Skyrunners - joins plethora of indoc; but for KIDS?

Well - did a "Skyrunner" search here and seems no one has brought this up yet, so thought I'd toss it in the ring and see what you all think.

Disney is jumping on the wagon along with all of the other UFO/ET-related books, movies, and videos coming out lately (District 9, The Fourth Kind, V-series, etc.) yet - this new one about to be released in a few weeks got me thinking - it's geared toward children.

Is this part of the not-so-subtle pre-disclosure indoctrination process we've been hearing so much about?

First, the trailer for Skyrunner (looks innocent enough):



Ok, so on the surface it seems to be just a couple of goofy brothers that find a UFO, then gradually morph into alien-like beings that take on some bad guys and finally save the world. Tried and tested formula for Hollywood - works wonders for the bottom line.

But - as we look a little closer into their PR and media content, some intriguing additional pieces emerge.

For one thing, the Skyrunner web site pulls on our young influential offspring to "join" the "National Space Security Command" so that they can help "Protect Earth". The language, again geared mainly for the pre-teen set, raised a few parent eyebrows I mentioned it to:

We exist for one reason: To safeguard the planet against threats that undoubtedly may or may not exist. Like our adversaries, we go unseen. As planetary watchdogs, we seek to explain the unexplainable and defend planet Earth... whether it needs it or not. Don't believe your eyes. Don't trust your ears. There is only one truth. Ours.

"We seek...to defend Earth... whether it needs it or not"? "There is only one truth. Ours."

Oh, and you first hit the site, they take a L-O-N-G time to "Check your Clearance". Now I've got super-fast bandwidth and it took almost a full minute for this page to load while they were "scanning my clearance". What are they really taking all that time doing? Check it out...



They also are conducting a few little surveys for our little space-faring "ET-defenders", e.g. Do you believe in UFOs? (80% said yes).

Another survey question was very interesting: DO YOU BELIEVE EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE EXISTS HERE ON EARTH.

Now that's a bit odd, don't you think? Notice they are not asking if the kids believe ET life exists at all , and even more strange, they are NOT asking kids if they believe ET exists in outer space or on other planets , but only if they believe if ET life is ALREADY HERE ON EARTH?

Finally, they supposedly have ET "Evidence" that they will only let you see if you give them your name and "sign up". Sign up to what? Sure, you might discard this as innocent and common marketing efforts to build a user community you can potentially exploit later - and we all now how expert Disney can be at selling us stuff. Merchandising is fundamental to their incredible global wealth - true that.

Nevertheless - having shared this with a few parents, I clearly detected some feeling a bit uncomfortable with the suggestive nature of this (yet another) ET/UFO meme effort. Most said they would NOT allow their kids to "sign up". The moms, especially, said things like, "this whole thing is creeping me out".

Interestingly, most could not seem to put a finger on the source of their discomfort - it's Disney after all. How could anything sinister originate from the folks who brought us Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck...

Oh, it's probably just another Di$ney Dollar$ entertainment thing, is all...Right?

Aliens are nothing new for Disney, mate!

The Witch Mountain Movies, Lilo & Stitch, Flight of the Navigator, Zenon, My Favorite Martian, and other movies that feature aliens in smaller roles like Toy Story.

Disney watches trends and pushed this movie down the pipe because scifi is always pretty hot. They only had 1 Alien movie this year..I wonder if Disney is doing anything with vampires..

Disney generally does 1 scifi movie a year for the past few years now..

Witch Mountain was 2009, Wall-E was 2008, Meet the Robinsons was 2007..

So if this movie is coming out last Q4 of 09, my guess is that Disney just pushed a 2010 project to strike while the sci-fi is hot.

Also, never sign up for anything from Disney, mang.. I made that mistake once for some promotional crap from Lost and I STILL get junkmail from them, no matter how many times I opt out.

Here are a few Disney movies that have touched on space, aliens and UFO's:

The Black Hole
The Cat From Outer Space
Escape To Witch Mountain
Flight Of The Navigator
Lilo & Stitch
Race To Witch Mountain
Return From Witch Mountain
Roving Mars
WALL-E

Thanks, fellas - I'm well aware of Disney's history with this genre. I mean - we ALL are - how can we avoid it!?

I'm more interested in the potential meme direction/motive here with this particular film (especially the not-so-sneaky web site links).

Disney has never asked the tykes before (as I recall) if they believe ET exists HERE ON EARTH.

And what about that "..there is only one truth. OURS" business?

Just marketing?

the moms and dads in my neighborhood LOVED Wall-E, Witch Mountain, and many others (I must admit, I thought they were fun and entertaining as well).

So why is THIS one making them so "creepy" then?

Meh. It's probably nothing...

p.s. Oh, yeah - I know better than to 'sign' up for anything Di$ney. But click the link to the website. Then sit and wait and watch a minute or so. Any vibes?