March 2011
20 posts
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The Mad, Mad world of Alice in Wonderland
A classic childhood fairytale, Disney’s 1951 interpretation of Alice in Wonderland weaves a tale of fantasy and adventure, which features a world full of curious and anthropomorphic creatures. The story prominently follows the journey of a girl named Alice who falls into an alternate universe or reality. Alice is literally transported into another dimension, in which she encounters ...
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The Little Mermaid : Silence is Golden. Or is it?
As one of the most iconic and loved “Disney Princesses,” the Little Mermaid epitomizes what Disney films are all about. Released in 1989, the classic re-telling of Hans Christian Andersen’s film romanticizes the idea of sacrificing one’s most treasured possession (in this case, Ariel’s beautiful voice and musical abilities) for the sake of true love. Throughout the...
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Ad Campaign Explained + Social Media Integration
With our 6 ads, we tried to capture the essence of Disney magic while bringing into the picture (literally) how we feel disabilities could be better represented in Disney and media. Interpretation of the ads are definitely up for discussion and we have put in place a variety of avenues to do so.
First, we distributed the ads via tumblr. The ads have already been reblogged a few times and we hope...
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Why Do Many Villains Possess Disabilities?
Have you ever wondered why in Disney movies, many of the disabled characters tend to be the bad guys? In popular entertainment media today, why is it that many villains are portrayed as having disabilities? What is the connection there?
Is it the idea that physical disabilities sometimes incites fear and discomfort or appear to be “menacing” and threatening? Or rather, is our idea of...
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Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender is an animated children’s show, that strangely enough a college student like myself enjoyed as well, that aired on Nickelodeon some time ago. Recently a live-action version of the cartoon series was released that did the animated series no justice and will not be discussed here as it neither serves to demonstrate the show’s depiction of disability, nor...
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Analysis of Monster's Inc - A World of Freaks
One of the most successful animated films of the 21st century, Monster’s Inc. made the concept of the “freak,” and abnormality more accessible and relatable to modern audiences and viewers. Like Dreamworks, Disney/Pixar took an unorthodox approach and developed a film that focused on creatures traditionally perceived as scary or villainous. Ironically, the “freak”...
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Quest for Camelot
Quest for Camelot is a fictional children’s fantasy story based loosely around King Arthur and the story of Excalibur. A brief, brief summary of the film’s story line is that the story of excalibur has been stolen and then consequently lost. Kayley, the girl in the image above, who’s father was a knight at King Arthur’s round table before he was killed, decides to go...
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Winnie the Pooh
“Winnie the Pooh” is a beloved childhood cartoon that i confess to even watching many many episodes of it when i was younger. The series revolves around the character of Winnie who is a pooh bear.. assumable yes a bear with yellow fur, and his adventures with his many friends in the fictional world inside a story book of the Hundred Acre Woods. Their human friend Christopher Robins...
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How to Train Your Dragon
How to Train Your Dragon is a recent Dreamworks production that was released in 2010. The story revolves around an outcast viking teenager named Hiccup who dreams of being included amongst the “normal” vikings, doing viking-like things such as killing dragons and wielding weapons. The story follows Hiccup as he accidentally (or skillfully) shoots down one of the rarest and most lethal...
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Advertisement Campaign: Disnability
Note: Artwork is not original, images have been re-appropriated from original creators’ artistry.
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Analysis of the Seven Dwarfs
“No one’s ever gonna pay a dime to see a dwarf picture”— Lillian Disney
One of Disney’s first animated films, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), has one of Disney’s first depictions of disability. Dwarfism, as the seven beloved dwarfs posseses, is the condition in which “growth hormone deficiency refers to abnormally short height in childhood due to the lack of...
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Analysis of Quasimodo
“The depiction of the disabled person as “monster” and the criminal characterization both express the varying degrees the notion that disability involves the loss of an essential part of one’s humanity. Depending on the extent of disability, the individual is perceived as more or less subhuman” —Paul Longmore
In Hunchback of Note Dame, Disney’s 1996 film retells the classic...
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Analysis of Mama Odie
Disney’s most recent animated film The Princess and the Frog (2009) depicts disability in a stereotypical manner. Similar to Dumbo, the film features a blind voodoo priestess Mama Odie. The film itself follows the adventure of Tiana and Prince Naveen’s struggle to re-transform into humans again. The two have been morphed into frogs by a evil voodoo magician. Mama Odie’s character is pivotal in...
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Advertisement Campaign- Proposed Ad Ideas
We propose reframing the current imagery associated with children’s animated film in a new light, and applaud all positive representations of disability. We plan on spinning the tagline “happiest place on earth” and the idea of the fairytale and reframing it to fit advocating disability equality and representation. Our ad campaign will include bold images of animated characters...
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The Transforming Figure of "The Beast"
The Beast character in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is often overlooked as a character with a disability. We often associate physical disabilities with the inability to perform basic motor functions essential to daily life. In the film, the Beast does not exemplify any lack of physical ability. In fact, he seems to possess supernatural strength which can be taken as an enhanced ability. Sure, we...
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Advertisement Campaign - Target Demographic and...
Target Demographic
As mainstream animated films are generally geared toward children, our target audience will be parents with children fitting the age range of 5-18 years old. This is the most prominent and influential stages among children, so our advertising campaign would be directed towards parents who wish to educate their children on important issues such as disability in the...
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Analysis of Finding Nemo
Characters - Nemo, Dory, and Gil : Victims turned into Symbols of Empowement
Disney’s 2003 smash hit “Finding Nemo” introduced audiences to a new whole new perspective of disability not previously covered by animated films before. This film is mainly about a young clownfish named Nemo, whose mother and siblings were killed from birth due to an eel attack. His father, Merlin...
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Analysis of Shrek
Since its release in 2001, Shrek has and continues to be one of the most commercially successful franchises in popular film today. From endorsements with Burger King to partnerships with clothing and accessories lines (e.g. Wal-Mart, Sephora, nail line OPI, etc.), the unlikely heroes and protagonists of Shrek have become cultural icons in their own right. But how is it that these characters, who...
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Analysis of Dumbo
“Extremely enlarged facial feature. His large ears made him clumsy and awkward, and the other elephants considered him a ‘freak’. But then he discovered that those big funny ears could make him fly (which in my opinion makes this the best disability film ever). For the first time, I’d found someone I could relate to. I didn’t realise it then, but I had reclaimed him...
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Analysis of Captain Hook
“Giving disabilities to villainous characters reflects and reinforces, albeit in exaggerated fashion, three common prejudices against handicapped people; disability is a punishment for evil; disabled people are embittered by their “fate”; disabled people resent the nondisabled and would, if they could, destroy them,” —Paul Longmore
As the author Jack A. Nelson states in his...
February 2011
3 posts
5 tags
WatchThis video is SNL’s parody of a Disney program satirizing Disney’s farfetched and oftentimes unrealistic depictions of optimism. The skit depicts a group of middle schoolers who coax their friend, who is in a wheelchair because of a broken knee, to attempt to walk after hearing motivational messages from their teachers. Of course, the outcome isn’t pretty.
Although greatly...
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Welcome
Welcome to Ralph li, Roxanne Roxas, Jennifer Snow, and Joline Chen’s COGN 150 Final Project Blog. ( R2J2) We are here to analyze cartoons and animations in relation to disabilities in media. Hope it is entertaining and interesting and that you will learn something insightful.