Disney Films Research Articles

I’m gonna wreck it, again: the false dichotomy of “healthy” and “toxic” masculinity in Ralph Breaks the Internet

ABSTRACT This article examines the representation of masculinity in the animated Disney film Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). Popular reviews of the film focused heavily on critiques of toxic masculinity. Often associated with homophobic and misogynistic speech, the concept of toxic masculinity ultimately serves to reinforce and rescue elements of hegemonic masculinity by painting “toxic” male behaviors as something that can be “cured” or “fixed.” To probe the troubled concept of toxic masculinity as seen in animated media, this article demonstrates how Ralph Breaks the Internet reifies a false dichotomy of healthy and toxic masculinity. Through examining the ways Ralph’s physical appearance, his behaviors, his manipulative relationships with women, and the film’s ultimate resolution reflect the current crisis of masculinity, this article argues that while reviews claim the film critiques toxic masculinity, the film itself actually reinscribes qualities of hegemonic masculinity. By invoking toxic masculinity in scholarship and reviews, critics obscure other critiques of masculinity films may put forward—positive and negative.

Archetypes & Self-Realization in Disney’s Cruella (2021) Movie: Jungian Psychoanalysis

The research focused on archetypal elements in the Disney film Cruella. The goal was to see how Estella's personality reflected Jung's archetype theory. Carl Gustav Jung identified the major archetypes, which are the result of shared ancestral experiences that can be found in art, literature, and religion but are not readily evident to the naked eye. Archetypes are inherited, universal patterns of people, actions, or personalities that have an impact on human behaviour. Watching the movie, reading the movie's transcription, selecting quotes, studying cinematographic elements, identifying the data based on the study's theme, and classifying the data to point out the issues of Jung's archetype in the movie were all used to assemble the data. According to the findings, Jung's archetypes were depicted in the film. The results of the research revealed that the main character's speech and actions reflected Jung's archetypes. According to the discussion, Estella's mental growth is obtained from three aspects: her persona, shadow, and self-realization. Self-realization is attained through breaking free from the constraints of the persona, recognizing and accepting the shadow, and balancing the two sides. Despite being difficult and perhaps dangerous, those are critical stages on the way to mental and psychic developmen

Dubbing feminist discourse in Disney films for Arab audiences: Frozen as a case study

ABSTRACT This paper examines gender representation and feminist discourses in Disney’s animated film translation into Arabic. It uses Walt Disney’s Frozen (2013) and its dubbing into Modern Standard Arabic as the case study. The comparative analysis utilizes register analysis of both the source text (ST) and the target text (TT) in order to examine the discrepancies found in the dubbed version leading to the assessment of the quality of translation into Arabic. Relying on textual analysis that relates to a wider socio-cultural framework, the paper suggests that dubbing is a powerful tool that influences conceptions of gender relations within a society and can resist the female’s authoritative voice.

Utilizing Disney Films in the EFL Classroom: Enhancing Students’ Critical Literacy Skills with Animation

This study aimed to evaluate how English teachers can utilize Disney animation in the EFL classrooms to enhance critical literacy skills with a focus on gender and environmental issues. Pocahontas (1995) and Moana (2016) have been analyzed and compared through ecofeminist thoughts as these animation movies deal with nature at the forefront with two young women assigned the role of guarding it against destruction. Through content analysis, the two films are analyzed through the central themes of ecofeminism-criticism of male-centered thinking, women’s relationship to nature, and women’s role as nature caretakers. While both films criticize male-centered thinking and emphasize the two women’s role of advocating and protecting nature, Pocahontas’s leadership is limited by binary thinking whereas Moana grows into a leader where all elements are equal and integral. Based on the analysis, students can train their critical thinking skills to further read cultural texts critically. By incorporating eco-feminist thoughts in a critical reading of Disney’s films, students can analyze issues deconstructing dominant and dualist thinking. Disney’s abundant film-text sources can serve as valuable resources for enhancing students’ English critical literacy skills.

