Disney: A Complicated Relationship

What is your relationship to Disney and animated children's culture?

When I was a child, Disney was a big deal.  New Disney movies were an event.  Old Disney movies were watched over and over again.  They were held as almost sacred objects.  They were the classics, something everyone could agree to watch, young and old.  I can't think of a single person who disliked Disney when I was a child.  If I had met that person it may have confused and even disturbed me.  

The first movie I saw at a theater, if my memory serves me correctly, was The Jungle Book.  I remember going to see Beauty and the Beast with my cousins, Snow White (when it was re-released) with an aunt, and 101 Dalmatians with my parents.  Disney was always associated with family.

I probably watched Peter Pan a million times on video and Robin Hood wasn't far behind.  Winnie the Pooh, Pinocchio, Dumbo, The Sword in the Stone, the Mickey Mouse tales, The Lion King, The Fox and the Hound, and Aladdin were all in my regular movie-watching rotation.    

My family and I went to Disney in Florida five or six times in my youth: The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM Studios, The Animal Kingdom, and, in later years, Universal Studios.  The first time I went was when I was two, the last when I was 21!

Why did we go so many times?  Perhaps it was the easiest trip to agree on.  Maybe it was to catch the fleeting youth that my brother and I were rapidly growing out of.  Probably it was because it was affordable and a sure bet, a place where we knew what we were getting into.  I always had a great time at Disney and I look at my memories of those visits quite fondly.

What role did these texts play in your life as a child, if any?

After reading the article, I tried recalling any aspects of Disney that struck me.  I remember I didn't care for the princess movies.  I wanted to see male protagonists seeking out adventures, not boring princesses waiting around for their boring princes.  I remember I found Bambi to be strange, due to its intensely depressing ending, and refusing to watch it ever again.  The Fox and the Hound was also very sad, ditto The Lion King.  I was a sensitive kid, and all that death got to me.   I specifically remember disliking Fantasia because there wasn't much action, and was basically a weird musical, yet I've seen clips of it recently and the music is was awesome.

As I got older, I remember sneering at the newer Disney movies.  I remember hating on Hercules, Mulan, Pocahantos, and Tarzan, since it seemed like the cool thing to distance myself from Disney.  I was ten and very old and wise.

How do your memories challenge or reflect Christensen's claims?

I can see where Christensen is coming from in some ways, yet I do think Disney taught me some good values.  I think Peter Pan resonated with me because of its tales of loyalty and toughness.  Robin Hood was all about stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.  Pinocchio showed the downfalls of lying.  Robing Williams was hilarious in Aladdin and probably played a role in my own twisted sense of humor.  Yet, there are many 'damsels in distress' in these films, and I can't help but wonder if that played a part in my views on women.

Christensen is right on regarding the way women, the poor, and minorities were treated in these films.  It took me a long while to even start to recognize the diversity of our world, the horrors of poverty found nearly everywhere, and the way much of society attempts to ignore it.  I remember being quite shocked by homeless people in Boston when I went to walk The Freedom Trail in my freshman year of high school.

It wasn't until college that I started to recognize the vast inequalities in our world.  Venturing into New York City at 19 with a friend completely changed my perceptions of the world.  Riding the subway to Fordham College in The Bronx to visit a friend instantly blew my innocence and nativity away.  

At this point in time, I have come around to Christensen's claims.  If/when I have children, I hope to watch Disney films with them.  However, I will also try to expose them to other parts of the world that aren't so nice, that don't tie up nicely at the end, and hope that they are as curious about these stories as the traditional Disney ones.