Bob Arvin — formerly known simply by the pseudonym ‘PolitiZoid’ — went viral last year with his Disney spoof called ‘It’s A Woke World After All.’ Arvin was a Disney artist over twenty years ago, when the company’s beliefs and values were vastly different from today…which became even more apparent this week when leaked video (thanks to journalist Christopher Rufo) of a Walt Disney Company meeting exposed top company leaders and producers urging more LGBTQ characters and stories. Arvin tells Glenn what he believes caused the company to shift toward the left, and he details the ‘militant activists’ that are TAKING OVER the Disney we once all loved...
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: Former Disney artist, founder and creative director, Politizoid. If you don't know what Politizoid is, yes, you do. About -- I think about a year ago. I've lost track of time. A year ago, two years ago, he came out with a -- with a video, of it's a small world. Here it is.
VOICE: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to it's a woke world.
(music)
GLENN: And you're going into it's a small world. The Communist Party, in cooperation with the Communist Party paying for this. Reimagine tomorrow.
(music)
GLENN: And the animation is tremendous. The production value is tremendous. And it's done by a former Disney artist. And he's on with us now. Hello, sir. How are you?
BOB: I'm doing well. Good morning, Glenn.
GLENN: It's good to talk to you. I have heard that you are coming out of the closet. And I don't want to out you. Is that true?
BOB: Yes. I am going to tell you that I identify as Bob Arvan (phonetic).
GLENN: Bob Arvan. Well, that -- just because you identify as Bob Arvan, doesn't make you Bob Arvan. But I digress.
BOB: But my parents made me Bob Arvan.
GLENN: So, Bob, you have been out of Disney, and you have been making these things, that go really against what Disney is doing. And you've -- you've not attached your name. Why?
BOB: Well, honestly, when I started about 12 hours ago, I did put my name on there. And I was doing some publicity on it. I always just branded it as Politizoid, and never really took that on as my own moniker. But as things progressed -- I mean, I took a little bit of a break. Because we had funding here in the 2010 election cycle that lasted, you know, about a year and a half. And after that, we weren't able to get additional funding. So I went back to just doing climate work. And the -- the world changed. Especially when I jumped out of the Trump administration. And did the piece shift hits the fan.
GLENN: Shift hits the fan.
BOB: People get nasty.
GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. So tell us what is going on. How long has Disney been like this?
You know, half the casualties need to be LGBTQIA. They're leaving out the two plus. By the end of the year. And it does not seem like a tolerant place, if you disagree with that as your mission.
BOB: No. It's really kind of changed over the last decade or so. It's been over 20 years since I've been there. But I know other people that stayed with the company. And actually through the woke world, on my last appearance on your show, you know, a lot of Disney artists reached out to me.
GLENN: Really?
BOB: So just to say thank you. There's -- I'm working with now on projects. And so, you know, I've been able to get a little more of a line, on kind of what -- how this developed. I really think the turning point was the passing of Roy E. Disney, who was Walt's Disney in 2009. And I had heard a rumor when I was at Disney, in -- in the late '90s. That there was a film, a development, called wildlife. And a few of the artists, that I reached out to yesterday, when I was going to be on your show, were able to confirm what I had heard. And this film, that was going to be one of the first -- you know, this was only a couple of years after Toy Story. The first one came out.
GLENN: Right.
BOB: And so Petri Animation was wanting to do CG character animation, and they were developing this film.
And they -- I mean, they probably poured millions of dollars into it, and they did a test clip. And it had some homoerotic jokes in it. And Roy Disney was watching the screening. And from what I understood, he stood up in the screening room. He told the projectionist to turn the projector off, and he announced, he said, we do not make films like this. And he shut it down, and that was that.
GLENN: Uh-huh.
BOB: But I think in the -- since he past, and then also, as the politics have changed in our nation, I think that, you know, I guess to put it in -- you know, in a not so savory term. There were sleeper cells of these militant activists within the company, that have been activated now. And they're emboldened and they're using the smear campaign against the bill in Florida, to push their agenda and really, it's kind of like an internal hostile takeover at Disney, is what's happening right now.
