Welcome to Disney Adventures!

Welcome friends!

I thought to myself at the beginning of the semester, "Wow! A class that's about Disney? I have to take it."All my life I have been a great fan of Disney. I have watched hours upon hours of Disney films, and viewed them countless times over again. Disney films just have something so special about them, whether it is the presentation, animation, story, characters, I do not know. What I do know is that I've been fascinated with Disney ever since I watched my first Disney film, Lion King.

Consequently my favorite Disney character happens to be Mufasa. While he only had a brief appearance in the beginning of the movie (Spoilers!), he stands to this day as my favorite character in any Disney film. He stood for justice, peace and was one of the most courageous characters I've seen. Yet, he never looked for trouble, as he said to his son "I am only brave when I have to be." He is a character that I always wanted to emulate.

Throughout this blog I will take a look at several of the readings that myself and my classmates have read over the semester. We have discussed a variety of topics, including the Disney empire, as well as the portrayal of topics such as race and gender in animated films. I will give my views on these readings and topics. Everyone need not agree with my perspective and that is totally fine, I welcome other ideals and different sides to an argument!

Regina Bendix Seashell Bra and Happy Disneys Transformation of The Little Mermaid

Disney's Little Mermaid, like other films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Peter Pan, were not original creations of Disney. While Disney modified characters, story, plot and added an animated twist, these folktales existed previously. Hans Christian Andersen was the original creator of Little Mermaid. In Bendix's piece regarding Little Mermaid, there is something that she says in the opening of her article, "Once folktales are set into print, music, or paint, they lose the fluidity and adaptability of orality, they are fixated in time and space (280)

I don't know if I completely agree with that statement. I look to the classic tale of Peter Pan. Peter Pan was a folktale that was  adapted by Disney into the animated film Peter Pan in 1953. According to Bendix's statement there is no room for adaptability anymore and the images portrayed in this film make sure viewers exclude all other imagination (Bendix 2). This is not the case as the tale of Peter Pan has been adapted in more than films. For example the movie, Hook (1991), introduced a new theme for Peter Pan as well as adding a few new members to the story. In this film adaptation, Peter Pan is no longer a young boy, but a grown man and returns to Neverland to save his children. Pan had always been portrayed as a child but this movie decided to make a change in its new adaptation. 

This is why I have a hard time agreeing with Bendix as I've shown on at least one occasion there were other films created after the iconic Disney version with altered stories or adaptations. 

Teri Martin Wright Romancing the tale: Walt Disney's adaptation of the Grimms' "Snow White" Terri Martin Wright

Disney has been famous for revamping old fairy tales and putting his trademark Disney spin on them. One of Disney's most notable modified fairy tales is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The earlier adaptation of Snow White was written by the Brothers Grimm. Wright discusses Disney's logic behind creating a full length feature film and specifically why he had chosen Snow White. Wright explains that one of the reasons that Disney chose Snow White was because he wanted to use a story that had already been popular and established, and knowing that his company did not yet possess the necessary reputation on his name alone, he chose Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Wright 102)

Throughout this piece, Wright refers to many things that Walt Disney altered in order to create the perfect movie in his mind that would appeal to all demographics, Walt's, Disney spin. For example, the dwarf labor songs were intended to allude to the workers of Depression era American society. (Wright 107) This made me think of any other aspects of movies that Disney has made that allude to pop culture or society. That thought made me think of the numerous scenes that may not exactly be intended for children. These adult themes have become more and more present in Disney films.

I think Disney realized that if he wanted to be the best, he needed to appeal to everyone. He must have thought at one point in time, "Parents will take kids to see these movies, but they aren't going to want to go if the movies are no interest to them at all." This is why I believe Disney and his corporation have inserted certain themes and dialogue in movies that may not necessarily be intended for children, but for the more seasoned movie goers who take their children to see these films. This is only one theory on why Disney movies sometimes portray adult themes in their films. I welcome any other theories!

If you haven't seen Toy Story 3 Skip this post!!!!!

I've experienced many emotions twatching Disney and Pixar films, but one of those feelings has never been legitimate sadness. In Beauty in the Beast, when the beast seemingly dies, I felt bad but nowhere near close to tears. When Mufasa is killed and Simba attempts to awaken his father only to realize he is dead, I was more upset but still not anything out of the ordinary. Other people watched those films and tore up in sadness but I never quite felt that connection. Toy Story  on the other hand was a different story. I had grown up watching Toy Story and its sequel, however the way the movie ended in the second film, it seemed all would forever be well in Toy Story world. By the time third movie was released I was already a teenager. When I saw Toy Story 3 and it came to the scene where it looked like all the toys were about to fall to their death in the pit, I have to admit that I was tearing. Of course logically it would make no sense whatsoever for a Toy Story film to end that way but logic was out of my mind. I finally realized that I had developed a bond or connection with these films growing up and seeing them almost destroyed actually felt like a part of my childhood was destroyed. I ask any fellow viewers of this blog, have any of you ever followed and watched a Disney film growing up that you would feel terrible if those characters were destroyed in their respective stories in a sequel?

