Disney Adults Become the Punchline in Andrew Santino’s White Noise on Hulu
There’s an irony to Andrew Santino: White Noise landing inside the Disney Bundle. In a 50-minute set, Santino spends about two minutes mocking “Disney adults" and anyone visiting the parks without kids. It’s hardly the most shocking bit in the special, yet its presence within The Disney Bundle feels like an odd business move.
The Disney-focused segment begins five minutes into the runtime when Andrew Santino tells the story of a Black friend of his named E.P., a 47-year-old man who arrived at his barbecue wearing a Disney jacket. Andrew accused his friend of wearing a “kids' jacket," and the punchline is the way that friend responds, using expletives about how much he loves Goofy. Andrew briefly sexualizes Minnie Mouse before transitioning to the broader phenomenon of Disney adults.
“That’s a subculture I had to learn," he says, sharing that there were none where he grew up in Chicago (Walt Disney’s birthplace). Now that he lives in Southern California, Andrew claims they’re everywhere. “They could be here," he warns the audience inside the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis. “They could be sitting right next to you, you’d know, they’re sticky."
Disneyland is up next. “I think there should be two lines at Disney: one for people with kids and one for people without," Andrew Santino shares. “The people with kids get to go in the park…" He trails off, implying that if you’re an adult without kids, Disneyland, or any Disney theme park, isn’t for you.
Disney devotees aren’t unused to jokes about their fandom, but they rarely come from Disney’s own turf. It’s a jab that feels out of step with the company’s tradition of celebrating its base. Walt Disney himself designed Disneyland for “parents and kids [to] have fun together," a mission immortalized on the park’s dedication plaque. Even today, festivals at EPCOT and runDisney races prove adults keep the parks humming when school’s in session.
Santino isn’t singling Disney out. He skewers Harry Potter fans next, mocking their devotion and riffing on J.K. Rowling. Still, the Disney segment stands out because it streams on the very service Disney is merging with Hulu. Roughly 40% of Disney+ subscribers have the Bundle — the same viewers likely to bristle at being shamed by a title Disney itself distributes.
Elsewhere, White Noise leans on Santino’s usual provocations: race jokes, bawdy anecdotes, even a double use of the homophobic F-slur. Lacking the disarming persona that cushions comics like Sarah Silverman or Bill Burr, Santino often sounds less like a character and more like someone testing limits because he can.
In the end, White Noise isn’t a manifesto against Disney fans so much as an example of how comedy specials don’t play by the same brand-management rules as other Disney+ fare. Santino’s digs may make some viewers laugh and others wince, but their presence raises a larger question: how far will Disney stretch its platform identity to host edgy voices without alienating the very audience that built its empire?