Disney: The Mouse Betrayed (Hardcover)

by Peter Schweizer (Author) "It was Sunday afternoon, September 22, 1984, and Michael Eisner had just walked into the corporate offices at the Disney Studio lot..." (more)
Key Phrases: Disney World, Magic Kingdom, Michael Eisner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The dark shadow of America's entertainment giant.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc. (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895263874
• ISBN-13: 978-0895263872
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #495,832 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Profits, profits, profits, August 16, 2001

By	James P. Brett "Publius" (Valrico, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It all boils down to the 'bottom line', doesn't it? For me, the underlying theme of this book was profits, profits, profits. Whatever it takes to increase profits, that's what Disney will do.

Walt Disney was a different kind of man than Michael Eisner. Walt wanted to create good, wholesome family entertainment - he knew if he did that, the money would come. Eisner, playing off Disney's well-earned reputation, used the profits from Disney classics and theme parks to bankroll projects that Walt would have been embarrassed to mention publicly.

There was a lot of anecdotal evidence in this book, and some reviewers claim that these two authors essentially had 'an axe to grind', or were pushing a conservative agenda. That thought occurred to me too, though I've discovered through other sources that Eisner and his people never really liked Walt Disney's "family values".

Disney is a business, and shareholders are entitled to a return on their money. Given the success of G-rated movies and wholesome family entertainment, the book makes you wonder why Disney would invest heavily in other forms that are certainly less profitable. But this book isn't trying to answer that question; it just sticks to providing insight into the new direction Disney is going, and the causes its management supports. Some of the 'behind the scenes' goings-on will surprise and shock you. The Mouse has its fingers in many pies, some quite unsavory. Ooops, careful, we must be 'tolerant'.

Upon finishing the book, you'll never look at Disney the same.

65 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Magic Kingdom or An Evil Empire?, April 3, 2000

By	Steven Fantina (Phillipsburg, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While much hoopla has been made over the past ten years regarding the Walt Disney Company's departure from everything its founder embodied, few exposes have probed as deeply or turned up a fraction as much dirt as this work offers. In fact, the Schweizers explore some new territory in their frontal assault on what may be America's most dishonest company. Many works of this nature rely heavily on anonymous sources, second-hand guessing, or other questionable inferences. Whatever one think of this thorough expose, it should be commended for corroborating nearly every charge with a named first-hand source. From the slaves who toil in Asian sweat shops making Disney merchandise to the Disney employees who identify their pedophilia-practicing or voyeuristic co-workers to the law enforcement authorities citing company cover-ups of homicides and fatal accidents occurring on Disney property, every specific allegation is supported by a one or more credible identified accuser.

The conglomerate's lust for profits regularly puts patron in harm's ways at its theme parks. Rides that once closed during electrical storms, now routinely stay open, and named Disney employees are quoted as saying they are told to lie to inquiring customers asking if it is safe to board. Whenever anyone is injured-even seriously--at a Disney park, face-saving policy dictates that Guest Relations is called before 911. This allows park ambassadors to schmooze victims before they can receive treatment.

Compared to these physical dangers, the debauched entertainment of the new Disney seems tertiary. Despite the widespread sleaze that it puts out under its various pseudonyms, The Walt Disney Company still claims to be family-friendly. With subsidies offering pay-per-view porn, satanic--drug-glorifying--pro-suicide heavy metal music, and movies among Hollywood's most depraved, that boast is seen to be nothing more than public relations prevarication. Even its allegedly family fare has undergone a massive transmogrification. From the politically correct fascism of "Pocahontas" which slandered the reputation of many real people of integrity, to the plagiarism behind "The Lion King," Disney animated features are not quite up to the standards of old. In Disney's Hall of Presidents diorama, the revisionist approach is also seen. A patriotic speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln was the exhibit's featured attraction for years. The new liberal mindset at Disney has replaced such deleterious nationalism with a more inclusive sounding talk. But the real kicker is that Lincoln is no longer the only president to speak; Bill Clinton's robot (and I don't mean Al Gore) is now given an oration to present!

Perhaps the most hateful aspect of this remade company is virtual contempt shown to the memory of it founder. Jeffrey Katzenberg and a handful of Michael Eisner's other camarilla seem to delight in disgracing his name. Remarks like "I haven't been out to his gravesite so I don't know if he's spinning" pepper their conversations. Objective readers will acquire at least a more suspicious view of the mega-corporation, and even the most ardent devotees should never allow their children on to Disney property without the supervision of a trusted adult. While some will dismiss this extensively researched work as the screed of "Disney-haters," the Schweizers maintain powerful credibility by being former long-time Disneyites, and they obviously still carry tremendous respect for Walt Disney the man. He was a remarkable talent who brought much joy to the world. Tragically, his legacy is now routinely betrayed by the empire he created and the obnoxious coterie that runs it.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sad to read for sure, but the truth must come out!, September 19, 2000

By	"jdarryls" (Sarnia, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

I love the Disney image, most people do. But the fact is that Disney is a corporation, and whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, they do engage in big-corporation business. Most people look at the Disney brand name, and why not, it is squeaky clean. But as the authors reveal in this book, things go on in the company beyond the theme parks and movies. These two authors, backed by a whole lot of evidence, have uncovered some very shocking truths about Walt's company as it is today, and how it is being run by the likes of people like Michael Eisner. Do you know for example that Disney copied the whole idea for the Lion King from the works of a now dead Japanese animator? It is very much true, and the authors have gone to great lengths to prove it. And how about that when he came to Disney from Paramount, that Michael Eisner wanted to get rid of the animation department because he felt that what people really wanted to see was live action films, not childern's cartoon movies, though the fact that Disney still existed then, and now, was in the most major part, based on the high quality animated works that had made the company known worldwide. The fact that the mascot and logo for the company was a cartoon mouse created by Walt himself should have tipped Mr. Eisner off. Nothing personal on Mr. Eisner though, but he is the CEO of the company and he KNOWS what is going on, believe me. A lot of what I read makes me feel shame towards Disney today, and really challenged my view of the Walt Disney Co. And for those who may just think I don't like Disney and so I am trying to put its name in the mud, well not so. I am a Disney shareholder, and therefore I have ownership in this company and a hit against it is a hit against my investment. Not only have the people running Disney today (I mean at the very top)conducted activities that put the company name to shame and betrayed the mouse, but they have betrayed Walt Disney himself and his legacy, and ripped the pure white glove of his image and dream.