Literature Review - Representation of Women in Walt Disney Cartoon Characters.

Children’s animation has always been a specific genre that attracts a lot of attention due to the affect its characters can have on young kids. Arguably the most popular children’s animated films franchise is the Disney Princess line, where about twelve female characters from these Disney films serve as the main protagonist throughout their respective movies. Young girls around the world obsess over the Disney Princesses as they remain highly popular due to frequent films and merchandising. The Princesses who star in these films are seen as role models to these young women, especially in American culture as they typically have redeemable qualities and make the best out of troublesome situations. Although Disney films are especially popular in the United States as well as worldwide, they are not as well favored in Japan. Japanese animated children’s films are beloved in their home country, specifically ones that feature a strong, pre-teen female protagonist. The Studio Ghibli film studio has many female roles in their animated films, and audiences view these characters as more age-appropriate to their target audience: female children and pre-teen girls. American audiences that are exposed to these Japanese films seem to agree that the female characters are more realistic, more personable, and have better views and goals than those of the Disney Princess franchise. Two films both released in 1989, Disney’s The Little Mermaid and Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service both

Even though the female characters in these later movies show more independence, each of these Disney princesses are all romantically linked with a prince, eventually assuming their "appropriate" gender roles towards the end of the movie.

In Disney films, there is a lot of misogyny amongst female main characters. Many people in our society have noticed a significant difference in the speaking roles between male and female characters that Disney created, as men had way more lines than the women. Because these movies were mostly created in the mid-late 1900’s, this was the time that there was plenty of prejudice against females. Now, in the year 2017, females are getting a little more equality than before to the point where many females now have jobs that were only for males in the 1900’s. Most Disney movies for that matter involve some sort of misogyny, even the ones that recently came out such as ‘Brave’ and ‘Frozen’. Examples of various levels of misogyny can be noticed in Disney films such as Ariel in ‘The Little Mermaid’ (1989), directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. The movie is about a 16-year-old mermaid who wants to live on land with a human Prince named Eric but is only able to after making a dangerous wish with ‘Ursula the Sea Witch’ to be a human for three days. In this movie ‘Ariel The Mermaid’, prejudice can be seen in Ursula, by a female having too much authority, Ariel cannot speak, and Ariel uses her appearance to attract others.

Disney is a multi-billion dollar industry. Originally founded by the Disney brothers, Walt and Roy E., the company has now become a world-wide phenomenon, diversifying its company into live-action film production, television, and theme parks. It surrounds us every day, in almost every way possible. More importantly however, the Disney industry is known to people world-wide as being one of the top leaders in children’s popular films and subsequently, storybooks. The countless movies and short films made over the years have not only provided joy and happiness to families and young children, but have ultimately influenced the way that these young children see the world as they grow older. Many of the traditional fairytales known throughout the ages have been “Disneyfied” and have become more modern through their adaptations, in order to increase revenue and audience appraisal. In addition, a vast majority of the films released are based on different cultures, countries, or a certain historical group or figure to create a more “wholesome” atmosphere where children can “learn” and become cultured.

Animated shows have become an influential source of childhood narrative in contemporary media. Adventure Time by Pendleton Ward (2010) has been a part of the most popular cartoons among children and youth. In this essay, children are those between the ages of 0-14, and youth being individuals aged between 15-24 years old. It is the gender duality in Adventure Time (2010) that I will explore in this essay, and roles in Western society divided by gender which echoes throughout this particular narrative. Being a cartoon, it helps mould and cement the idea of heteronormative relations through its fantastical, post-apocalyptic setting. The show cannot seem to escape the embedded dualism in language. While the cast is composed of a varied ensemble

In the current study, we sought to analyze the portrayal of gender stereotypical behaviors in Disney films. We developed this study based on previous findings from Kirsch and Murnen (2013), (Junn,1997), and Leaper et al (2002) and because of the potential implications of Disney’s portrayal of gender stereotypes in their films. We developed two hypotheses to test this. First, we hypothesized that male characters would exhibit masculine stereotypical behaviors such as giving orders and being aggressive, more often than feminine stereotypical behaviors and women would display feminine stereotypical behaviors such as performing domestic duties and primping, more often than masculine stereotypical behaviors in Disney movies. Second, we hypothesized that women would have more fluidity in these Disney films, meaning they are more likely to exhibit masculine stereotypical behaviors as compared to males demonstrating feminine stereotypical behaviors.

