ABSTRACT

The Walt Disney Company has been delivering happiness to millions of kids for many years with such animated masterpieces as Cinderella, Bambi, and The Lion King. In spite of this accomplishment, the firm has drawn considerable hostility from many who have accused Disney of pillaging their culture to make a fast buck (Didcock, 1997). The Greeks are up in arms over the portrayal of their ancient hero in Hercules. The Danes are indignant at Disney’s transformation of their most cherished national fable The Little Mermaid. In France, Disney’s animated treatment of Victor Hugo’s classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame was greeted with howls of protest. Disney changed the name to Notre-Dame de Paris, made the ending more upbeat, and, to add insult to injury, failed to mention that Victor Hugo had anything to do with the story in the first place (Hainer, 1997). Not surprisingly, the

film attracted angry reaction from Victor Hugo’s descendants who denounced the Disney movie as “vulgar globalization.”