Analysis of Disney Films
Before starting this essay, I researched several different Disney
Films; Snow White, Aladdin, Hercules, Mulan, 101 Dalmatians and The
Lion King the last two of which I’m going to analyse in more detail.
The term “representation” means the act of communicating by using
symbols to stand for things, throughout the essay I intend to see how
Disney represents their binary opposites. Binary opposites are
opposites, like good and bad. Levi Strauss believed that all
narratives are made up of opposites he called these opposites binary
opposites.
101 Dalmatians
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The initial impression the audience have of Pongo and Roger is that
they are heroes. Even before we see Pongo and Roger we know they are
good characters, we first hear the happy, joyful music that Roger is
playing, so a diegetic sound can be heard The weather outside is sunny
and light and its day time (heroes are often seen in the light) also
the atmosphere inside the house is very calm this is a good example of
one of Disney’s conventions. We then see Roger and he has rounded
features and is quite gentle looking, this assures us he is a hero.
Roger’s dog Pongo is talking about Roger in his mind and calls him
handsome and cares for him, this also assures us that Pongo is a hero
too.
The first time we see Cruella De Vil she is in a rush and is driving
recklessly towards Roger and Anita’s house, she is a binary opposite
to Roger’s character. Roger is playing a song when Cruella is first
seen driving, the words of which tell us that she is evil and the
music is quite sinister, this gives the a...
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...t when the audience see the heroes a
happy non-diegetic sound is heard. In Aladdin the villain, Jafar is
very sarcastic and the hero Aladdin is honest. These are all binary
opposites.
Binary opposites appear in all Disney Films, they are used because it
is made obvious to the audience who the villains and heroes are.
Disney also uses the Todorov narrative formulae the use of which makes
it obvious to the audience what the resolution of the film will be.
The Todorov formula is:-
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This is the Todorov narrative formula for the Lion King.
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If the audience can guess correctly the ending of the film it makes
them feel good about themselves, it gives them gratification. This
then makes them want to see a film similar to that again a successful
formula that Disney uses time and time again.
but she was also very keen to play Mrs. Lyons as she had never played
the time when the film was made) in a bank. Since she is unhappy with
All of Pixar’s iconic films are inspired from small ideas drawn from aspects of everyday life. One of the most prominent inspirations was channeled into the film Finding Nemo. Andrew Stanton, a high ranking director and producer for Pixar, used his memories of a fish tank in a dentist’s office from his childhood as half of the story in Finding Nemo. Stanton’s sympathy for the fish and being an overprotective father served as the other half of the basic story and together the two memories formed the emotional anchor for the film. Another idea that spawned from a staff member helped create the unforgettable and heartfelt film Toy Story. John Lasseter, the chief creative officer of Pixar, owned many rare and collectible toys, and became nervous whenever his kids wanted to play with them. However, the real message, Lasseter realized, is just because a toy is signed by Tom Hanks, it does not mean that it is sentenced to life on a shelf. Channeling that type of thinking into all of the toys in Toy Story is what makes the film so cherished and more easily relatable. Another popular film is The Incredibles, which is Pixar’s tribute to pop mythology, comic books, and spy movies. The other inspiration for this movie deals with an average, everyday family life: the fear, anxiety, work, and insecurities that happen throughout a day. Combining the two aspects make for a very interesting, action-packed film, while also being very sincere and family-friendly. Pixar films were not all inspired from personal experience and passion. A documentary about the Rainforest Mountains in Venezuela made by Adrian Warren was the inspiration behind the movie Up. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and Pixar proves that anything can be ex...
way. While in The Once and Future King we find her to be an allegory to Hitler, in The
Deviance and family are successfully found in most disney movies, especially Aladdin, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Lilo and Stitch. Deviance is when an act is being done that goes against the typical accepted behavior. Aladdin and The Lion King are superb at the art of giving examples of deviance. Family does not have a set and stone definition. Your family can be whoever you want it to be. In Beauty and the Beast, unconditional love between a daughter and her father is found. Within Lilo and Stitch, we find that family can be someone other than your birth mother and father, or even your own blood.
