I think I agree with this. In my experience with my 4- and 5-year-olds, the concepts/images they retain are completely character/personality driven. E.g. they love individual characters, but the larger messages are completely lost. I don't think pop cultural references started appearing until the Shrek series, which included a bunch of funny, adult pop culture references. I think they did this for a really simple reason: to make it easier for parents to take kids to the movies, and still get some laughs. Throwing in pop culture references makes the parents laugh, but kids pay no attention--they love the animation, expressions, sounds, etc. And parents are more likely to sit through repeated viewings because of this.

My kids get their "bearings" from their Judeo/Christian upbringing, both at home and at school. That is their "culture", not the characters they see in Disney movies. Looking over the list of recent Disney movies, the themes I pick out are "individuality, loyalty, determination, perseverance." All of which are reflective of our culture, and all of which fly completely over the heads of small kids.