TBH, I've gotten fussy about the books we read as well. I don't really care for, say, the storybook versions of the Disney/Pixar movies, but there are lots of great "generic" books that don't really have plots or characters as such (Sandra Boynton comes to mind). There are picture books for every subject under the sun from flowers to construction vehicles that kids can enjoy. There are tons of arts and crafts the kids can be DOING instead of reading or listening to or watching. And there is TONS of good kids' music out there that's not even remotely-Disney-related, even not-written-just-for-kids classical music, that can be playing in the background if one needs to have background "something" going on (although there's a lot ot be said for peace and quiet, or for listening to birds sing).
That said, DH and I have only just introduced Star Wars to our kids. We watched it with them, showed it in smaller chunks, took 4 showings to get thru it, talked about what was going on while it happened, had the kids guess why this or that might have happened, or had them guess what would happen next. It's not a passive viewing at all, but very participatory.
A good storyteller, telling a story "the long way" and not just from a book, is a true gem if you can find one, say at a library or bookstore storytime. Once in a while our Barnes & Noble has a guy who does storytime with no book, just from memory, lots of drama, draws pictures to go with the story as he tells it - no Disney-like anything. A totally different concept of stories than either TV/videos or computer games or even many books.
