New Disney film takes another view of U.S. / 'America's Heart and Soul' a contrast to 'Fahrenheit 9/11'

New Disney film takes another view of U.S. / 'America's Heart and Soul' a contrast to 'Fahrenheit 9/11': In an irony even Mickey Mouse would find hard to miss, America is about to weigh two wildly contrasting versions of itself in theaters this weekend as the Walt Disney Co. debuts its own foray into documentary filmmaking right alongside Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11' -- which the studio refused to release.
Disney officials insist their 88-minute film, 'America's Heart and Soul' -- stitching simple, positive vignettes of everyday Americans with sweeping vistas and up-tempo music -- is neither a response to Moore's politically charged hit nor any type of political statement itself.
But the studio invited the Sacramento-based conservative group Move America Forward to a screening this week a block from the Capitol, allowing its members to make the comparison to Moore's film that the studio has refused to make. The political group's invitation to its members praised the movie's virtues, 'unlike the negative and misleading story line of Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' '

In Sacramento on Monday, no one at the Move America Forward screening of "America's Heart and Soul" saw the two films as juxtaposed, even though some had opinions on Moore's work.

"I didn't see it as being an answer to 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' " said Paul Johnson, 26. "I thought it was cool to see average Americans you don't normally see."

Ronni Diel, who came from Nevada City to attend the screening with her husband, Larry, agreed.

"I don't think they compare at all," she said of the two films. "This is positive, and Michael Moore tears everything up."


John M. Hubbell
Chronicle Sacramento Bureau