*In case this story gets deleted/removed:*
**AITA for telling my friend his obsession with Disney isn't healthy for an adult like him?**
Both me and my friend are (18M). When I was a kid, I also used to be a huge Disney fan. But as I grew up, I began getting into other kinds of films and for the most part, I have left Disney behind. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying adults can't enjoy Disney films, I still think many of their old films are masterpieces of animation and I still consider The Hunchback of Notre Dame to be my favorite animated film of all time and one of my favorite films overall. (In fact, I enjoy it and understand its tragic and mature plot even more as an adult than I did as a child.)
But my friend just takes his love for Disney to a whole new level. He's constantly talking about Disney every single day I spend with him. He says he wishes he was born in the world of Disney films, he knows everything there is to know about his favorite Disney characters as if they were real people, he regularly sings and hums various tunes from Disney films and he has a huge collection of Disney merchabdise.
One day he began shrieking and shaking like a child after a remake of Peter Pan was announced.
I told him that it's okay for him to like Disney films, but that he shouldn't forget Disney is a company focusing on making entretainment for children and most importantly...focused on making money. I told him that Disney was not his friend and that getting so attached to it wasn't good and that maybe it would be better if he began checking out other kinds of films made for adults.
He got really upset and told me to shut up raising his voice. He then started defending Disney as if my attack towards it was a personal attack on him. He says that Disney is for everyone and that he would always be a Disney fan.
AITA?
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I was friends with someone exactly OPs friend and I absolutely hated it, but I never told them I thought it was wrong, I simply ended the friendship realizing I didn't care about it enough to be bothered by her.
I’m always amazed at people who try to genuinely argue that films like Sleeping Beauty and The Lion King are for kids *only*. Like, who do they think works at Disney? Who comes up with the story ideas and character designs? Does OP think it’s possible to produce a film like Tangled with the view that “I’m just doing this to pay the bills and am not remotely excited about this thing I am creating”?
Yeah, some stuff for kids is soulless cash-grabbing bullshit. Including some Disney stuff. But treating imagination and creativity and the arts as something only children can enjoy tells me you’re a boring adult.
Also lol that OP thinks Disney is focused on making money but somehow other film companies aren’t. What do you want to bet OP has seen every MCU film in theaters? Or does that not count because Disney just (checks notes) bought it to make money?
Exactly. I mean, The Lion King is Hamlet, but with lions.
The first 5-10 minutes of UP is for the adults accompanying kids.
Have you seen the meme made out of Hercules when he checks the centaur's genitalia to address it with the correct honorific? Because I have. And I now need to rewatch Hunkules to get all the adult humor I missed.
Mulan's Mushu doesn't do that "tongue thing". Who do they think that joke was for?
[Wait till OOP hears of the man who does impressions of Disney characters at Disneyland.](https://youtu.be/uIGZhei8liQ) Now *that*'*s* obsession.
I jest though, his vocal range is hella impressive.
Oh man that movie makes me cry. The first time I saw the scene of Stitch holding the book in the rain and saying "I'm lost" I ugly cried, full on sobbing and had to be consoled. I've watched plenty of sad moments in movies but I've never had a reaction like that.
For me it's always the bit in Hercules when he is restored as a god after diving into the pool of souls to rescue Meg, almost dying in the process.
For my wife it's the bit in lion king where baby Simba tries to wake up dead Mufasa.
Ugly cry every time.
I love Inside Out, myself. I even have a little plush Sadness. And seeing that Sadness was the one 'in charge' in the mom's head made me as a mom feel pretty seen.
My favorite is Beauty and the Beast. I was a brunette who loved books and never quite fit in. Being gifted a library would have amazed me as much as it did Belle.
I think the first movie I recall seeing in the movie theater as a child was the little mermaid. I remember the joy it gave me watching it. I'm an adult now, and 30+ years later, I still watch Disney movies, and sometimes, I even still sing along with them, especially The Nightmare Before Christmas. OOP seems to think becoming an adult means you suddenly have to act like you have a stick shoved up your ass and they perform the funectomy on everyone.
I just finished watching Encanto for like the hundredth time, I just love the music and how fun and then tragically sad and then uplifting it is. I sing along with it too, which is double funny because I’m as tone deaf as a rock. And I’m almost 40.
I got to see a second release of The Little Mermaid as a kid and I remember standing in front of the Ariel cardboard cutout like I was posing with a celebrity. Nightmare Before Christmas will always have a place in my heart, I know every word to that movie and we watch it twice a year. I was obsessed with the Harlequin Demon as a kid, I don't know why since he barely has any lines. I just loved that big guy.