Mexican-Heritage Ethnic Identity: How Coco Serves as Context for Ethnic Socialization

This study investigated the role of media as a context for ethnic socialization in Mexican-heritage families. We studied whether and how Mexican-heritage parents used the Disney film Coco as a springboard to talk with their children about important cultural traditions, values, and practices. Participants included 23 parent-child dyads. Children were in kindergarten through fifth grade. Parents and children completed quantitative ethnic identity surveys individually, watched the movie together, and were interviewed individually about their experiences with and conversations about the film. Results showed that ethnic identity, ethnic socialization, and orientation toward Mexican or American media were associated with parent-child conversations and experiences with Coco. Participants’ who scored high on ethnic identity and socialization scales discussed nuanced ways in which the cultural representation in Coco related to their own cultural practices and experiences.

‘Show yourself’: Indigenous ethics, Sámi cosmologies and decolonial queer pedagogies of Frozen 2

ABSTRACT In this article, we examine the immensely popular animated Disney film Frozen 2 (2019) through its potential as decolonial queer pedagogy. Drawing on Indigenous educational studies, queer and feminist Indigenous theories, and research on affect and trauma, we ask how the film popularizes Sámi nature-based cosmologies, addresses and attempts to repair the cross-generational transmission of settler colonial trauma, and presents a complex view of gender and human and non-human relations. Unlike in its predecessor Frozen (2013), in Frozen 2 Disney involved Sámi consultants in the production process, and the film was dubbed in North Sámi language. We interrogate Frozen 2's production process as well as its narrative and aesthetics, proposing that it allows its viewers – children and adults, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike – to engage with and learn about Indigenous ethics, Sámi cosmologies, and more-than-human understandings of gender and sexuality in respectful and easily approachable ways.

FLOUTING MAXIMS IN “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST” MOVIE

Communication is one of important part in human life. This research related to the phenomenon of pragmatics. This research focused on analyzing the flouting of maxims in the Disney film entitled “Beauty and the Beast”. The purpose of this study is to determine the kinds of maxim flouting produced by the actor. For this research, the researchers used Grice's theory of flouting maxim. This research used descriptive qualitative as the research design which shapes how the report of the analysis would be descriptively. This research collected the data by applying observational and non-participatory technique by Sudaryanto (1993). As for analyzing data, the researchers used pragmatic identity method and pragmatic competence- in equalizing technique. From the analysis of the collected data, the researchers found that several conversations of the main characters in this film contained flouting of the maxims. Those were 4 data of maxim quantity, 4 data of maxim quality, 3 data of maxim of relevance, and 2 data of maxims manner.

Princesses and paupers: a content analysis of socioeconomic status in animated Disney films

ABSTRACT This paper examines depictions of SES in Disney animated films to learn about the stereotypes of different socioeconomic status (SES) groups that these films reinforce or dispel. As Disney films are frequently watched by children, and may have important developmental implications for the internalization of stereotypes. Sixty-one animated Disney films were coded f (323 characters). Characters were coded for their SES and various roles and behaviors. Results suggest low SES characters are underrepresented compared to the US population, and that Disney’s portrayal of SES both reinforces and contradicts stereotypes.

Translating intertextuality in animated films – an analysis of DreamWorks, Disney and Pixar animations

Intertextuality focuses on the relationship between different texts, either spoken or written. These connections have been the subject of research for many scholars around the world and initially were discussed mainly from the point of view of literary theory (Tomaszkiewicz, 2006, p. 175). The aim of this paper is to examine intertextual references in the context of translation theory, taking into account the various techniques and strategies employed when translating direct or indirect references in a dubbing format. The author analy-ses dialogues from the DreamWorks production “Shrek”(2001), the Disney films “Zootopia” (2016) and “Wreck-It-Ralph”(2012), as well as the Pixar Animation Studios film “Toy Story 3”(2010) with the aim of identifying intertextual references in the source text and comparing them with their Polish and German translations. The author also considers the sources of intertextuality in animation films and the translator’s role in decontextualizing this genre in the target language, drawing attention to the issue of discourse and the agency of audiovisual translators.

Disney, Little Women, and Me

AbstractThe search for identity, security, and recognition by the women of Samoa is both a cultural issue and a personal one. This article offers an analysis of the issues facing Samoan women, making use of both social science research and two popular Disney films—Lilo & Stitch and Moana—that deal generally with Polynesian culture and specifically with the kinds of developemental issues facing women. Although Samoan women are facing the social dislocations caused by modernization, the mythic elements in movies that draw upon Polynesian legends can provide guidance. In addition, I draw upon one of my favorite films, Little Women, to reflect on how I continue to navigate emerging gender roles and expectations. As a woman living in Samoa, my own experience serves as a window into our culture, so I draw upon my own personal questions in reflecting on the material presented in fiction that helps us solve the problems that arise as cultures collide.

