Danielle's Corner: The Art of a Disney Fairy-Tale

There are a lot of big issues that surround the Walt Disney Company.  I grew up with Disney and still love it as an adult...heck, I just started a weekly podcast about the whole thing!  I must love it to do something like that...but that doesn't mean I don't take these issues lightly.  Disney is a global phenomenon.  At it's heart, the company was founded on the principal that they would make films not just for children but for the child in all of us.  Yet they are also a business and like all businesses, they often make choices for the sake of staying in business or making a prophet.  What we then see is the thin line between artistic creations and manipulation.  What do I mean by that?  Simply put, Disney has released films that are artistically amazing in my opinion.  Then there are some films that contain certain elements there for the sake of getting people to go see the film rather than making a genuinely good movie.  Hey, it happens.  Every company seems to do it.  It bothers me and I still can't quite get my thoughts together about it.  But that doesn't get to the core of Disney's issues, that is only a surface issue.  Other issues that come to mind are race, hidden sexual images, the passive female and here-to-save-the-day male companion/future husband, and more.  Please know that I'm not saying my stance on any of these things - I'm just throwing them out there.

However, there is one issue that really bothers me and it fits right into the movie we talked about in our most recent podcast episode, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  There is a scene in the Dream Works film Shrek where Princess Fiona goes out walking in the early morning when she comes across a bird and begins to sing to it.  The bird mimics her and each of them sing higher and higher until the bird can no longer compete and explodes.  The scene is hilarious and I should state right now that Shrek is one of my all time favorite movies.  But it is clearly poking fun at Disney movies, particularly Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs since there is a scene almost identical where Snow White sings to a bird who tries to sing as high as she sings but fails (though doesn't explode). 

This is something critics can't stand about Disney.  The relationship Disney characters have with animals is highly implausible and therefore should not be, for it apparently sends kids the wrong message.

For starters, Disney, as I stated above, at it's core is set on the principle of making a good film for all, not just for kids.  They aren't educational videos to teach kids how to behave...though they certainly aren't excused from the right to teach those who watch them.  I believe we can learn from every corner of the universe and Disney can't be excluded from that.  

So what is wrong with Disney characters having nice animal friends?  Well, in real life animals won't be there to warn your friends that you are in danger.  Animals won't be there in real life to make you a dress for the ball.  Animals aren't your conscience and they certainly can't talk.  

Is it just me or am I the only one who watched these films as a kid and knew right from the get go that they were make believe?  When I watched Disney movies I immersed myself in the world they presented to me that expanded my imagination and encouraged me to write stories of my own.  I loved to pretend to be a character in a make believe world with animals friends and adventures but I also was aware that this wasn't real life and that was okay.  I loved living outside of myself.  My whole childhood was practically living outside myself since I was constantly watching television and movies and reading books that took me away from real life.  Disney never taught me that my problems would be solved by talking animals or magic though these things gave me hope.  Sure I might have wished upon a star like my favorite characters did in hopes of my dreams coming true but that is reality.  Disney, in my opinion, isn't to blame for kids thinking this way.  Sure, Disney has helped propel this thinking but it is human nature to dream, to imagine the impossible happening and hoping for the impossible to happen.  Things that I believed impossible have become possible and they were mythical things but real things and it was Disney that taught me to hold on to hope from a young age. 

In my opinion, Disney isn't meant to reflect our scientific or physical reality but our spiritual and mental reality that goes deeper than what is literally seen on screen.  The child within all of us craves a good story and it just so happens that Disney is pretty darn good at telling them.  When the birds help save Snow White and the mice help sew Cinderella's dress, Disney isn't saying this is how we should solve our problems - by letting others do it for us.  If you remember, it was Snow White who solved her problem by finding shelter and making company with the Seven Dwarfs.  Cinderella never condoned staying at home forever passively but instead passively worked through the evilness that surrounded her, teaching viewers that even during hardship we must keep going.  

In the end, Disney is a fairy-tale!  Things like this are expected to occur in a fairy-tale!  As a child, I was completely aware of this fact and my growing concern is why so many others are not aware of this.

This post is brought to you from Danielle's corner.  Be sure to give this post a plus if you liked it.  Do you agree with Danielle's points?  Do you disagree?  Why or why not?  Let us know in the comments!