Does Disney have a darker side? The question has been asked and asked again for decades. Allegations have flown uninhibited about subliminal messages in Disney animated movies, mostly sexual and all seemingly harmless. After all, if you were an animator whose job was to sit for days upon weeks upon months and draw the same things over and over and over again, wouldn't you get bored? Before we jump to outrage, we must remember that these animators are adults with adult senses of humor to go along with their age. And really, no one sees these things unless they're looking for them. A 5- year-old isn't likely to see the word "sex" hidden in smoke or clouds-only the bored teenagers and adults go after these inconsequential drawings. Of course, psychology has proven that subliminal messages such as these are ineffective anyway.

But what about the non-hidden things? Say, for instance, the entire plot of a movie. Disney has always had its own moral hierarchy, and its own moral values that it tries to impress upon its audience through the plot of its films. If you're surprised by this, shame on you. Practically every movie in existence has an agenda that it's pushing. But most movies aren't aimed at impressionable youths either.

A parent taking their child to see a Disney movie expects good wholesome fun, and that's exactly what they get. But embedded in this wholesome exterior is a whole world of interpretations and messages that are only half-realized by the audience.

Take The Lion King for example. The Lion King was hailed as the most popular animated film in cinema history, until the arrival of Finding Nemo last year. Everyone and their mother has seen this movie. Most of us have seen it several times. I will be the first to admit that it's a personal favorite of mine-after all, who can resist awesome baboon shamans and Nathan Lane providing the voice of a meerkat? Scar is irresistibly hilarious as the scorned lion uncle, and the hyenas are not only good villains, but are entertaining as well.

Would you guess, then, that The Lion King can easily be construed as a movie that supports the idea of apartheid? It's all there in the film: The separation of the Pride Lands into light and dark, with the land that the light touches being part of the Circle of Life and the dark areas being forbidden. How about the conspicuous characterizations of the hyenas as African-American, a Latino and a mental patient? Finally, what about the idea that never the twain shall meet between light and dark? When the hyenas are given a position of power after Scar takes over the Pride Lands, the entire Circle of Life seems to crumble apart. Only when they leave is the natural order of things restored. And the Circle of Life is in itself conspicuous.

Despite Disney touting it as a great equalizer in this movie, the Circle of Life is actually comparable to a class system. Mufasa tells Simba, after he is questioned by his son about how much respect you can give an antelope when it is your main diet, "Yes, Simba. But when we die our bodies become part of the earth and from that earth grass grows. The antelopes eat the grass." In this circle, every animal has its place, has a spot in the "natural order." That place is where this animal belongs, and the only place where it belongs-should it venture to rise or fall in this presumably circular hierarchy, it disrupts the very balance of nature itself.

But the Circle of Life also only seems to apply to the world of the Pride Lands. What then of the hyenas? They live outside the Pride Lands-does that mean they are outside the Circle of Life as well? And if the Circle of Life encompasses all animals and all living things in the natural world, how can anything be outside the Circle of Life? These questions are all rendered moot by Disney's well-placed musical sequences that seem to underscore that this is simply a movie about a bunch of lions living on the African plains.

These underlying and unexpected messages are not new nor are they unique to Disney. The classic fairytale, Cinderella, originated in China centuries ago as an explanation to young women about why they should bind their feet. If you remember, the Prince is able to find Cinderella because she has the smallest feet in the kingdom and is the only one who can fit into her glass slipper.

Most famous in the field of dark children's stories, though, are the Brothers Grimm. They published over 200 folk and fairy tales, most of which were incredibly dark and disturbing at their core. The most famous Grimm tale may be Hansel and Gretel, which seems all well and good until you realize the basic premise of the story includes both abusive parents and cannibalism.

Perhaps it is cynical to view what is normally considered to be innocent and harmless fun in this manner. Or, perhaps it is naive to think that this kind of entertainment is either innocent or harmless. The fact remains that these messages and themes and morals do exist in even the most loveable movies. The only question is, will you see it?