Assignment 3

“All You Need is Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust!”

            Once upon a time, there was a magical man with an incredible imagination. His name was Walt Disney.  What began as a few simple cartoons of a lovable little mouse mushroomed into a gigantic enterprise of theme parks, movies, a radio station, a television channel, and endless merchandising.  Every child in America grew up watching classics such as Cinderella, Winnie the Pooh, and the Lion King.  As children outgrow these animated movies, Disney was there for them with endless television shows and movies for every age group.  Disney taught us that all our wildest dreams could come true, if we could only believe firmly enough in them.  So what if that dream is to become a Disney child star just like the ones we worshipped?  The process is fairly straightforward, but requires a very specific kind of child to fit the Disney mold.

            First of all, to become a Disney child star, you must forfeit your own childhood.  It may seem ironic that to work for a corporation so targeted toward the youngest generation that this step is necessary, but it is a price that must be paid.  Few child stars have the luxury of attending main-streamed schools, opting for home schooling in their free time between takes instead to accommodate their hectic lifestyles.  They miss out on events most of us took for granted like high school football games, school dances, extra-curricular activities, and lazy summers spent goofing

off with friends.  Acting becomes their full-time job years before their peers are even thinking about their future careers.  They are placed under an extraordinary amount of pressure to out-perform other stars in every area. While other kids are spending their free time riding bikes with neighborhood

friends or attending their high school prom, Disney kids are stressing out over call-backs and Hollywood premiers.  They are expected to grow up overnight, and the world seems to forget they are children who are bound to make childish mistakes.

            Let’s be honest—even the most dedicated actor may not cut it as a Disney child star unless they have the “look” that Disney strives for.  Possibly even more important than talent, perfect hair is a definite must.  Beginning with the classic characters like Snow White, Prince Charming, and Cinderella, Disney stars must have radiant, flowing locks worthy of shampoo and conditioner commercials.  In one of Disney’s latest animated films, “Tangled” the heroine, Rapunzel, uses her magical hair for everything from rappelling out of her tower to saving lives to attracting a dashing young man with equally gorgeous locks.  Facebook groups such as “Disney gave me unrealistic expectations about hair” and blogs of a similar idea discuss how having such hair defies the laws of physics.  However, Disney continues to produce a long lineage of actors and actresses with incredible, superhuman, movie star hair.  Disney stars are not known for being unnaturally skinny, but significantly overweight aspiring actors and actresses must understand that they will be cast as the funny best friend, and have little chance at a leading role.  They also may be expected to appear on commercials promoting healthy habits.  Disney seems to especially appreciate hosting ethnically diverse casts, so minorities may have an advantage. 

            To be a Disney star, you must also possess a wide-range of talents as Disney’s children are known for their extreme versatility.  While most stars are content to simply act or sing, Disney kids seem unfailingly to think they can do it all.  They use their acting careers as trampolines into the music industry.  For example, 90s pop sensations Brittney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Christiana Aguilera all got their starts as children on the Mickey Mouse Club show.  More recently, Miley Cyrus’s entire show (“Hannah Montana”) revolved around the idea that she was a girl leading a normal life by day, but a pop star by night.  This show launched a huge musical career featuring songs by both Cyrus’s TV personalities Miley and Hannah Montana.  Although the show “Hannah Montana” has since been cut, (and an oddly similar new show “A.N.T.” has taken its place) Cyrus continues to pursue a music career.  Nearly every Disney child star releases a single, if not an entire album to showcase their singing talents.  Whether or not they are actually talented is certainly up for debate, but children lack the ability to discern good music from bad and eagerly buy the CDs because they love the shows and movies the singers were first famous for.

            Another trait that indicates a successful childhood career with Disney is having the potential for psychological meltdown later in life.  Perhaps it is due to the incredible amount of stress placed on these child stars, or maybe the rumored “Disney curse” is true.  In any case, Disney has developed a reputation for producing children who make uncommonly bad decisions as young adults.  According to NY Daily News, Demi Lovato, the star of Disney’s TV movie series “Camp Rock”, television show “Sonny With A Chance”, and budding musician, went into rehab in October of 2010 after punching a backup dancer while on tour with Disney boy band, the Jonas Brothers.  She cited depression, a long-time eating disorder, cutting, and drug/alcohol abuse as reasons for her admittance.  Christina Aguilera, Zac Efron, and Shia LaBoeuf, have all had run-ins with the law in relation to alcohol abuse, per Salerno and Associates Criminal Defense.  The Examiner recounts the crimes committed by perhaps the most famous Disney child star gone bad, Brittney Spears.  Brittney’s record includes everything from a 55 hour marriage, attacking paparazzi, shaving her own head, admitted marijuana use, and multiple psych ward admittances.  The list goes on.  The reality is that the majority of child stars will not enjoy the same level of success post-puberty.  Many stars cannot cope with this fact or have not adequately prepared themselves for the future.  Regardless of the reason behind these incidents, Disney consistently produces an ultra-high level of psychological meltdowns as compared with the rest of society.

            To be sure, being a Disney star has its rewards.  The fame and fortune associated with being a part of such a successful corporation at such young ages is virtually unparalleled.  It takes huge sacrifices, however, and is debatable whether these payoffs are even remotely worth it.  Becoming a Disney child star requires a lot more than “faith, trust, and pixie dust.”  Unless, of course, by “pixie dust” Tinker Bell was referring to crack.  In that case, she might just be pointing you in the right direction.  

Works Cited:

"Disney Stars Gone Bad." Salerno and Associates: Criminal Defense. Salerno and Associates. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://www.avscriminallaw.com/article.php?id=76>.

Everett, Cristina. "Demi Lovato Confesses to Cocaine Use before Rehab, Blames Promoters for Supplying Free Drugs." New York Daily News. New York Daily News, 23 Apr. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/demi-lovato-confesses-cocaine-rehab-blames-promoters-supplying-free-drugs-article-1.1066069>.

Schleffler, Amanda. "Demi Lovato Enters Rehab - Is There a Disney Curse?" Examiner.com. Examiner.com, 3 Nov. 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. <http://www.examiner.com/article/demi-lovato-enters-rehab-is-there-a-disney-curse>.