Apocrypha Now!
Part 2: Ghost cameo & sex in Disney cartoons
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The Legend: The ghost of a young boy who died in the house or apartment building where much of this film was shot can be dimly seen in the background of one scene, peering through a curtained window.
The Facts: The "spectral" figure - which can be seen more clearly in a later scene in the film - is a legitimate prop: a smaller-than-lifesize cardboard cutout of one of the film's stars, Ted Danson. Three Men and a Baby was shot on a soundstage in Toronto, not in a real house or apartment building. There never was a dead boy; there is no ghost in the film.
More Info:
Three Men and a Baby - with photos (ULRP)
Three Men and a Baby Ghost (AFU)
The Legend: When the character Simba kicks up a cloud of dust while perched on a high cliff about two-thirds of the way through this animated Disney film, the swirling cloud briefly congeals to form the letters "S-E-X."
The Facts: Well, I have looked, and - knowing in advance what I was supposed to be seeing - was able to spot a brief configuration that looked, well, vaguely like the word "SEX." Vaguely. It also seemed to me that the dust clouds might have spelled out the abbreviation "SFX" (as others have suggested), which stands for "special effects" in film jargon. But without some firsthand dirt from someone actually involved in the artwork for this film, I'm hard-pressed to say for sure what the word is, or whether there's even a word there at all.
That said, I must point out that this isn't the first time a Disney cartoon feature has been accused of bearing subliminal (or not-so-subliminal) sexual messages. According to some viewers, The Little Mermaid (1989) features a minister sporting an erection under his robes during a marriage ceremony. There is also, supposedly, an overtly phallic castle spire in the artwork for the film's videocassette packaging.
The Disney Company could claim that it would never encourage or allow its animators to intentionally place controversial messages in its cartoons, but it could not convincingly claim that no secret images exist in these films at all. Fans of Disney animation know better, for they've delighted for a long time in the sport of spotting "Hidden Mickeys" in the company's best known features. These are instances where some of Disney's trademark characters - most often Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck or Goofy - appear covertly for brief moments in films where they are not officially featured as characters.
In Disney's defense, one might well argue that with the encouragement the Hidden Mickeys game gives enthusiasts to pore over each film frame-by-frame looking for such things, it would be folly for the company to permit other, more offensive references to be slipped in and possibly discovered. But that argument assumes that absolute control can be exercised over every action of the artists, which is unlikely indeed.
More Info:
The Lion King - with animated GIF (ULRP)
The Aroused Minister - with stills (ULRP)
The Little Mermaid's Castle - with stills (ULRP)
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