Say it ain't so! "Mary Poppins" as a Horror Movie?!

(Orignally published February 17th, 2008)

There are days that I'm glad Walt is no longer with us, as what I've seen today whould probably KILL HIM if he were still alive!I'm talking today about the 'enterprising' (?) soul who has used video editing software to re-cut the classic Disney film "Mary Poppins" in a horror movie trailer.




Okay, the video is somewhat funny (Julie Andrews is not someone I usually think of as scary), however the new media educator in me is horrified (no pun intended)!

The 'C-generation' (conversely the 'Content' or 'Creation' generation) takes what they want, modifies it and then throws it back out on the 'net, without proper attribution and at times (like this) totally perverting the original content. While I love the flexibility inherent in the medium (the 'net that is), I abhor the blatant copyright infringement.As the Disneyphile I am I'd like to hang the offender up by their grubby toenails from the topmost spire of Cinderella's castle, and use his rear oriface as the prop for setting off a huge roman candle. Hmmm...too drastic? Perhaps, but this sort of copyright violation is obscene and offensive.

Personally, I think Disney should take legal action against the offender -- and YouTube for publishing it.But it gets worse. On further inspection YouTube has NUMEROUS horror genre 'recuts' as they are called, of various Disney films. Some of the worst offenders even include the Disney castle logo at the start, just like legitimate Disney films do, which could be construed to suggest that the film clip is from Disney! *pokes the Disney legal teams with a long, SHARP, pokey stick*

There are a number of "Incredibles" recuts. Another plagiarizes both "The Omen" and Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame" (complete with the "Disney presents" logo at the start!).

Putting my desire for painful justice aside for a moment, these videos will likely find a way into my lectures this week as I discuss the ethical issues relating to 'borrowing' and modifying the work of others. I think what horrifies me most is that a number of these are noted as being created for various UNIVERSITY CLASSES! ThunderStormz states the following regarding their "Incredibles" recut:

"This is a trailer I had to make for Digital Editing class "

While I am cranky with the person who created this AND the professor who assigned it, I am also horrified that they chose to repost their 'creation' on the web. Universities have rules and regulations regarding music piracy on campus, surely they have rules about this sort of copyright infringement! I've checked my university's policies and both the lecturer AND the student would be liable for any legal action as a result of such blatant copyright violation.

I am saddened that our current technological advancement has led us to such a state. It is one thing to have the freedom and flexibility to publish our own thoughts and ideas, it is completely unethical to take the work of others and pervert their ideas/thoughts.

Sadly, these videos are over a year old and still on YouTube...makes me wonder what the Disney legal teams are doing. They prosecute people for putting a Mickey logo on a website, yet ignore videos that totally distort the plot of Disney movies.To quote The Disney Blog on this atrocity..."Quick, someone get Bob Iger on the phone."