For everyone who's ever read my LJ and wondered, just why does CJ love Disney so much, I offer you this. They're a corporate behemoth. A megalithic soul sucking entity that reconstitutes the cultural zeitgeist into a series of inoffensive stories for children, and have built a carefully constructed plastic and plaster wonderland that extracts money from your pocket with each step. Walt Disney was a creative tyrant, demanding that his artists pour their heart and soul into every project. Those are the standard arguments anyway, and while I don't disagree with them entirely, the truth (as it often is in this life) is a much more complicated and nuanced thing. Today the company has arguably lost its way. Those of us in the fandom are praying that men like John Lasseter and Joe Rhode can restore the artistry and legacy that's been all but ignored lately.

The following links are to some of the best Disney blogs on the web. With the exception of the first one, they're all completely independent of The Mouse. These people all "get it" and can express their love much more eloquently than I.

Re-Imagineering Disney and Pixar employees anonymously analyze the company for recent missteps, and offer new solutions.
Epcot Central A blog dedicated to Walt Disney's unfulfilled promise of a "Community of Tommorow".
Passport to Dreams Old and New An examination of the rich artistic legacy left by Walt's "nine old men", the animators and imagineers who broke ground in a brand new field.
2719 Hyperion Pointing out small details hidden in the scenery, as well as revealing things from the past, this blog created the logo below:


Its Epcot's 25th anniversery this year, and the company doesn't have a single thing planned. As the park moves from inspirational permanent world's fair to mindless thrill land, we think its terrible how Disney is misusing what could have been their greatest asset.