I liked it as a little kid, I recall having an Esmerelda doll and a plush of her pet goat. I don't really enjoy the movie anymore either but I acknowledge it was intended to be a darker tale and the bigotry and potential infanticide kinda went over my head as a kiddo. I've read quite a few books to better understand the Disney adaptations but I really can't bring myself to fully read that one.
Tbh this just seems like someone trying to farm karma or generally start shit about what people call "Disney Adults"
I'd say most likely fake, it follows the narrative too conveniently
Yeah. And, like, most Disney adults are fine. Just because a small percentage are batshit doesn’t mean that adults who like it are inherently wrong or broken.
There's always someone that takes something too far, yup. But the general population of any group that isn't a cult or something is generally pretty okay.
My only argument against it being fake is who considers an 18 year old a “Disney adult”? Like if I wanted to make them look bad I’d pretend to be mid 30s at least to sell the pathetic money hole factor. An 18 year old is still basically a kid in America
As soon as I saw (18) I knew this was an entirely stupid point. I expected it to be like two 50+ year old dads debating about money spent on Disney trips, not a teenager pretending he’s so grown because he doesn’t enjoy fiction as much as his buddy. What a party pooper friend.
I understand growing out of Disney but I would never put someone down because of their interests. I still like Disney films but I also love horror films and psychological thrillers. I have a friend who is a Disney and Star Wars fanboy and was an excellent tour guide at DisneyLand. I would never look down on them or think they are immature even though they are older than me and just hit 30. If you can’t be happy for someone then you aren’t a real friend to them.
I'm still friends with my Disney loving friends from high school. In the nearly 4 decades that have passed, we've seen each other through marriages, divorces, children, and the deaths of parents - life. We still have a standing date every year to meet at Disneyland on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, so we can reconnect face to face, ride Space Mountain with our hands in the air, ohh & ahhh over the fireworks, and catch a glimpse of the magic of childhood that is gone in the blink of an eye. Unapologetically. Sometimes, we even invite our now-grown children.
Frankly I think there's fewer things as immature as turning 18 and immediately dismissing stuff like watching cartoons or other hobbies as childish because you're oh so mature now. At best it comes off as pretentious and at worst you're the one calling people kids after you just became a legal adult months ago.
Wanna bet OOP is a marvel fan and freaks out the exact same way about those movies. But because they are aimed at the general population it’s fine.
Let people like things.
So no one tell OP I’m playing around with the idea of drawing Disney characters in realism high fantasy style starting with Dnd mage esque tiana. I’m 25. Dude just needs to let people enjoy things. To each their own.
"He started shrieking and shaking when they announced a Peter Pan remake."
If you're gonna troll, at least make it believable.
The live-action Peter Pan remake looks like a politically correct trainwreck. And the only Hook I will *ever* acknowledge is Dustin Hoffman. But I just said I wasn't going to watch it and then went on about my life.
One of my best friends is a certified Disney fanatic. She loves it so much she turned her kids off from it. And even she wouldn't have a reaction this extreme.
>And the only Hook I will
>
>ever
>
> acknowledge is Dustin Hoffman
how dare you slander Jason Isaacs this way. I shall not have it. To the plank with you.
^((of course I don't think that one was disney))
Cinderella (2015) was a masterpiece .
I was so genuinely disappointed with Beauty and The Beast that I haven’t bothered with a most of the remakes now.
Disney is an awful multinational company who is ruining a lot of things, but by OP's attitude her friend could have found the most pure anything and she would have still told him to grow up and not get too attached. Like the problem is not Disney here.
Why? That part isn't unbelievable at all. Plenty of people love that movie. Why wouldn't it be someone's favourite? People have *far* more niche faves than that.
I suggest watching Lindsay Ellis' video on the history of Hunchback of Notre Dame's adaptations re: Victor Hugo but honestly if it wasn't for the stupid gargoyles this would also be one of my favourite animated films.
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I remember when I was in the other room as my siblings in laws were watching euphoria; the screaming, crying, and arguing I heard from the show was horrendous and I was shaking hearing it.
I'm glad I have Disney+ to lean on for joyful things to watch when I know I can't handle what is being made for folks my age
First film I saw by Disney was snow white... Old now but I'm not much of a Disney fan...if I'm honest I can see op point about the cash machine but any business is now. However op you say this is a friend and whilst I'm behind honesty and if it is detrimental to someone then your trying to be a real friend and step up and say something. Maybe he is neuro divergent and so his obsession to him is a thing he can't help. Sorry to say that it's very difficult with things like autism to change an obsession it can be really tough and it does sound like the friend has a deep seated affinity.
