There are some joyless individuals on this planet who view the Walt Disney Company as an evil, souless entity akin to Hitler's Third Reich. Disney may be responsible for the Jonas Brothers, Cars, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua's domination of this year's Imagen Awards, but they've also given us WALL-E, Splash Mountain, and the triumphant comeback of Mr. Billy Ray Cyrus. I'm a fan of Walt Disney and his cadre of anthropomorphic mice, ducks, and vest-wearing dogs, and when the powers-that-be finally decide to thaw the man out, I hope Ole Walt visits the homes of every last Disney-hater and kicks them square in the nutsack.I had the pleasure of spending a week in beautiful Walt Disney World two weeks ago. My wife and I rode the rides, saw the shows, and crammed food into our greedy, slobbering maws. It was the quintessential American vacation and we relished every greasy minute of it. One evening as I was stuffing a 27th forkful of German potato salad into my mouth at EPCOT Germany's All-You-Care-to-Eat German Buffet, I decided that upon my return to Raleigh, I would immerse myself in the wonderful world of Disney, re-watch the classic animated features from my youth, check out some of the obscure films I'd never bothered with before, and watch some of the new stuff currently being pumped into the cultural landscape. So, starting tomorrow, Giant Electric Penguin will be bringing you 30 Days of Disney. Each day in the month of September, GEP will present a classic from the Disney vault, discuss it at an inappropriate length, and slap an arbitrary grade on it. I hope you'll join us for this special month of magic and whimsy. And I promise: absolutely no talking chihuahuas.
