Deconstructing Disney

Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel unpack Disney’s pachyderm-focused 1941 film, Dumbo. This beloved classic helped Walt Disney Studios recover financially from previous box office busts and an animator strike. Despite being the shortest Disney animated film at only 64 minutes, there’s no shortage of racism, sexism, or horrifying elephant-based hallucinations. 

Episode Bibliography

Andrews, T. (2019, March 29). The original ‘Dumbo’ was decried as racist. Here’s how Tim 

Burton’s version addresses that. The Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/03/29/original-dumbo-was-

decried-racist-heres-how-tim-burtons-version-addresses-that/

Booker, M. K. (2010). Disney, Pixar, and the hidden messages of children's films. Praeger. 

Davis, J. M. (2002). The circus age: Culture and society under the American big top. University of North Carolina Press. 

Dumbo. Wikipedia.

https://web.archive.org/web/20200420212521/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbo

Gullickson, B. (2019, April 1). ‘Dumbo’ Began Life As A Failed Novelty Concept. Film School Rejects. https://filmschoolrejects.com/dumbo-history/

Kirst, S. (March 22, 2019). The tale behind Dumbo, from Dick Case: How the little elephant took off in Syracuse. Syracuse.com. https://www.syracuse.com/kirst/2015/10/the_tale_of_dumbo_from_dick_case_the_little_elephant_took_off_in_syracuse.html

LPA issues statement to abolish the “m” word. (2015, September). Little People of America.  https://www.lpaonline.org/the-m-word

Longworth, K. [Host]. (2015, March 31). 39: Star Wars Episode XIII: Walt Disney (39) [Audio  Podcast Episode]. In You Must Remember This. Stitcher. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/stitcher/you-must-remember-this/e/45778139

Longworth, K. [Host]. (2019, Oct. 21). 146: Disney’s Most Controversial Film (Six Degrees of Song of the South, Episode 1) (146) [Audio Podcast Episode]. In You Must Remember This. Stitcher. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/stitcher/you-must-remember-this/e/64754971

Mettler, K. (May 2, 2016). After 145 years, Ringling Bros. Circus elephants perform for the last time. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/05/02/after-145-years-ringling-bros-circus-elephants-perform-for-the-last-time/

Norman, F. (n.d.). Black crows and other PC nonsense. Mr. Fun’s Journal. https://floydnormancom.squarespace.com/blog/2019/4/27/black-crows-and-other-pc-nonsense

Sharpsteen, B. (Director). (1941). Dumbo [Film]. Walt Disney Productions.  

Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel review Disney’s Fantasia (1940) segment by segment and discuss the film’s repeated racist, female objectifying, and fatphobic imagery. But the music and unicorns are pretty! Maybe there’s a reason Disney likes to focus on Sorcerer Mickey when they talk about this film...

Episode Bibliography

Armstrong, S., Algar, J., Roberts, B., Satterfield, P., Sharpsteen, B., Hand, D.D., Luske, H., Handley, J., Beebe, F., Hee, T., Ferguson, N., & Jackson, W. (Directors). (1940). Fantasia [Film]. Walt Disney Productions.  

Clague, M. (2004). Playing in ‘toon: Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940) and the imagineering of classical music. American Music, 22(1), 91-109.

Daly, S. (November 29, 1991). Changes in the restored version of “Fantasia.” Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved from https://ew.com/article/1991/11/29/changes-restored-version-fantasia/

Dotsey, C. (December 26, 2017). The Making of Fantasia: Disney’s Masterpiece. Houston Symphony. Retrieved from  https://houstonsymphony.org/disney-fantasia/

Fantasia (1940 film). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20200405220323/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasia_(1940_film)

Gabler, J. (October 5, 2015). 'Rite of Spring': A classic 'Fantasia' segment, whether Stravinsky liked it or not. Classical Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved from https://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2015/10/05/rite-spring-fantasia

Gabler, N. (November 2015). Disney’s “Fantasia” Was Initially a Critical and Box-Office Failure. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/disney-fantasia-critical-box-office-failure-180956963/

[Official Business]. (February 22, 2019). Fantasia (1940) Sunflower comparison BEST QUALITY [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeE-yaev7bM

Sergeant, D. C., & Himonides, E. (2019). Ochestrated sex: The representation of male and female musicians in world-class symphony orchestras. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1-18.

Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel offer a less favorable take on Disney’s Pinocchio (1940) than the 100% Rotten Tomato rating of this film might suggest. They discuss the historical context of WWII in which the film was released and consider how this relates to the film’s themes about morality and family relationships. 

Episode Bibliography

Allan, R. (1999). Walt Disney and Europe: European Influences on the Animated Feature Films of Walt Disney. Indiana University Press.

Barrier, M. (1999). Hollywood cartoons: American animation in its Golden Age. Oxford University Press.

Collodi, C. (1926). The adventures of Pinocchio. (C. D. Chiesa, Trans.). (Original work published 1883). Retrieved from https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Pinocchio/Chapter_1

Gilligan, C. (1977). In a different voice: Women's conceptions of self and of morality. Harvard Educational Review, 47(4), 481-517.