You walk into the living room and you hear the famous Disney music coming from the television that your child is placed in front of. You start to wonder where did your favorite Disney movies came from? How did they come about into the human world or how were they produced? What was Walt Disney’s childhood like when he was younger that made him want to animate and put together cartoons and movies? Where did his career start off from and how did he get to such a place. But the more important question, who is taking over now that Walt Disney has passed? Who is keeping on the traditions of Mickey and all of his famous characters? These are some questions that I set out to look more upon of Walt Disney. In what I’ve researched is what is going to be presented to you in Walt Disney: A Key to Childhood Hearts.

Female characters in books, movies, and television shows are often portrayed as passive, emotional, and domestic, while male characters are often active and emotionless. Masculinity is generally linked to power, dominance, and strength (Kraus, 2017). Many Disney movies put an emphasis on physical beauty, and the major male characters heavily express self-confidence.

For most people, the first image that comes to mind when the subject of Walt Disney’s animated movies comes up is the studio’s popular princesses. Ever since Snow White made her debut in 1937, Disney has cornered the market on princesses. One primary topic that critics have discussed in Disney’s films is the way princesses are portrayed. The roles of the female characters are especially drawing the interest of academic critics. Jack Zipes, author of Breaking the Disney Spell, believes that the Disney princesses have regressed. On the other hand, Libe Zarranz, author of Diswomen Strike Back? The Evolution of Disney’s Femmes in the 1990s, and Rebecca Do Rozario, author of The Princess

Most of the world’s youth grow up watching Disney films. As family movies should, these films demonstrate appropriate behavior through the characters in them and can teach semi useful lessons to the children who watch. Of course children don’t always pick up every message that the movies they watch are set to convey, but watching these films as an adult may raise an eyebrow or two. These movies consist of young, naïve, and beautiful princesses doing what it takes to be freed from a bad circumstance and ultimately falling in love along the way. Is it sexist? Sexism is defined as attitudes or behavior based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles; discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex, as in restricted job opportunities; especially, such discrimination directed against women. In the real world, women have fought a long time for equal rights as men and are still fighting to overcome some disadvantages. Just like children, some adults also might not find anything wrong with the films and see it as harmless entertainment for their kids. Their apathy over the matter can be due to the fact that they genuinely don’t care or just don’t think about it. Although everyone should care to an extent, people who actually might care or think about this subject matter are usually feminists. But even feminists have different ideologies and takes on Disney and whether or not its movies are sexist or not.

At the intersection of communication and psychology, at the junction of media effects and cognitive development, lies a growing body of research concerned with the impact cartoons have had and continue to have on children. Research theory provides direction in this matter.

The first three princesses Disney creates each represent society’s ideal “woman” at the time in which they are created.

The earliest princesses, Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty are the “passive princesses,” which exactly describes the agency they have, or rather do not have. In addition to just waiting around for their prince to come save them, they share numerous other qualities. They appear as young and virginal and sweet. Furthermore, they seem very delicate, a quality seemingly admired in women, which becomes obvious in their need of a male figure to help them. Additionally, they all have the odd quality of being excessively excited about their domesticity, as all women ought to be, because of its association with the virtues of patience and tolerance. According to Alexandra Heatwole, the “image of the Disney princess was the goal of marriageability.” And being a princess

Ever since I was ten, I have always been fascinated by cartoon characters that dash off into the speed of light and face an enemy that has become consumed with power, and threatens to ruin everyone’s happily ever after. Without animation, there would be no fairytales, romance, or happily ever after’s. The magic that animation brings to all ages is outstanding. The Lion King is filled with laughter, romance, and excitement. I want to be a part of that excitement and magic that brings the smile that cracks upon children and adults faces. I know that I will have to face many obstacles on my journey to a successful career in animation and it can be hard working in the animation industry because of the fact that this is a competitive career with some low quality studios that end up going bankrupt, which means people without jobs. It is vital to know the issues and conflicts that arises when entering this field, because I’ll know ahead of time to be mindful of Strategizing, the rules and regulation, how to deal with a computer and how to survive in animation.

Growing up, every little girl dreams of being just like the princesses that they see in their favorite Disney films. Whether that be Jasmine from Aladdin, or Belle from Beauty and the Beast, every little girl dreams of finding their own prince charming, getting married, and living in a castle far far away. Even when we look around in our society, we see the princess ideal that is shown to young girls, where ever we look we are shown this.