According to Giroux (1996), animated movies are a part of children’s culture. Children’s culture consists of entertainment, artifacts, myths, etc. that are based around the notion of what it means to be a child. Animated movies, particularly Disney films, encourages the child’s imagination and fantasy to be enhanced, creates a drive within them to go on adventures and helps them develop an aura of innocence. Animated films are “teaching machines” (Giroux, 1996, p. 66). Disney films teach children about specific roles, values and ideals and also take them through the world of enchantment. It helps them to understand who they are and what it means to be a part of the society and an adult environment (Giroux, 1996). Disney characters are a reflection
In the documentary “Fed Up,” sugar is responsible for Americas rising obesity rate, which is happening even with the great stress that is set on exercise and portion control for those who are overweight. Fed Up is a film directed by Stephanie Soechtig, with Executive Producers Katie Couric and Laurie David. The filmmaker’s intent is mainly to inform people of the dangers of too much sugar, but it also talks about the fat’s in our diets and the food corporation shadiness. The filmmaker wants to educate the country on the effects of a poor diet and to open eyes to the obesity catastrophe in the United States. The main debate used is that sugar is the direct matter of obesity. Overall, I don’t believe the filmmaker’s debate was successful.
Disney is a company that almost everybody has either seen, heard about, or been to. Throughout the years that Disney has been making movies, some people have been saying that Disney shows stereotyping through their movies. Even though some people do not notice these stereotyping images, some people do notice them and do get very offended. Disney has been around since the early 1920`s when “Walt signed a contract with M. J. Winkler to produce a series of Alice Comedies — this date is considered the start of the Disney company first known as The Disney Brothers Studio”(Wikipedia 3). In the past, Disney has had many different claims about stereotyping, but nothing was really done about the issues. Despite claims that Disney invents perfect role models for children, Disney actually creates their characters based upon stereotypes.
Shakespeare is known for being a great writer, his play have been rewritten, re-adapted, and turned into films to keep their magic alive. However what many people do not know is that many of Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted into many Disney Films. More precisely “Hamlet” is one of the most used plays. Movies such as “Tarzan," “Aladdin," and “101 Dalmatians” used many scenes in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” to inspire scenes in the films. The movie The Lion King by Disney, however, is one of the strongest and more closely related to “Hamlet” than any other Disney film, but how? More importantly what makes this movie more important and the focus of this essay?
preferred the book “Hidden Figures” rather than the movie representation of the story. The main reasons why I favored the book over the movie representation because the book gave more explicit details on the characters and their lives. Another reason is that the movie didn’t give us the full story. Also, the movie based its plot are adjusted to make the movie more appears to viewers. In the following paragraphs, I will explain the judgment I created.
change in an instant at times. When the murder is about to occur she is ruthless, but after
According to the article Father-Daughter Relationship in Disney’s Animated Films, the author’s stated that the first stage of paradigm is: “the father allows his children the freedom to explore adolescence, and they are willing to negotiate things in their relationship.” However, in the second paradigm stage the author stated that: “the father does not allow his children the freedom to explore their adolescence, and the father taking the control to protect his children.” I agree with the author’s assessments of the father-daughter relationship between Maurice and Belle in The Beauty and the Beast, and Chief Powhatan in Pocahontas; which correspond with paradigm I. The relationship between Ariel and her father Triton
The Lego Movie is an animated film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. This movie is about an ordinary Lego mini-figure named Emmet, who is mistaken for an extraordinary master builder and expected to save the world. Everything changes when Emmet finds the Piece of Resistance which makes him the chosen one called “The Special.” Lord Business who is also the President plans to use the Kragle to freeze the universe perfectly in place so that the individual actions and machinations of society no longer go against his plan. Emmet teams up with his teammates to take down Lord Business plan and to save the world. At the end of the movie, Emmet convinces Lord Business that he does not have to be the bad guy and he could also
At the start of the film, Louise is rushed off her feet at work, in a
Movies are one of the innumerable varieties of media that are utilized to display information. They might be exercised for numerous purposes depending on their designated audience. Regardless of the genre, all films must employ some organizational structure. Specifically, when evaluating all genres under the topic of fiction, there are vital parts that must be incorporated in order for that particular story to be successful. Although it may appear that there are a great deal of components to composing a successful movie story, the core elements that must be utilized to produce a compelling and fascinating movie story are: characters, plot, theme, and a setting.