Advertising consultant, Cindy Gallop, reacts to the news that Disney has applied to trademark "Seal Team 6," the name of the elite unit that carried out the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound. She says she's torn between admiration for how swiftly Disney jumped in combined with "absolute horror at the idea of this" as it is "completely at odds with the way we've been appreciating the activities of Seal Team 6." Does this trademark reduce the seriousness of the brand? 

Listeners have responded to the news as well.

Jason Chubb Custer Veith writes on our Facebook wall: So Disney wants to trademark "Seal Team Six." Why not? The way this Country is headed it will not be too long until our entire Government is run by corporations anyway.

• Sports Takeout: Pablo Torre, reporter with Sports Illustrated, joins us to look at the candidates for this year's Heisman Trophy.
• Movie Takeout: Newsday film critic Rafer Guzman joins us with a look at the films opening on the big screen this weekend. 
• Listener Takeout: We hear from our listeners about Disney's "The Princess and the Frog."

• Health Care Reform Takeout: Our own Todd Zwillich describes the balancing act Senate Democrats are performing as they try to move health care reform forward.
• Property Takeout: Denver Post reporter Michael Booth walks us through government-seized assets now on sale from the FDIC.
• Listener Takeout: We hear from you about holiday parties, jobs and why you think Disney princesses aren't the best role models for little girls, no matter their race.
  

The Walt Disney Company has returned to its 2-D animated roots with the lavish and romantic musical fairytale "The Princess and the Frog." The movie follows the adventures of Tiana, Disney's first African-American princess. If early sales of the movie's merchandise are any indication, then "The Princess and the Frog" is poised to become a major success in a wide variety of markets. We're talking to Tony award–winning actress and singer Anika Noni Rose, who provides the voice of Princess Tiana, about her ground-breaking role.

The children’s entertainment super-giant Walt Disney Corporation announced on Monday that it's acquiring Marvel Inc., the home of such superheroes as Spiderman, Iron Man and Captain America. The $4 billion deal would see Mickey Mouse on the same corporate team with the likes of the X-Men, The New Mutants and other yet-to-be-blockbuster movie action fare.  

The question now is: was this a bold and brilliant example of corporate synergy or an ungodly pop-cultural mutation? We ask Takeaway contributor Mary Elizabeth Williams, culture critic for Salon.com

 

Comic books have always been a place to explore brave new worlds. Be that out outer space, inner space, or the frontiers of race and gender. Yeah, we're talking about Wolverine, but we're also talking about Dora the Explorer. That compact, bobble-headed, bilingual tot boldly went where no cartoon had gone before and actually changed the world of pop culture by introducing her life, her adventures, and her abuela to the under three feet set. So what's next? To help us explore the expanding multicultural pop culture world is Jeff Yang. He writes the Asian Pop column at SFGate.com and is the editor of a new book, Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology.

Since we won't go so far as to put Dora the Explorer on the site, let's see how Disney has done on race before. Here's their journey to China in Mulan:



And here is Pocahontas: