Disney's Return to Witch Mountain and Gun Rights
ByYesterday, I went to the local multiplex to see Return to Witch Mountain, a fun children’s adventure in the old Disney mold. It’s rare these days to see a children’s movie that doesn’t have some form of agenda or at least a scene or two of preaching about environmental stewardship or social justice. Witch Mountain, however, is markedly different in its spin.
At one point in the film, our adventurers, who are being pursued by evil federal agents, end up in a honky-tonk style restaurant in a small rural town. As the feds close-in on the restaurant, one of our adventurers walks over to a table where the local sheriff is sitting and asks him what the local policy is in regards to concealed firearms. The feds rush in and pull out their concealed firearms in an attempt to seize our adventurers. In the meantime, the town locals pull out their concealed weapons and create a standoff which buys enough time for our adventurers to sneak away to safety. The standoff didn’t result in anyone loosing their lives and it may have saved our adventurers from being subject to life-threatening, intrusive government experimentation on their bodies. The message seemed to be that guns might just be a way for good people to protect themselves, a kind of insulation against the impact of evil or misguided government on individual rights in a confused situation. Furthermore, the blue collar, small town folks clad in western wear in the restaurant were good people, a shocking reversal of the typical portrayal we see of such characters these days.
I’m not sure this signals a trend away from the typical hackneyed snooze-worthy preaching that ruins most children’s movies today, but it was fun to see a little something for those who have interests other than eco-propoganda. Most importantly, the young ones in the theater had a great time.
