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‘Tis the season for love and enchanted princesses and handsome princes and such-like.¹ But lately, former fans of these ideas just aren’t feeling it, especially from the Disney side of our magical fandoms. When the Big Mouse keeps getting into big trouble, how’s a Christian fan to respond? Joshua Shepherd brings a balanced biblical perspective into the studio.

Episode sponsors

1. Enclave Publishing: Mortal Queens
2. Return of the Lost Ones by David Liberto
3. Realm Makers: 2024 writers conference

Mission update

• New reviews every Friday, including for The Fox and the Dragon
• Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild

Concession stand

• Our title emphasizes fight to love, not just rant about or reject.
• At the same time, Disney has been making truly terrible decisions.
• Just last week, they announced new ones, and got hit with a lawsuit.
• Some criticisms, however, are simply invalid, or badly out of proportion.
• Discernment means we must critique the bad but also praise the good.

Introducing guest Josh Shepherd

Josh Shepherd is a journalist, editor and communications professional who often reports at the intersection of religion and culture. His articles have appeared in media outlets including Christianity Today, The Federalist, Family Theater Productions, and The Roys Report. A graduate of the University of Colorado and native of the Great State of Texas, Josh has lived in the Washington, D.C. area for over a decade. He and his wife, Terri, also run a marketing consultancy called Shepherd Strategies. They stay busy raising two kids, currently ages 3 and almost-5.

• See all Josh’s articles at Authory

Quotes and notes from Lorehaven

• Fantastical Truth episode 144. Which Top Six Fantasy Franchises Gave Fans Grief in 2022?
• Fantastical Truth episode 173. Why Are So Many Summer ‘Blockbusters’ Getting Busted?
• Disney Might Finally Learn Why It’s Failing, Jenneth Dyck for Lorehaven, Oct. 26, 2023
• Fantastical Truth episode 194. Which Villains Beat the Superheroes in 2023 Flopbuster Films?
• ‘Frozen 2’ Shows Queen Elsa Vainly Chasing After Wintry Winds, Shannon Stewart for Lorehaven, Jan. 18, 2024

Quotes and notes from Disney’s legacy

• Top 7 Hits & Misses in 2023 Family Entertainment, Josh Shepherd for Family Theater, Feb. 1, 2024
• How Mary Poppins Changed My Family And the World, Josh Shepherd for The Federalist, Jan. 21, 2019
• Guideposts: “Walt Disney on Divine Inspiration,” June 1949
• Disenchanted: Did The Critics Get It All Wrong? (podcast)
• Review: Steven Greydanus on Disney’s ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ from Screenwriter Linda Woolverton, Oct. 18, 2019

Quotes and notes from last week

• Gina Carano Sues Disney Over Firing From ‘The Mandalorian,’ Elon Musk Funding the Suit, Variety, Feb. 6, 2024
• Carano v. The Walt Disney Company, et. al., complaint (PDF), Feb. 6, 2024
• Disney’s Q1 2024 Earnings Call: Epic Games, ESPN, ‘Moana 2′, and Taylor Swift to Disney+, BoardwalkTimes.net, Feb. 7, 2024
• Disney+ Loses 1.3 Million Subscribers Following Price Increase, IGN, Feb. 7, 2024
• ‘Moana 2’ Set at Disney With Surprise 2024 Release Date, Variety, Feb. 7, 2024
• Zootopia 2 Gets 2025 Release Date as Disney Reveals Timings for Toy Story 5, Frozen 3 and More, IGN, Feb. 7, 2024

1. Flopping films: Why the agenda and activism?

• In 2021, Disney/Lucasfilm fired Carano based on her social media posts.
• Twitter bullies and others demanded she accept their religious beliefs.
• Last week, Carano (backed by Elon Musk’s attorneys) sued the company.
• Of course, many pundits criticize Disney for “not-so-secret” agendas.
• These represent a very real threat to social morality and even policy.
• Many parents also believe these ideologies specifically threaten kids.
• Undeniably, these progressivist posturings cost the company millions.
• Last week, Disney announced a surprise sequel to Moana in theaters.
• They’d retooled this based on a Disney+ series; seems rather desperate.
• We’re also getting more sequels to Zootopia, Frozen, and even Toy Story.
• For those who say, “ew, try something new,” Disney has, and it failed.

2. Magic myths: What are critics getting wrong?

• Myth: “Disney was a Christian who would be shocked by his company.”
• Fact: Walt’s nominal belief system was influenced by Norman Vincent Peale, “The Power of Positive Thinking.” You can see true spiritual ideas in the sense of “providence” in his fairy tales, conscience, or American civic religion, but ideas of sin and judgment were mocked even then.
• Myth: Disney hasn’t produced anything good since Walt Disney died.
• Fact: Walt Disney died in 1966, yet many consider The Lion King or Remember the Titans or The Avengers as peak Disney.
• Myth: Disney is entirely “woke” today and can’t make any good stories.
• Fact: Even recently, we see examples of good storytelling, a comedic love story like Elemental, a brothers-in-arms A-Team rescue series like Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and Togo starring Willem Dafoe.

3. Faithful fantasy: How can we love Disney anyway?

• “Do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil” (Rom. 16:24).
• Don’t let the present nonsense ruin your love of old Disney films.
• If you avoid Disney Plus, get the older movies on physical media!
• When by chance Disney (or its companies) make a better movie, rejoice.
• Be a good fan “government” that punishes evil and rewards good.

Com station

Top question for listeners

• Do you still love Disney, or find yourself fighting to love Disney?

Adam David Collings intercepted episode 198 about sports fans:

There is some good convicting truth in this. Here in Australia, sport is almost a religion. It’s generally accepted that everyone is into it, and if you’re not, there’s something wrong with you (and you’re even un-Australian). I think this has lead nerds like me to proudly proclaim our indifference to “sports ball” and even take pride in our (often inflated) ignorance of sports. But this is not a loving response. I can’t control how others respond to my fandom, but I can control how I respond to theirs.

M. E. Duffield on Instagram remarked:

I may or may not have read LOTR during the big game last year.

Next on Fantastical Truth

Next week this podcast releases episode 200! Stay tuned for new surprises from Lorehaven and its staff creators, not just next week but this year. And next week we’ll pause to consider not just how we find the best Christian-made fantasy, but why we must explore fantastical stories for God’s glory.