Kohlberg, L. (1963). The development of children's orientations toward a moral order: I. Sequence in the development of moral thought. Vita Humana, 6(1), 11–33.

Koski, G. (2014, November 11). How Pinocchio set the standard for feature animation. The 

Dissolve. Retrieved from

https://thedissolve.com/features/movie-of-the-week/815-how-pinocchio-set-the-standa

rd-for-feature-animati/

Maltin, Leonard. (2000). The Disney Films. Disney Editions.

Miller, D.D. & Martin, P. (1956). My Dad, Walt Disney: Part 6 “Disney’s Folly.” Saturday Evening 

Post, 229(20). Retrieved from http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/wp-content/uploads/satevepost/Disneys-Folly1.pdf

Pak, E. (2019). Walt Disney’s rocky road to success. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/news/walt-disney-failures

Pinocchio (1940 Film). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from 

https://web.archive.org/web/20200207091436/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinocchio

_(1940_film)

Robinson, T. & Rabin, N. (2014, November 11). Pinocchio’s Dark Horror－and Darker Source 

Material. The Dissolve. Retrieved from 

https://thedissolve.com/features/movie-of-the-week/816-pinocchios-dark-horrorand-darker-source-material/

Sharpsteen, B., & Luske, H. (Directors). (1940). Pinocchio [Film]. Walt Disney Productions. 

Solomon, C. (1989). Enchanted drawings: The history of animation. Alfred A. Knopf.

Susman, G. Disney's 'Pinocchio': 25 Things You Didn't Know About the Animated Classic.  

Moviefone. Retrieved from 

https://www.moviefone.com/2015/02/07/disney-pinocchio-facts/

The Adventures of Pinocchio. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from 

https://web.archive.org/web/20200106070844/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adve

ntures_of_Pinocchio

Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel discuss Disney's first full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, snidely referred to by critics as "Disney's Folly" before its release and subsequent box office success in 1937. The hosts unpack the impact of this groundbreaking film on popular culture, including its sexist and ableist themes. 

Episode Bibliography

Aloff, M. (2013). Disney’s Snow White at 75. Virginia Quarterly Review, 89(1), 238-244. 

England, D. E., Descartes, L., Collier-Meek, M. A. (2011). Gender role portrayal and the Disney princesses. Sex Roles, 64, 555-567. 

Esmail, S., Darry, K., Walter, A., & Knupp, H. (2010). Attitudes and perceptions towards disability and sexuality. Disability Rehabilitation,  32(14), 1148-1155. 

[fireurgunz]. (2008, August 12). Walt Disney’s multiplane camera (Filmed: Feb. 13, 1957) [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdHTlUGN1zw

Frome, J. (2013). Snow White: Critics and criteria for the animated feature film. Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 30(5), 462-473. DOI: 10.1080/10509208.2011.585300

Higgs, S. (2016). Damsels in development: Representation, transition, and the Disney princess. Screen Education, 83, 62-69. 

Hovdestad, W. E., Hubka, D., & Tonmyr, L. (2009). Unwanted personal contact and risky situations in ten Disney animated feature films. Child Abuse Review, 18, 111-126. 

Kuhn, A.F. (2010). Snow White in 1930s Britain. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 7(2), 183-199. 

Lenz, L. (2017, June 14). A brief history of dwarism. Pacific Standard. https://psmag.com/social-justice/a-brief-history-of-dwarfism-and-the-little-people-of-america

Little People of America. https://www.lpaonline.org/

Longworth, K. [Host]. (2015, March 31). 39: Star Wars Episode XIII: Walt Disney (39) [Audio Podcast Episode]. In You Must Remember This. Stitcher. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/stitcher/you-must-remember-this/e/45778139

Miller, D.D. & Martin, P. (1956). My Dad, Walt Disney: Part 6 “Disney’s Folly.” Saturday Evening Post, 229(20). Retrieved February 28, 2020, from http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/wp-content/uploads/satevepost/Disneys-Folly1.pdf

Morey, L., Hand, D., Sharpsteen, B., Jackson, W., Pearce, P., Cottrell, W. (Directors). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. (1937). The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Animation Studios. Disney+.

Pfeiffer, Lee (2010, July 12). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 28, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Snow-White-and-the-Seven-Dwarfs-film-1937

Tóth, Z. A. (2017). Disney’s violent women: In quest of a ‘fully real’ violent woman in American cinema. Brno Studies in English, 43(1), 185-212.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 Film). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 26, 2020, from https://web.archive.org/web/20200203011808/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_(1937_film)

Whelan, B. (2012). Power to the princess: Disney and the creation of the 20th century princess narrative. Interdisciplinary Humanities, 29(1), 21-34. 

Whitley, D. (1997). The idea of nature in Disney animation. Ashgate.

Wright, T. M. (1997) Romancing the tale: Walt Disney's adaptation of the Grimms' “Snow White.” Journal of Popular Film and Television, 25(3), 98-108.

Youngs, G. (1999). The ghost of Snow White. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 311-314.