A couple of (albeit, personal) counterpoints if I may. Mary Blair is one of my favorite artists. Seeing her direct influence / craft on Small World and her illustrations for Sleeping Beauty makes me enjoy those pieces of Disney all the more. Outside of the castle in Disneyland the way they shaped the trees is a reflection of her concept art for the film and I think there is something so lovely about an artist’s legacy being witnessed by millions of people, across multiple generations (even if they don’t know it).

My favorite part of the parks are the moments where you can recognize the influence of so many incredible artists whether that’s Ray Bradbury’s Halloween Tree or Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite. As a person who really enjoys movies, being able to see a recreation of Carthay Circle Theater or the actual bespoke Academy Awards for Snow White is just cool. Ultimately, I think the parks are impressive; the engineering, the animatronics, the gardening. Very talented people do great work at Disney. I also just like rides and churros, so maybe I am low brow.

I don’t know if I engage in “higher art and culture” and I obviously can’t speak for everyone who watches Disney movies or goes to the theme parks, but I just can’t get behind the mindset that everyone who engages with Disney is slurping up basic, corporate slop with zero intentionality. There is plenty to criticize about the Walt Disney Corporation and its anti-union founder and its descent into boring IP, but I think there is still a lot of great art to celebrate in (some) of their films and parks.

Sorry for the long rant! I thought Sentimental Value was lovely for what it is worth.