The Squeaky Wheel profiled five classic Disney characters and their lives with hidden disabilities — often undisclosed as well as invisible — and their challenges in an ableist Hollywood. Here’s what they had to say.
Beast: Major depression
“The Beast is both a mask I wear and a mask I was made to wear. After struggling for years, I went to men’s groups. I learned it wasn’t just me: Each guy had his own mask of a beast. It helped me become outspoken and turned me into a more sensitive, comfortable man.”
Scrooge McDuck: Rheumatoid arthritis
“They used to call me Smooth McDuck, those ableist pricks. If they felt half of what I felt, they wouldn’t be so cheery either.”
Baloo: Unspecified chronic pain
“I told my agent the jungle was not a habitat for bears. I put my health at risk working on this project. He didn’t care. Disney didn’t care. Everyone around me was saying this was a once-in-a-lifetime role, so I went against my instincts and took it. Six months of shooting put my body through things that I never recovered from. Never saw a dime of compensation from Disney either.”
Winnie the Pooh: Diabetes
Said Christopher Robin of his Hundred Acre costars, “Off set, the pressures of fame affected them. They each had a coping device, few of them wise. Eeyore had his barbiturates. Tigger had his amphetamines. And Pooh, Pooh went hard on the honey. Too hard.”
Buzz Lightyear: Epilepsy
“Growing up, we didn’t have positive role models for brain disorders. Though I knew epilepsy was a faultless condition, I still felt shame. It was a very private matter. It’s part of the reason I made the persona of Buzz Lightyear — to deflect. With all the flashing lights and high-sensory stimulation, nobody would suspect Buzz Lightyear of having epilepsy.”
The Squeaky Wheel also contacted the estate of Goofy to inquire about a learning or intellectual disability. His estate responded: “You are not the first person to ask this and we will say the same to you as we do to everyone else: Goofy did not have a disability, you bigot.”