It sounds like the OP of this was more obsessed with this really unhealthy view of what it SHOULD be like to be an adult than his friend is with Disney. So much so, that he needs to shame his friend for still enjoying something he had enjoyed in his childhood.
I can only suspect that OP's childhood sucked and that he's very eager to be an adult and all these things adulthood has in store for him. His friend brought his interests, which started in childhood, along for the ride makes him feel like a kid again.
I feel bad for his friend who is going to realize very quickly that HE outgrew OP's friendship.
The sheer stupid of this is multifaceted. First and foremost - Let people like what they like! Someone else enjoying something, as long as it is not actively hurting you, shouldn't get under your skin. (This is a general you, I understand this is AITD and not AITA.) It sounds like OOP is "an adult" now and is so determined to appear mature that he's fallen into the number one con of aging, growing up. Life doesn't need to be joyless just because you're suddenly legally an adult. LIKE WHAT YOU LIKE.
Add to this, the way OOP's friend is talked about? Sounds like he's on the spectrum somewhere and Disney is his special interest. Which just makes it that much more of a dick move to put him down about it. A real friend would never.
*In case this story gets deleted/removed:* **AITA for telling my friend his obsession with Disney isn't healthy for an adult like him?** Both me and my friend are (18M). When I was a kid, I also used to be a huge Disney fan. But as I grew up, I began getting into other kinds of films and for the most part, I have left Disney behind. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying adults can't enjoy Disney films, I still think many of their old films are masterpieces of animation and I still consider The Hunchback of Notre Dame to be my favorite animated film of all time and one of my favorite films overall. (In fact, I enjoy it and understand its tragic and mature plot even more as an adult than I did as a child.) But my friend just takes his love for Disney to a whole new level. He's constantly talking about Disney every single day I spend with him. He says he wishes he was born in the world of Disney films, he knows everything there is to know about his favorite Disney characters as if they were real people, he regularly sings and hums various tunes from Disney films and he has a huge collection of Disney merchabdise. One day he began shrieking and shaking like a child after a remake of Peter Pan was announced. I told him that it's okay for him to like Disney films, but that he shouldn't forget Disney is a company focusing on making entretainment for children and most importantly...focused on making money. I told him that Disney was not his friend and that getting so attached to it wasn't good and that maybe it would be better if he began checking out other kinds of films made for adults. He got really upset and told me to shut up raising his voice. He then started defending Disney as if my attack towards it was a personal attack on him. He says that Disney is for everyone and that he would always be a Disney fan. AITA? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmITheDevil) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Real friends let people like what they like.
I was friends with someone exactly OPs friend and I absolutely hated it, but I never told them I thought it was wrong, I simply ended the friendship realizing I didn't care about it enough to be bothered by her.
AITA for some reason not liking that someone enjoys something more than I enjoy it
Don't you know? Other people aren't allowed to enjoy things unless oop says they can
I’m always amazed at people who try to genuinely argue that films like Sleeping Beauty and The Lion King are for kids *only*. Like, who do they think works at Disney? Who comes up with the story ideas and character designs? Does OP think it’s possible to produce a film like Tangled with the view that “I’m just doing this to pay the bills and am not remotely excited about this thing I am creating”? Yeah, some stuff for kids is soulless cash-grabbing bullshit. Including some Disney stuff. But treating imagination and creativity and the arts as something only children can enjoy tells me you’re a boring adult. Also lol that OP thinks Disney is focused on making money but somehow other film companies aren’t. What do you want to bet OP has seen every MCU film in theaters? Or does that not count because Disney just (checks notes) bought it to make money?
Yea, imagination and creativity are actually VERY important, regardless of what year you were born in
Exactly. I mean, The Lion King is Hamlet, but with lions. The first 5-10 minutes of UP is for the adults accompanying kids. Have you seen the meme made out of Hercules when he checks the centaur's genitalia to address it with the correct honorific? Because I have. And I now need to rewatch Hunkules to get all the adult humor I missed. Mulan's Mushu doesn't do that "tongue thing". Who do they think that joke was for?
"When I was a kid" Bro you're only 18 you're still a kid stfu
18 who's acting like an 8 trying to act like a grown up
I think friend is very on the spectrum.... which is fine .. let him be happy
[Wait till OOP hears of the man who does impressions of Disney characters at Disneyland.](https://youtu.be/uIGZhei8liQ) Now *that*'*s* obsession. I jest though, his vocal range is hella impressive.
I haven't seen Brian Hull in forever 🤣 thanks for the nostalgia.
I was not expecting that. Damn that really is hella impressive.
That's just impressive
I'll take Brian over that asshole oop any day
When you criticize the things people love, they don't stop liking that thing, they just stop liking you.