From Mulan (1998) to Mulan (2020): Disney Conventions, Cross-Cultural Feminist Intervention, and a Compromised Progress

Directed by the feminist filmmaker Niki Caro, Disney’s 2020 live-action remake of Mulan (1998) strove to be a more gender progressive, culturally appropriate, and internationally successful adaptation of the Chinese legend of Mulan than the animated original. Contrary to the film’s intended effect, however, it was a critical and financial letdown. The film was criticized for a wide range of issues, including making unpopular changes to the animated original, misrepresenting Chinese culture and history, perpetuating Orientalist stereotypes, and demonizing Inner Asian steppe nomads. In addition, the film also faced boycott calls amid political controversies surrounding China. It received exceptionally low audience ratings in both the US and China, grossing a total well under its estimated budget. This article argues that Mulan (2020) is not, as many believe, just another Disney film suffering from simple artistic inability, cultural insensitivity, or political injustice, but a window into the tension-ridden intersectionality of the gender, sexual, racial, cultural, and political issues that shape the production and reception of today’s cross-cultural films. It discusses three major problems, the Disney problem, the gender problem, and the cultural problem, that Mulan (2020) tackled with respectful efforts in Caro’s feminist filmmaking pattern. The film made significant compromises between its goals of cultural appropriateness, progressive feminism, and monetary success. Although it eventually failed to satisfactorily resolve these at times conflicting missions, it still achieved important progress in addressing some serious gender and cultural problems in Mulan’s contemporary intertextual metamorphosis, especially those introduced by the Disney animation. By revealing Mulan (2020)’s value and defects, this article intends to flesh out some real-world challenges that feminist movements must overcome to effectively transmit messages and bring about changes at the transcultural level in the arts.

How Far the Ecowarrior Will Go: An Ecofeminist Reading of Disney’s Moana

This article attempts to look into the fictional narrativization of women’s significant and distinctive relationship with nature in Disney’s Moana . Emphasizing the power and the unity of women and nature in Polynesian indigenous culture, Moana suggests that the destruction of nature results from exploitative and manipulative masculinity. Through ecofeminist perspectives, this essay observes that Moana offers critical views and promotes awareness of gender and environmental issues. These ideas are communicated through the visual and verbal depiction of power relations that defy patriarchal tradition alongside the expressions of protest against devaluation and abuse of nature and women. To put it in the context of the development of themes in Disney’s princess line, Moana 's presence can be a novel alternative to the typical images of women, namely a new portrayal of a female character whose primary concern is not romance but instead the sustainability of the environment where she lives. This study also confirms that Disney’s animated princess films continuously adjust with the dynamics of global feminist discourse. Keywords: Disney film; princess narrative; women; gender; environment

‘The Blackest Disney Movie of All Time!’: A Goofy Movie and the Production of ‘Film Blackness’

Disney films have a distinct way of always feeling in-time, a sensation the company understands and monetizes. A Goofy Movie (AGM) was released in 1995, and since its theatrical release, the film has continued to capture the hearts and minds of a cult audience of passionate fans. Among this array of fans is a core of Black millenials who hold the film in high regard due to its R&B soundtrack and relatable narrative. However, the moments of Black representation within the film are less interesting than how a Black reading becomes possible. What are the component parts of the film’s making when arranged in such a way that invokes an essential Black lifeworld? AGM affixes Blackness to its form not through any profound representation of race. Rather, considering its animators as technical performers, the dark history behind the American cartoon, and how Black music is used to not just make Blackness known but believable instantiate what Michael Gillespie terms, ‘film Blackness’ in Film Blackness: American Cinema and the Idea of Black Film (2016).

Princessing: The Magic of Impression Management

A firsthand account of “princessing,” the social practice where people enact, or cosplay, hyper-feminine princess characters from Disney films.

