To kick off the second season of The Stories We Tell, we're looking at the Renaissance period of Disney movies from 1989-1999 and decode lessons they teach little boys. I also untangle the subtext of queer longing that lives beneath the surface of three iconic films: The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. The powerhouse creative team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken created these masterpieces of animated cinematic history, but the story they tell obscures a much deeper, more painful reality about kids who don't feel "part of this world." Last but not least, I interviewed my friend and fellow writer, AJ Nseir, to talk about lived experience as a Syrian/Greek boy living in semi-rural Pennsylvania, and seeing Aladdin for the first time.

This episode was written by Kacy Boccumini and co-produced with the impeccably thoughtful Eric Wolfe. He has joined the crew of The Stories We Tell for this season, and we couldn't be more grateful. 

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