As a child, Woody and Buzz taught me about friendship, while Mulan and Hercules gave meaning to the word bravery. I learned about love from Belle and Ariel and a little about loss from Simba and Nala.

And though my childhood is over, Disney is still teaching me lessons — most recently, about class and conduct. But this time, instead of an animated character, the hero is the corporation itself.

On Oct. 11, “Escape from Tomorrow,” a horror film illegally shot in Walt Disney World, was released in select cities. The film is currently playing at the Art Theater Co-Op in Champaign. The movie, which originally premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival, tells the tale of a father in the park slowly losing his mind. Among other terrors, princesses become prostitutes, and a deadly virus contaminates the park.

As a multinational corporation that caters largely to children, Disney obviously didn’t give filmmaker Randy Moore permission to turn the happiest place on earth into the most hellish. Nor did it give him the right to use Disney’s copyrighted images, fonts, music and other materials.

But none of that stopped Moore and his crew, who spent weeks secretly filming with hand-held cameras, from producing a film that The New York Times described as “muddled” and “amateurish.”

Despite the numerous blatant violations of copyright, Disney, so far, has yet to sue Moore or comment on the film’s existence. And, in my opinion, that exudes class. Disney is showing the world that sometimes the best retaliation is none at all.

If that lesson is unclear, let’s pretend the two players here are animated talking dogs in a children’s movie.

Imagine Disney as a lovable St. Bernard. He isn’t perfect: Sometimes he slobbers too much and gnaws on your favorite loafers. But for the most part, he follows the rules. He sits, shakes and easily fulfills his duties as man’s best friend.

Moore would be a little Chihuahua that bullies the other animals. He yips for attention and bites at ankles. He’s not a threat, just an annoyance.

In this scenario, when the Chihuahua pees on the St. Bernard’s doggy bed, it probably bothers him, but he won’t react. As a result, he’ll be looked at favorably for his mature behavior. The same goes for Moore and Disney. Though Moore is technically stealing Disney’s intellectual property, Disney’s lack of acknowledgement illustrates an obvious maturity.

And it’s as simple as that: People act out for attention, and sometimes the classy thing to do is to simply ignore them.

Moore said he has no issue with Disney, and his lawyers said they don’t want those involved with the film to be sued. To me, both claims seem questionable, considering the website for “Escape from Tomorrow” features a running tally of “Number of Hours Since Release That We Haven’t Been Sued.”

It’s obvious that “Escape from Tomorrow” is a bully’s plea for attention. And while, yes, the film has received some buzz, Disney’s silence has downplayed much of the would-be press surrounding the scandal.

In this case, Moore is Ursula, Gaston, Scar and Sid. He’s Captain Hook and Jafar, a typical bad guy who poses problems for the protagonist.

But hakuna matata, Disney. The next time I’m faced with an attention-seeking tormentor, I’ll follow your lead and conduct myself wordlessly with class — ultimately conquering my villain.

Bailey is a junior in Media. She can be reached at [email protected].