GLENN: So it used to be that people like me, would go to work for Disney. Because you're such a huge fan. And I would sweep the street, if I had to, because I was so in awe of what Walt had done. And the spirit of the place. That it was just -- just a happy place to be. Where you could leave the world behind. That's not it, anymore. How -- what is the percentage, do you think? How much -- are -- is -- is the majority of the employees on this bandwagon? Or just the other employees just too afraid to say anything?
BOB: I think it's the latter. I've spoken to several that still work for the company, in one capacity or another. And they are afraid to deviate in any way, shape, or form.
You know, there are some hard-core conservatives that I know, that work there. That HR will quiz them on gender pronouns. And if they don't say the prescribed answers, you know, you're probably not going to continue working there. So it's entirely possible, that it's -- you know, that the Disney company is like a -- you know, exactly like what's happening in our own cup. It's like a small, active minority, is steering the ship.
And the majority are afraid to speak out. Or only now, this kind of waking up to what's going on. And trying to figure out what can be done.
GLENN: We're talking to Bob Arvan, former Disney artist and founder and creative director of Politizoid, which you've probably seen many of -- of these digitized cartoons, and they're fantastic. And -- and rare. Because they're done with with real skill. And they're -- they kind of hold up the right point of view, if you will. And you just don't see that very often.
Bob, the -- the impact on our society. I mean, right now, we're fighting this stuff in our schools. But I think Disney will have a much bigger impact than schools will even have.
And I don't see parents standing up to Disney, like they're standing up to the -- to the school boards.
BOB: Well, I think before people kind of had, you know, an inkling, that some of this might have been going on, but it was still kind of hidden. So you were still willing to subscribe do Disney+. And go to the parks. And, you know, still pretend like you're going to Walt's park from the past. But now, it's like, you know, with the footage that just came out this week, there's no doubt about the agenda, and what's going on. And I -- I don't -- it's -- those people in the footage, are living in a bubble. It's like, they're all just kind of, you know, in their little circle. Saying all the same things. Encouraging each other to do and say the same things. And they don't know their core audience. They are abandoning their core audience, in favor of this agenda. And what --
GLENN: And destroyed it.
BOB: They will. If they don't destroy it, it will be damaged for a generation. And it saddens me to say that. You know, I was an annual pass holder, for years.
GLENN: Yes. So was I.
BOB: I would go down to the park, just to listen to the piano player on Main Street. While everybody else was in line to ride the rides. But now, Disney doesn't even want the California residents. Because they can really bilk the tourists from coming out of town, for thousands of dollars. While those of us in Southern California are like, where is our discount? Discount? Are you kidding me?
GLENN: Well, I will tell you, for a long time, you would put up with it. Because it seemed like it would just be about the money. And it was. And that's what's happening again. It's about the money. They just don't want any trouble. And, you know, the people that they always wanted at the park. Are not the angry militants. It is just the average family. And I'm -- I'm hoping that this is a line, that the families will draw. We've always had Disney. I mean, it's gotten much more dicey in the last ten to 15 years. But this is now 50 percent of everything they make, will be LGBTQ. That's a remarkable statement for them to make. And come out with. And hopefully, people will say, you know what, I don't want you teaching my kids anything. I want you -- I just want sweet stories, okay? Preserve my children's innocence. Please. Stop with jamming this down their throat. And I don't care what it is.
I wouldn't want them talking about, you know, conservative, hey. Everybody you got to go to this church. I wouldn't want that either. Leave my children alone. Disney. Hopefully, people will see it that way. But I don't know if they will.
BOB: Well, I think people are coming to the realization, that this is another part of the attack on the American family. And, you know, without the family intact, you know, we -- we start to crumble, as a people. As a culture. As a nation.
GLENN: Yeah. Yeah.
BOB: And, you know, they didn't go after Warner Brothers. They didn't go after Universal. They didn't go after Sony. They went after Disney. Because they knew that was the one and only studio in Hollywood, that upheld traditional American values and made family entertainment.
GLENN: Yep. And they know, if you capture the kids, you've got it. You win. You win. Thank you so much, Bob. I appreciate everything that you do. If you want to see his -- if you want to see his latest, it's -- it's pretty good. You can find it at Politizoid.com. Politizoid.com. Bob, thank you.
BOB: Thank you, Glenn.
GLENN: You bet. Buh-bye.