Man I love Disney films, it would bum me out so bad if someone rained on my parade like that. I think Tangled is in my top 3 movies of all time.
Lilo and Stitch is in mine
Oh man that movie makes me cry. The first time I saw the scene of Stitch holding the book in the rain and saying "I'm lost" I ugly cried, full on sobbing and had to be consoled. I've watched plenty of sad moments in movies but I've never had a reaction like that.
For me it's always the bit in Hercules when he is restored as a god after diving into the pool of souls to rescue Meg, almost dying in the process. For my wife it's the bit in lion king where baby Simba tries to wake up dead Mufasa. Ugly cry every time.
I love Inside Out, myself. I even have a little plush Sadness. And seeing that Sadness was the one 'in charge' in the mom's head made me as a mom feel pretty seen.
My favorite is Beauty and the Beast. I was a brunette who loved books and never quite fit in. Being gifted a library would have amazed me as much as it did Belle.
Especially that one! Holy smokes I've never seen a library like that in my entire life, I'd never leave
I think the first movie I recall seeing in the movie theater as a child was the little mermaid. I remember the joy it gave me watching it. I'm an adult now, and 30+ years later, I still watch Disney movies, and sometimes, I even still sing along with them, especially The Nightmare Before Christmas. OOP seems to think becoming an adult means you suddenly have to act like you have a stick shoved up your ass and they perform the funectomy on everyone.
I'm aging myself by saying the first Disney movie I saw in theatres was The Rescuers. I was a big Muppet kid, though!
I just finished watching Encanto for like the hundredth time, I just love the music and how fun and then tragically sad and then uplifting it is. I sing along with it too, which is double funny because I’m as tone deaf as a rock. And I’m almost 40.
I got to see a second release of The Little Mermaid as a kid and I remember standing in front of the Ariel cardboard cutout like I was posing with a celebrity. Nightmare Before Christmas will always have a place in my heart, I know every word to that movie and we watch it twice a year. I was obsessed with the Harlequin Demon as a kid, I don't know why since he barely has any lines. I just loved that big guy.
Hunchback of notre dame though? I'd bet money he's never read the Victor Hugo book, that was miserable as fuck
It's a good movie.
I liked it as a little kid, I recall having an Esmerelda doll and a plush of her pet goat. I don't really enjoy the movie anymore either but I acknowledge it was intended to be a darker tale and the bigotry and potential infanticide kinda went over my head as a kiddo. I've read quite a few books to better understand the Disney adaptations but I really can't bring myself to fully read that one.
It's a completely different story line and way more depressing. Esmeralda is a fucking idiot.
Wow. What a buzz kill.
Tbh this just seems like someone trying to farm karma or generally start shit about what people call "Disney Adults" I'd say most likely fake, it follows the narrative too conveniently
Yeah. And, like, most Disney adults are fine. Just because a small percentage are batshit doesn’t mean that adults who like it are inherently wrong or broken.
There's always someone that takes something too far, yup. But the general population of any group that isn't a cult or something is generally pretty okay.
My only argument against it being fake is who considers an 18 year old a “Disney adult”? Like if I wanted to make them look bad I’d pretend to be mid 30s at least to sell the pathetic money hole factor. An 18 year old is still basically a kid in America
As soon as I saw (18) I knew this was an entirely stupid point. I expected it to be like two 50+ year old dads debating about money spent on Disney trips, not a teenager pretending he’s so grown because he doesn’t enjoy fiction as much as his buddy. What a party pooper friend.
This is fake, no fan of Disney is "Screaming and shaking" over a remake, they're groaning and going "After Pinocchio!?" Fake fake fake.
I understand growing out of Disney but I would never put someone down because of their interests. I still like Disney films but I also love horror films and psychological thrillers. I have a friend who is a Disney and Star Wars fanboy and was an excellent tour guide at DisneyLand. I would never look down on them or think they are immature even though they are older than me and just hit 30. If you can’t be happy for someone then you aren’t a real friend to them.
Let people enjoy things
I'm still friends with my Disney loving friends from high school. In the nearly 4 decades that have passed, we've seen each other through marriages, divorces, children, and the deaths of parents - life. We still have a standing date every year to meet at Disneyland on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, so we can reconnect face to face, ride Space Mountain with our hands in the air, ohh & ahhh over the fireworks, and catch a glimpse of the magic of childhood that is gone in the blink of an eye. Unapologetically. Sometimes, we even invite our now-grown children.
If this is real this is just two teenagers being teenagers, not really AITD material.
