Thai Parents’ Attitudes toward Disney Movies

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to find out the attitudes of Thai parents toward Disney movies. The 50  articipants were parents who had their children in kindergarten. The instruments were a demographic  questionnaire and a set of questions for semi-structured interview. Data collection took place at a kindergarten school on the ground floor in an assembly room to create a relaxed environment and to ensure confidentiality. The results of the data analysis revealed that most parents allowed their children to watch Disney movies. Most parents occasionally watched movies with their children (40.5%). The reason for parents allowing their children to watch Disney movies was that they believed the movies provided opportunities for their children to learn English (30%) and morals (22%). However, some parents indicated that Disney movies contained inappropriate plots (16%), particularly in romantic scenes. It is clear that most parents have negative and positive feelings  about Disney movies. Understanding how Disney movies particularly influence young people can help parents and educators identify benefit or risk factors from Disney movies for young children.