic people too and anyone who thinks otherwise. Not to mention, given current Disney leadership, they'd likely find a way to turn someone whom we as Orthodox love and hold dear, like St Olga, and turn her into a transgender person who was killed by the evil Orthodox patriarchy. They'd probably "reinterpret" Sts Boris and Gleb into a gay couple martyred for their gay-ness instead of the honorable brothers they were.

Instead, I think a better idea would be to support an acquaintance of mine who is Georgian and has the blessing of Patriarch Ilia himself to make a movie about St Nina. THAT would be a far better cause.

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A movie about St. Nino would be awesome (yes, her name was Nino in Georgian; Georgian does not follow the conventions of most other languages when it comes to names, or words, for example, Alleiluia is Alilo in Georgian, and the Georgian word for Orthodoxy is martlmadidebloba.

St. Nino was an Armenian princess who converted the Georgians, and it is my prayer relations between the Georgian and Armenian churches will improve and reach the same level of warmth that characterizes the current loving relations between the Antiochian Orthodox Church and the Syriac Orthodox Church, and or Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the autonomous Church of SInai under the omophorion of the Jerusalem patriarchate, and the Coptic Orthodox Church, all three of which have very warm relations with each other.

The specific relationship between the Syriac and Antiochian Orthodox Church is documented here:

A Synodal and Patriarchal Letter.

To All Our Children, Protected by God, of the Holy See of Antioch:

Beloved:

You must have heard of the continuous efforts for decades by our Church with the sister Syrian Orthodox Church to foster a better knowledge and understanding of both Churches, whether on the dogmatic or pastoral level. These attempts are nothing but a natural expression that the Orthodox Churches, and especially those within the Holy See of Antioch, are called to articulate the will of the Lord that all may be obey, just as the Son is One with the Heavenly Father (John 10:30).

It is our duty and that of our brothers in the Syrian Orthodox Church to witness to Christ in our Eastern region where He was born, preached, suffered, was buried and rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sent down His Holy and Life Giving Spirit upon His holy Apostles.

All the meetings, the fellowship, the oral and written declarations meant that we belong to One Faith even though history had manifested our division more than the aspects of our unity.

All this has called upon our Holy Synod of Antioch to bear witness to the progress of our Church in the See of Antioch towards unity that preserves for each Church its authentic Oriental heritage whereby the one Antiochian Church benefits from its sister Church and is enriched in its traditions, literature and holy rituals.

Every endeavor and pursuit in the direction of the coming together of the two Churches is based on the conviction that this orientation is from the Holy Spirit, and it will give the Eastern Orthodox image more light and radiance, that it has lacked for centuries before.

Having recognized the efforts done in the direction of unity between the two Churches, and being convinced that this direction was inspired by the Holy Spirit and projects a radiant image of Eastern Christianity overshadowed during centuries, the Holy Synod of the Church of Antioch saw the need to give a concrete expression of the close fellowship between the two Churches, the Syrian Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox for the edification of their faithful.

Thus, the following decisions were taken:

1. We affirm the total and mutual respect of the spirituality, heritage and Holy Fathers of both Churches. The integrity of both the Byzantine and Syriac liturgies is to be preserved.
2. The heritage of the Fathers in both Churches and their traditions as a whole should be integrated into Christian education curricula and theological studies. Exchanges of professors and students are to be enhanced.
3. Both Churches shall refrain from accepting any faithful from accepting any faithful from one Church into the membership of the other, irrespective of all motivations or reasons.
4. Meetings between the two Churches, at the level of their Synods, according to the will of the two Churches, will be held whenever the need arises.
5. Every Church will remain the reference and authority for its faithful, pertaining to matters of personal status (marriage, divorce, adoption, etc.).
6. If bishops of the two Churches participate at a holy baptism or funeral service, the one belonging to the Church of the baptized or deceased will preside. In case of a holy matrimony service, the bishop of the bridegroom’s Church will preside.
7. The above mentioned is not applicable to the concelebration in the Divine Liturgy.
8. What applies to bishops equally applies to the priests of both Churches.
9. In localities where there is only one priest, from either Church, he will celebrate services for the faithful of both Churches, including the Divine Liturgy, pastoral duties, and holy matrimony. He will keep an independent record for each Church and transmit that of the sister Church to its authorities.
10. If two priests of the two Churches happen to be in a locality where there is only one Church, they take turns in making use of its facilities.
11. If a bishop from one Church and a priest from the sister Church happen to concelebrate a service, the first will preside even when it is the priest’s parish.
12. Ordinations into the holy orders are performed by the authorities of each Church for its own members. It would be advisable to invite the faithful of the sister Church to attend.
13. Godfathers, godmothers (in baptism) and witnesses in holy matrimony can be chosen from the members of the sister Church.
14. Both Churches will exchange visits and will co-operate in the various areas of social, cultural and educational work.
    We ask God’s help to continue strengthening our relations with the sister Church, and with other Churches, so that we all become one community under one Shepherd.

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By the way, when Walt Disney was alive, he did not go out of his way to make the “Disney princesses” identifiable with specific ethnicities. Indeed most of his animated films did not even have one; there were only three who had a charater that was obviously and unmistakbly a Disney princess: Snow White, Cindarella, and Sleeping Beauty, the latter of which as I noted previously makes extensive use of Tchaikovsky’s music. Prince Florian, the name in the ballet of the man who revives Aurora from her slumber with a kiss, was renamed Prince Philip due to the popularity of Prince Philip and Queen Elisabeth II (may their memories be eternal), and there were 19th century uniforms and French architectural influences in Cindarella, whereas Snow White and Sleeping Beauty had more of a Germanic, Medieval appearance (particularly in the case of Sleeping Beauty, where we see one of the kingdoms represented by a flag reminscent of that of the Holy Roman Empire, and of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, although it was not a doppeladler but rather a conventional eagle of the sort that appears in nature, but it was black on a gold (well, yellow) blackground).

ArmyMatt said:

true, but they didn’t have the crazy agenda Disney does now

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Indeed, and furthermore I would fear that Dreamworks would be just as likely to produce something very woke as Disney. The unfortunate reality is that none of the major studios is rejecting wokeness.

The Liturgist said:

Indeed, and furthermore I would fear that Dreamworks would be just as likely to produce something very woke as Disney. The unfortunate reality is that none of the major studios is rejecting wokeness.

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well, we’ll see. they are taking massive losses and indie films are rising.

ArmyMatt said:

well, we’ll see. they are taking massive losses and indie films are rising.

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Indeed. I am praying you are right because I used to love visiting Disneyland, and I cannot ethically do it at present.

The Liturgist said:

Indeed. I am praying you are right because I used to love visiting Disneyland, and I cannot ethically do it at present.

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you’re not alone in that sentiment