Walt Disney Co.'s Princess and the Frog Stirs Controversy Among Evangelicals

I think we evangelicals have bigger things to worry about than this:

Walt Disney Co. no doubt expected kudos for breaking racial barriers in its holiday hit, "The Princess and the Frog," and that praise has come from some quarters. But the entertainment giant also finds itself receiving stinging criticism from conservative evangelical Christians on a Web warpath. Hollywoodjesus.com said the animated feature's preoccupation with voodoo, black magic, bloody amulets and Ouija boards was "too dark and extreme for this kind of kids' film." Christiananswers.net rated the movie "Offensive"; citing a Tarot card reading, soul transfer and implied reincarnation, the site called the film "demonic." A reviewer for the respected magazine Christianity Today charged that the movie was "disturbing," with a "hollow, thoughtless core." These and other essays provoked furious debate involving hundreds of Internet responses, likely echoed in evangelical moms' groups in churches nationwide. Disney declined to respond directly to the criticism, saying in an email to me: "The Princess and the Frog is a lighthearted musical fairytale set in New Orleans during the jazz age featuring Disney's first African American Princess, which audiences and critics around the world have enthusiastically embraced."

Disney hasn't been as family friendly as it has in the past but it's still the only entertainment company that you can depend on to provide high quality family fare. Evangelicals criticism of this movie, like their mis-guided boycotts in the past, is mis-placed. We should be looking to Disney as a partner in the promotion of solid family values.