Amy Davis THE ‘DARK PRINCE’ AND DREAM WOMEN: WALT DISNEY AND MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICAN FEMINISM

Walt Disney's company grew into an empire of unimaginable reach. If you go to any part of the world, I guarantee that anyone you ask, it doesn't matter what language they speak, how older they are, where they are from, if you say "Disney" they are going to know exactly what you are talking about. While everyone knows Disney as an empire or corporation, not everyone knows a lot about the man who started it all. Davis aimed in her article to examine Disney's views on woman and femininity. But there's something that is mentioned in her piece that caught my eye. Quoting an old employee of Disney, "Dick Huemer...claimed that Walt’s ‘first consideration was what a person could contribute to the studio or the product. . . . I think he would have used the Devil himself if he was a great animator" (217)

That quote brought up a controversial topic of what kind of man Walt Disney was. Work with the devil, if he was a great animator, its a pretty funny statement but is it false. Earlier in the semester I read a piece by Jack Zipes entitled Breaking the Disney Spell. This described Disney's rise to fame and how he managed to stay on top. In the Zipes article I noticed that Disney was often selfish when it came to accepting credit. While many artists worked with Disney on several of his projects, Disney was the one to gain the fame. I am not saying that Disney was a jerk, but what I am saying is its interesting to look at a corporation thats entire core is based on stories and films about honesty, justice, innocence, purity, selflessness, and heroics. I think naturally, people like do imagine Disney as a great, loving, innocent man who wanted to bring joy to children.

To look behind the corporate mask and see that Walt Disney was perhaps nothing more than a clever, scheming business who struck gold is hard to think about. 

Buzzfeed Article

I found a cool Buzzfeed article with a lot of cool interesting facts about Disney movies that maybe not everyone new about ! Link at the bottom!

Link To Website: Buzzfeed 63 Disney Facts

Elizabeth Lawrence In the Mick of Time Reflections On Disney's Ageless Mouse

Mickey Mouse is what started it all.  Elizabeth Lawrence describes the creation of Mickey and glorifies the mouse to be perhaps one of the most iconic characters created by Walt Disney himself as well as a trademark of the Disney Empire. After reading In the Mick of Time, it seems that every aspect of Mickey's design was carefully discussed and planned out. From his physical appearance and clothes to his voice, the qualities of Mickey's character were not random. While I agree with Lawrence on her analysis of Disney's Mouse, I have to disagree with her stance regarding the popularity of Mickey. It's true as she points out that Mickey's trademark ears are all over Disney paraphernalia and anyone who enters the Disney theme parks, leaves with his ears bestowed on their heads. (Lawrence 69) But I personally believe that Disney's famous mouse has slowly lost some of his once incomparable fame and recognition to Disney's more recent and emerging characters.

Disney used to have one proud character that it marketed, capitalized, and symbolized. That character was undeniably Mickey. As Lawrence constantly reminds us that Mickey is the proud symbol of Disney, I don't necessarily agree with that anymore. In this day and age there are numerous notable Disney characters since the creation of Mickey Mouse. Multiple princesses like Jasmine, Cinderella, Tiana, heroes like Mr. Incredible, and countless others who's images appear on pajamas and comforters of children around the world.

Mickey is no longer the only horse in the stable. He's not the golden goose that he once was and its starting to show. A new age in Disney has begun and the once famous mouse may not be the center of attention anymore.

Erin Addison Saving Other Women from Other Men: Disney's Aladdin

Growing up I had Aladdin as well as the sequel Aladdin Jafar's Return on VHS. I could never get tired of this movie. When I read Addison's piece regarding the film, where she criticizes the representation of race in the film, I realized I had been tricked by Disney, or rather swayed. One of the things that Addison discusses is the representation of the main characters, Aladdin and Jasmine, in contrast with the representation of all the other characters in the film. While most characters in the film possess a foreign accent, the main characters coincidently have American accents (Addison 9). On top of that, Addison points out that Aladdin is the "only clean shaven male in the movie" (Addison 9).

When I watched this film, naturally Aladdin was my favorite character. But now I ask myself, did I pick him as my favorite character in the movie, or did Disney pick for me? The animators design Aladdin so that he is so different from the rest of the cast that he stands out. His clean look, american accent, and light skin are much more relatable to any young boy than the rugged, foreign accent, bearded law enforcement that appear in the film. Is this the first time that I have been lightly swayed in a direction by Disney and its creators?

