When I said that Disney movies gave me unrealistic expectations, I think (not exactly sure but almost certain) that I was referring to boys. Like... you watch Cinderella at the age of three and youi grow up with this idea that you're marrying Prince Charming and then you go out into the world and you realize that Prince Charming is a huge lie and you'd better give yourself a reality check before you end up like Amy Adams in Enchanted, climbing onto roofs in a poofy white dress and calling rats to help you with the cleaning.

What I realized after watching the second half of Earthlings was that Disney movies didn't just give me unrealistic expectations about boys: Disney movies gave me unrealistic expectations about LIFE. They present an ideal world where all problems are solved and no deaths are tragic, where a fox and a hound can be best friends, where humans go out of their way to save a tramp from the pound, where circus elephants are reunited with their young and live happy lives, unbothered by their captivity.

What a lie.

Not to be melodramatic or anything, but really. WHAT A LIE.

I should have known though. I mean, in the original Little Mermaid there is no happy wedding between a red haired beauty and her dashing prince: the mermaid dies after the prince falls in love with someone else. Obviously, Disney has a knack for glossing over the less pleasant parts of life.

In the Anderson's version of The Little Mermaid the mermaid dies at the end and is given an immortal soul.

http://www.fairytalescollection.com/hans_christian_anderson/li_merma3.jpg

But you know what? It's not even just Disney movies. When it comes to the treatment of animals, I feel like there's been this huge, systematic conspiracy to keep what's really going on in the fur, entertainment, and meat industries hush-hush. I went to the circus last year and let me tell you, the elephants looked hunky-dory to me. You would never know that underneath their colorful costumes these huge animals are probably quaking, afraid that one mistake will earn them a sharp smack and unfriendly words. I dunno. Maybe I'm getting sentimental, anthropormorphising a bit, but honestly. Honestly. Why don't we anthropomorphise? In fact, why do we even have that term? Is it anthropomorphisation to assign feelings to animals? Because I'm pretty sure that feelings. that sadness and happiness and love, are something that animals most definitely posses.

Pain is often used to get elephants to perform.

http://stevecotler.com/tales/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/circus-elephants.JPG

We humans so conceited. God. Why is it that we think we're the only ones who feel? We're not special. Ok? We're unspecial. Tweak our DNA and we're not even human. And what are we saying with this whole "anthropomorphising" thing, that if we tweak our DNA, and we end up as a mouse, or better yet, if we end up as a cow, that we no longer feel? That we no longer value life?

At least Disney movies got one thing right. At least they have the good sense to show animals expressing emotion.

Simba cries when Mufasa dies. I cried when my uncle died.

Last summer, my neighbors dog Chasta died. She was fourteen years old and had mothered a litter of pups at the age of four, one of whom remained with her until her death 10 years later.

When Chasta died, that puppy cried.

Anthropomorphise that.