Frozen’s Queen Elsa Is a Dangerous Autocrat

Disney’s Animated Franchise Sends Children an Anti-Democratic Message 

So far, our republic has survived the Civil War, the Great Depression, two world wars, and even the 2016 election. But can it survive the new sequel to the mega-hit animated film, Frozen?

I doubt it.

While this now-concluding decade has seen autocrats rise and democracy decline around the globe, no unelected ruler of the 2010s has set as seductive an example of unaccountable authoritarianism as Queen Elsa, the monarch at the center of the Frozen franchise.

For all its lovely images and irresistible songs, Frozen celebrates the illogic of monarchs …

How Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse Elevated the Everyman

The Disneyfication of American History Began Long Before the Theme Parks

There are few symbols of pure Americana more potent than the Disney theme parks. To walk down any of the destinations’ manicured Main Streets, U.S.A.—as hundreds of thousands of …

How ‘Bambi’ Hoodwinked American Environmentalists

The Sentimental Disney Cartoon Cemented the Myth That Man and Nature Can’t Coexist

Perking up her ears, the dog was the first to notice them, just a few blocks from our homes in east-central Illinois. One-by-one the does strolled from the woods …

Disney’s Bob Iger for President

Running a Major, Publicly Traded Multinational Requires Many of the Same Skills That Make for a Good Commander in Chief

Early in Donald Trump’s time on NBC’s The Apprentice, I wrote a column for the New York Times wondering why the network had cast someone with such a spotty business …

Give Every California Kid a Free Trip to Disneyland

Visiting the Happiest Place on Earth Is a Golden State Resident's Fundamental Right

On Christmas Eve, it felt like the park was all ours.

When I was growing up in the 1980s and early ’90s, Disneyland was so reliably empty on the day before …

The Man Who Brought Flying Purple People Eaters to Life

Bob Baker Earned L.A.’s Love with Magical Marionettes and Ice Cream after Every Puppet Show

In the last decade, I’ve led dozens of tour groups on my Disneyland tour of downtown Los Angeles. We explore the heart and soul of the city as if it’s …