Kierkegaard’s Three Spheres and Cinematic Fairy Tale Pedagogy inFrozen,Moana, andTangled

Although Disney films are sometimes denigrated as popular or “low” art forms, this article argues that they often engage deeply with, and thereby communicate, significant moral truths. The capitalistic enterprise of contemporary modern cinema demands that cinematic moral pedagogy be sublimated into non-partisan forms, often by substituting secular proxies for otherwise divine or spiritual components. By adapting Søren Kierkegaard’s tripartite existential anthropology of the self, I analyze the subjective experiences of the protagonists in three recent animated fairy tales—Disney’s Frozen, Moana, and Tangled—to demonstrate how these princess movies bridge the imaginative gap between the mundane and the divine.

Paganism, Goddess Spirituality, and Elsa in Disney’sFrozen 2

Audiences in the United States recognize Pagan elements like the use of magic and animism in the Disney film Frozen 2. This article discusses such Pagan ideas in the Frozen films and then applies two archetypal themes from Goddess spirituality to Elsa’s characterization. Scholars like Carol Christ and Starhawk of nature-based Pagan Goddess movements in the United States are employed to compare Elsa in Frozen 2 with notions about the fifth element and rebirth. The article engages neo-Pagan religious ideas about female independence, balance, and transformation, providing a comparison to Elsa’s heroic journey. A discussion about Elsa’s deification in popular culture and body image conclude the article.

Art as liberating element. Feminist counter-discourse to Disney films through the photographic series Fallen Princesses

La sociedad actual es el resultado de una preservación del heteropatriarcado arraigado y difundido por medio de productos culturales y artísticos. Un ejemplo de ello es la compañía cinematográfica de animación Disney. En contraposición, Dina Goldstein genera un contradiscurso para criticar la realidad que destina la compañía a las mujeres protagonistas de sus filmes. Partiendo de un posicionamiento feminista y de una metodología cualitativa, se analizan y comparan las imágenes de ambos productos visuales. De esta manera, se facilita y reconoce un recurso significativo para combatir el machismo que Disney genera, desde la Educación Artística.

Beauty and the Beast: The Value of Teaching Fairy Tales to University Students in the 21st Century

In this essay, I suggest that fairy tales have particular value for students studying at the university level. Assigning fairy tales allows students to read familiar stories from their childhood and reconsider them from critical perspectives. When teaching a college course on fairy tales, my students and I utilize three essential frameworks for understanding fairy tales, focusing on the psycho-social development and sexual maturation of the human person, feminist critique and the need for gender equality in a patriarchal world, and audience reception and reader responses leading to emotional progress and even spiritual enlightenment. Students primarily familiar with Disney film versions of fairy tales enlarge their understanding of multiple versions of tales, both early modern and contemporary. They become familiar with classic fairy tale writers and collectors, such as Charles Perrault, Madame d’Aulnoy, the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Oscar Wilde, Andrew Lang, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Anne Sexton, Angela Carter, and J.K. Rowling as well as fairy tale scholars like Bruno Bettelheim, Maria Tartar, and Jack Zipes. Their study not only results in a firm grasp of the key aspects of story in general, but in the ability to see connections between the real-world problems of the 21st century – such as poverty, starvation, disease, inequality, child abuse, human trafficking, and abuses of political power, among others – and lessons learned from fairy tales. This essay analyzes “Beauty and the Beast” as a key example of the genre and identifies pedagogical strategies for teaching it.

The Disney ‘Princess Bubble’ as a Cultural Influencer

The Disney ‘Princess Bubble’ as a Cultural Influencer

The Development of Stereotypical Representations of Gende in Selected Disney Films A Feminist Reading

This paper starts with an introduction illustrating the rationale behind the choice of the topic and the research objectives. Then, literature review spans the books, dissertations and articles both on gender stereotypes and gender role in recent Disney films. Then, through the feminist film theoretical framework, the paper studies Moana as a positive heroine, who is not a princess, but the daughter of the chief of her tribe and Maui, the demi-god, and how the relationship between both of them influences each other in their representation of gender values. Also, this paper aims at analyzing the motifs that portray Moana, as a progressive female character as opposed to Disney princesses, and Maui’s development as a positive role model for the male audience. The study also sheds light on some gender stereotypical traits that still exist in Moana and Maui. Finally, the study ends with a conclusion of how gender stereotypes are portrayed in recent Disney animated films and how those stereotypes have changed over time.