A Puppet Show With a Serious Message

Dorothy P. Stratton’s eyes filled with tears after she was hugged by a thankful student at Danbrook School.

A Disneyland employee serving as an ambassador for a new traveling Disney puppet show, Stratton is growing accustomed to emotional responses from students to the production’s anti-drug message.

“I know the show has impacted them and that they’ll remember that it is cool to say no to drugs,” she said after a recent show at the Anaheim elementary school.

Known as the Disney Crew, the production, which features life-size puppets portraying teenage characters, uses catchy tunes and student participation to help children remember the dangers of substance abuse. Characters include Justin, an athlete, and Dude, a skater.

The show, patterned after a similar program in Orlando, Fla., in 1991, started its Orange County run in September, said Oscar Carrazco, a Disney ambassador who travels with Stratton.

Before the year is over, the show will be presented to 5,000 third-graders at 60 schools in the Anaheim area.

In addition to discouraging drug use, the program helps children build self-esteem and skills to make good decisions, Disneyland officials said.

Reaction to the show will help Disney officials decide whether to expand it countywide next year.