Gillam Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Many in Disney/Pixar

Gillam's analysis of the alpha male character in Disney and Pixar films was illuminating. The presence of an alpha male is not a new concept. In many sports, movies, shows, and even in the wild there is almost always one person or animal, who stands out from the rest as the leading alpha. The alpha character has been in countless Disney films over the decades. Disney really pushed the characteristics of the alpha in Beauty and the Beast. Anyone who has ever seen Beauty and the Beast, immediately remembers the alpha male, Gaston. With bulging biceps, a chin cleft, an abundance of chest hair, and the title of greatest hunter in all the land, Gaston becomes an image of mockery rather than respect in the film.

In the three films that Gillam discusses: Cars, Toy Story, and The Incredibles, Gillam addresses that each alpha male character experiences some type of fall from grace, and eventually builds himself back up. However the male characters do not return as stronger alphas, they return as discussed in the article as "betas"(Gillam 3-6) In fact Gillam believes argues that the alpha position is always temporary. He says that "In none of these Pixar films does the male protagonist's dominance last long." (4)  Consequently these alphas lose their dominance and create a new persona as betas.

I thought about what Gillam was saying, and it changed the way that I personally experienced Disney films. All throughout my childhood I watched and adored the alpha characters portrayed in these films. I wanted to emulate their alpha model. As I have said, Mufasa, perhaps one of the most iconic alpha males in Disney history, is my favorite character. But as I look back at each and ever one of these movies with the alpha males that I grew up adoring, I realized that Gillam was right; the alpha role is not really sustainable or at least Disney doesn't allow it to be sustainable in its films. I re-watched the Lion King recently and for the first time in awhile, noticed something new. Simba's reliance and cooperation with his allies as a beta allows him to be successful and reclaim his home. If Mufasa had called the other lionesses for help,  and not been a stereotypical alpha who works alone, could he have survived? But then he really would not have fit the alpha stereotype, if he didn't go alone.

Ackerman's The Spirit of Toys: Resurrection and Redemption in Toy Story and Toy Story 2

Alan Ackerman discusses several of the concepts that are present in Disney Pixar's Toy story films. One of his arguments that really popped out to me was the notion of death, humanity, and perfection . Ackerman argues that death is present and "imagined obsessively in both movies"(Ackerman 896). I definitely agree that there are themes of death and humanity throughout the film. As Ackerman points out, the character Sid is an image of death, some might even argue that he is the grim reaper, who in a twisted way escorts toys to their doom by destroying them with tools and toy rockets. Sid's skull shirt further credits the theory that he is the presence of death in the film. Toys like Buzz, eventually realize his own humanity when he  attempts to fly and gloriously fails, breaking into a few pieces (Ackerman 897) . No arguments there with Ackerman.  However what I found particular interesting about his analysis of the second film was the toys' idea of death in connection to perfection.

Ackerman once again points out references to death in the form of storage that Jessie and other toys are placed in before finding Woody (904). This idea of keeping toys in storage or their original boxes in mint condition sparked a curiosity in me. Death for these toys may not be as literal as being destroyed, but rather not being played with feels equally as painful. I started to notice that throughout the second film, the toys are obsessed with being perfect. When Woody's arm is ripped, he becomes visibly worried and upset, fearing that because he is partially damaged, Andy won't want to play with him anymore and subsequently feels like he has died. Jesse and the other television characters are excited to be on display in the museum because they will be in mint condition and perfect forever. I feel that Woody subsequently realizes, at the point and level of perfection, they aren't really living.

This made me think about images of perfection in the real world. There are people who go through their lives trying to achieve perfection as if anything less would be comparable to death. I feel that the presentation of perfection to death in Toy Story allows people to take a step back and realize that life is not always about being perfect, and sometimes being a little rough around the edges is just fine.

Subliminal and Hidden Messages In Disney Films

As people have examined Disney and Pixar films over the years, some people have picked up on certain hidden messages that were left by the animators. Sometimes it can be as harmless as a Buzz light year toy in Finding Nemo, but on other accounts like the controversial penis portrayed on the cover of Little Mermaid, discussion has stirred. These creations are not left by accident. It would be very interesting for anyone to prove that they accidentally put obscenities on a Disney cover however it begs the question, "have I found everything?" I wondered as I looked through this article and watched some Disney movies recently, are these messages the ones that perhaps we were meant to find if we scratched at the surface? Could there possibly be far more controversial animated additions in films that we have never noticed?

I challenged myself to watch a few films that have already identified hidden messages, and alas I was not able to find anything interesting. However, I believe that there could be more messages within these films that may possibly never be discovered, and the animator who put it there has a slight chuckle every day as his little addendum to the film has not yet been uncovered.

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