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"Disney villains file class action suit against Disney"
From: ryan@lionking.org (Ryan McGinnis)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney.animation
Subject: NEWSFLASH AP-NY-07-05-98 1521EDT AP NEWSWIRE
Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 07:14:28 GMT
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"Disney villains file class action suit against Disney"

By P'HAREO DEE Associated Press Writer

  ORLANDO (AP) -- Disney stock plummeted three points today on news that
former Disney villains have served the Walt Disney company with a class
action suit claming 104 million dollars for "emotional, physical, and
reputational damages".

  The suit makes 47 separate claims of negligence, discrimination, placing
animated workers in danger, and intentional misrepresentation by the Walt
Disney company.  Several excerpts follow:

#13: Walt Disney incorporated did intentionally place plaintiffs into
dangerous situations without prior consent or knowledge, often resulting in
injury

#33: Through gratuitous editing Walt Disney incorporated intentionally
misrepresented said plaintiffs to be "evil", with no shred of moral dignity

#38: Walt Disney incorporated did intentionally discriminate against female
villains

  Scar, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, feels that Disney has taken
advantage of the villains good faith in the animated company.

  "Oh, it's simply dreadful.  They bring us in to do acting work, treat us
like second class citizens, put us in danger, ruin our reputations and
careers... and then have the audacity give the heroes the happy endings!"

  "For example, when I was doing 'The Lion King', I was given the impression
at the end of filming that the show would end with the ending we originally
shot -- me standing atop Pride Rock with a mate and a cub, with the entire
kingdom rejoicing at my feet.  I've since learned that this scene was shot
only to give me the impression that this was the ending... the real ending
was horrid!  -- And good god, they mangled all of my lines!  I came off as
evil -- pure evil! I'm not an evil lion!  Why do villains get stereotyped in
every Disney film as being evil?  I and the plaintiffs plan on shaking up
this industry, which seems to feel it has some sort of special exemptions
from our nation's work laws."

  Alone he is not, as 25 Disney villains have joined in on the suit.  "I'll
tell you what this is, this is a bunch of ?^@", said Hades, lord of the
Underworld.  "You wanna know why my piece of crap film bombed?	I'll tell you
why it bombed.	Because they DIDN'T LISTEN TO A THING I SAID!  'Hades say
this, Hades go there, Hades jump into the wallowing pit of eternal doom' --
it was freakin' silly! Ohhhhh, but no, with Hercules it was a whole different
story.	'I think these muscles look too small, I don't like that mountain,
make Meg look pointier' -- it was all 'Yes Mister Hercules sir, we'll get
right on it'.  Whatever!"

  Also noted in the lawsuit is the fact that female villains have appeared in
under ten percent of Disney animated films.

  "It's just plain stupid", comment Sarah Stripmine, an alternate villain who
lost out in competition with Ratcliffe for a part in Disney's 'Pocahontas'.
"Everyone knows the key to being a successful villain is falling from a tall
height.  Women can't get into these films because we've never fallen from a
tall height in a movie, and yet we can't fall from a tall height in a movie
because we've never been in film.  How are we supposed to break into this
industry?"

  "It's simply traaagic, darling", says Ursula, one of the few dissenting
voices, "but them's the breaks!  Everyone needs to stop whining and start
working!"  When asked if her opinion had anything to do with Disney's
recently announced plans for production of a direct to video release entitled
"Ursula Falls From A Really Really High Cliff", her attorney advised her not
to comment.

  Perhaps the most devastating charge against Disney is that of intentionally
placing animated characters in harm's way.  Several hundred wildebeest and
several thousand Chinese horses have reported injury due to improper filming
practices, and all are apparently willing to testify in behalf of the
defense. "It was chaos", said one wildebeest.  "I was just standing there,
eating grass... and then WHAMMO!  The director is coming at me full speed in
a Land Rover!  I *had* to run!"  Another wildebeest commented "What's worse
- -- when we got to the end of the canyon stretch we had to run, they
immediately put us down with tranquilizer guns and airlifted us out of there.
 Without consent, mind you!  It was humiliating!"

  Trial date is set for July 27th in Orlando Florida.  Disney at this time has
no official comment, but plans a press release within the next couple of days.

AP-NY-07-05-98 1521EDT

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