When something has the “Disney” label stamped on it, parents imminently assume that it’s clean for their children. But how clean is Disney, really?

Everyone has heard of the “secret sexual messages” in Disney classics, but are they really there? And if they are, are they meant to be? Sex may sell, but is that Disney’s philosophy?

I have viewed the most controversial movies, curious to see if these messages are really there. I have yet to catch some of them, but others are very clear. Take “The Lion King” for example. In the scene where Simba lies down and dust flies up in the air, it seems the word “sex” is spelled. I did see that, very clearly. Disney released a statement saying that the word is not “S-E-X” but “S-F-X” standing for special effects. The sad part is, a little boy started this controversy. It may depend on your own eyes, but pause the movie just as the dust starts flying up. My biology class paused it then, and we all saw the word sex. Maybe it’s our mind, but why would Disney risk even putting SFX? And then again, why would they need a word at all?

“Aladdin” is another controversial movie. Apparently, if you listen very closely, at one time in the movie, where Jasmine’s tiger attacks Aladdin, you can catch him saying “All good teenagers take off their clothes.” Again, Disney issued a statement saying that Aladdin’s line is sometime along the lines of “C’mon good kitty take off and go” Believable? The issue is, this part is underscored, and so either one is hard to hear. I personally didn’t catch it, but many people believe that it is there.

The movie with the most possible “sex references” is “The Little Mermaid.” The first issue was on the original video cover, the picture was of the main characters with King Triton’s castle in the background. The top of the castle looked like a penis to many. This uproar caused Disney to change the cover to the present day one. If you look at the old cover, it does look like a penis, but think; would you have noticed that on your own? I don’t think I would have. Another problem in the movie is in the scene Eric and Ariel are getting married. Complaints poured in about the priest having an erection, as he is shown perfectly normal in one shot and with an odd lump at the bottom of his robe in the next. Disney had another rebuttal for this, too, saying that it was simply the priest’s knee. I did not see a knee or an erection.

There are others, too. Supposedly naked cartoon women shown for a split second in “The Rescuers”, another in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, a dancing condom in the “Be Our Guest” scene of “Beauty and the Beast”. These may or may not be there, I have yet to look, nor do I care. If Disney wanted sex in its movies, then they probably wouldn’t have stopped with one subliminal message. Disney is known for creativity, though, seeing as they make cameo appearances of famous characters from other animated movies in the newer ones. This is fascinating, if you notice. Could the sex, if there is sex, have started as early as 1937 with the release of the first Disney animation, “Snow White”? When Snow White first encounters a dwarf, he seems nervous and exclaims “What are you and who are you doing?!” I don’t think this has anything to do with the later occurrences, but you never know.

One more lesser known controversial Disney message- the cute, classic and loveable characters of “Pooh Bear”. Some say the “secretly” stand for mental illnesses people have. Pooh represents a person with an eating disorder, or an obese person. Tigger is the portrayal of an ADHD child. Kanga shows an overprotective mother and Roo has separation anxiety. Piglet seems to have a type of general anxiety disorder or maybe panic disorder, while Owl is narcissistic. Rabbit shows OCD and Eyeore clearly has clinical depression. One may even go as far as to say Christopher Robin is Schizophrenic, but how can anyone assume that when we don’t know his age? Does this seem purposeful or just a very convenient mistake? Is classifying and diagnosing “Pooh Bear” characters going over the top?

This Disney controversy is decades old and still going strong. Most of them seem made up to me. I highly doubt the “Pooh Bear” characters were meant to be symbols of mental problems, but characters with personalities. What do you think? Are some of these “sexual references” all in a person’s mind or actually there?