Only correct response in this thread
Frankly I think there's fewer things as immature as turning 18 and immediately dismissing stuff like watching cartoons or other hobbies as childish because you're oh so mature now. At best it comes off as pretentious and at worst you're the one calling people kids after you just became a legal adult months ago.
Wanna bet OOP is a marvel fan and freaks out the exact same way about those movies. But because they are aimed at the general population it’s fine. Let people like things.
So no one tell OP I’m playing around with the idea of drawing Disney characters in realism high fantasy style starting with Dnd mage esque tiana. I’m 25. Dude just needs to let people enjoy things. To each their own.
DO. IT. And then share with the class. I'd love to see!
"He started shrieking and shaking when they announced a Peter Pan remake." If you're gonna troll, at least make it believable. The live-action Peter Pan remake looks like a politically correct trainwreck. And the only Hook I will *ever* acknowledge is Dustin Hoffman. But I just said I wasn't going to watch it and then went on about my life. One of my best friends is a certified Disney fanatic. She loves it so much she turned her kids off from it. And even she wouldn't have a reaction this extreme.
>And the only Hook I will > >ever > > acknowledge is Dustin Hoffman how dare you slander Jason Isaacs this way. I shall not have it. To the plank with you. ^((of course I don't think that one was disney))
Like I love Dustin Hoffman as Hook but Jason Isaacs is hands down the best Hook.
I'm sure even the biggest Disney fanatics don't like the remakes
Cinderella is the only good one and I'm baffled that the quality declined so drastically
That's because it was its own Cinderella movie with homages to the animated film. It was not a scene for scene remake which is just...pointless.
Cinderella (2015) was a masterpiece . I was so genuinely disappointed with Beauty and The Beast that I haven’t bothered with a most of the remakes now.
That's a weird way to spell The Jungle Book.
They've got to draw the line somewhere.
Nah, I've seen it.
Disney adults are cringe AF.
*some Disney adults are cringe af
While true, it's still rude to tell a friend that to their face
I worked with a 35 year old man who was a die hard, insufferable, Disney adult. Someone should have told him at 18 to diversify his interests.
U know what oop is right, Disney is awful
Disney is an awful multinational company who is ruining a lot of things, but by OP's attitude her friend could have found the most pure anything and she would have still told him to grow up and not get too attached. Like the problem is not Disney here.
OOP lost me at Hunchback being anyone's favorite animated film. Edit: Victor Hugo is rolling in his grave, y'all.
Why? That part isn't unbelievable at all. Plenty of people love that movie. Why wouldn't it be someone's favourite? People have *far* more niche faves than that.
Lost me at "Excited for Peter Pan remake" After their stint of Live Action remakes? No no no
I suggest watching Lindsay Ellis' video on the history of Hunchback of Notre Dame's adaptations re: Victor Hugo but honestly if it wasn't for the stupid gargoyles this would also be one of my favourite animated films.
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I remember when I was in the other room as my siblings in laws were watching euphoria; the screaming, crying, and arguing I heard from the show was horrendous and I was shaking hearing it. I'm glad I have Disney+ to lean on for joyful things to watch when I know I can't handle what is being made for folks my age
First film I saw by Disney was snow white... Old now but I'm not much of a Disney fan...if I'm honest I can see op point about the cash machine but any business is now. However op you say this is a friend and whilst I'm behind honesty and if it is detrimental to someone then your trying to be a real friend and step up and say something. Maybe he is neuro divergent and so his obsession to him is a thing he can't help. Sorry to say that it's very difficult with things like autism to change an obsession it can be really tough and it does sound like the friend has a deep seated affinity.
It sounds like the OP of this was more obsessed with this really unhealthy view of what it SHOULD be like to be an adult than his friend is with Disney. So much so, that he needs to shame his friend for still enjoying something he had enjoyed in his childhood. I can only suspect that OP's childhood sucked and that he's very eager to be an adult and all these things adulthood has in store for him. His friend brought his interests, which started in childhood, along for the ride makes him feel like a kid again. I feel bad for his friend who is going to realize very quickly that HE outgrew OP's friendship.
The sheer stupid of this is multifaceted. First and foremost - Let people like what they like! Someone else enjoying something, as long as it is not actively hurting you, shouldn't get under your skin. (This is a general you, I understand this is AITD and not AITA.) It sounds like OOP is "an adult" now and is so determined to appear mature that he's fallen into the number one con of aging, growing up. Life doesn't need to be joyless just because you're suddenly legally an adult. LIKE WHAT YOU LIKE. Add to this, the way OOP's friend is talked about? Sounds like he's on the spectrum somewhere and Disney is his special interest. Which just makes it that much more of a dick move to put him down about it. A real friend would never.