Strange World.Photo: Disney
Jenna Barbee, a fifth-grade teacher in Florida’s Hernando County School District, told NPR that one of her student’s mothers filed a complaint following her showing of the 2022 film.
According to its official synopsis, the film is about a “legendary family of explorers, the Clades, as they attempt to navigate an uncharted, treacherous land alongside a motley crew that includes a mischievous blob, a three-legged dog and a slew of ravenous creatures.”
Speaking to NPR, Barbee said the movie “talks about love to all things, and that’s literally what this movie represents. I find it interesting that now I’m getting in trouble for a similar topic.”
The Hernando County School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE, but told NPR that an investigation is now ongoing.
The district added that it sent parents of the students who saw the film letters reading, in part: “While not the main plot of the movie, parts of the story involves a male character having and expressing feelings for another male character. In the future, this movie will not be shown.”
The measure initially blocked the discussion of certain LGBTQ topics in the third grade or younger or “in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” In March 2023, however, DeSantis moved toexpand the billto cover grades 4 through 12 as well.
Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via AP
The original billignited a feud between DeSantis and Disney Worldwhen the companyexpressed oppositionto the polarizing measure.
The governor responded, attacking Disney as “woke” and saying in a fundraising email that the iconic company “lost any moral authority to tell you what to do.”
But DeSantis took his fight with the company a step further when he urged state lawmakers to consider ending a deal between Disney and Florida that, since 1967, has given it special privileges, including tax exemptions and certain autonomies like providing its own fire, police and other services such as building and maintaining roads.
In recent months, DeSantis has also made public remarks about the company, such as musing about building a private prison next to Disney World, opening a competing theme park near the property, or raising the company’s taxes and imposing harsher restrictions on theme park rides.
Last month, Disney — the state’s largest private employer and the owner of its top tourist attraction — announced it wassuing DeSantiswho it claimed, had “weaponized government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain State officials.”
source: people.com
