The idea of nature in Disney animation

Description

David Whitley's compelling study complicates our understanding of the classic Disney canon by focusing on the way images of the natural world are mediated within popular art for children. He examines a range of Disney's feature animations, from Snow White to Finding Nemo, to show that, even as the films communicate the central ideologies of their times, they also express the ambiguities and tensions that underlie these dominant values. Read more... Content: Domesticating nature : Snow White and fairy tale adaptation -- Healing the rift : human and animal nature in The little mermaid and Beauty and the beast -- Bambi and the idea of conservation -- Wilderness and power : conflicts and contested values from Pocahontas to Brother bear -- The jungle book : nature and the politics of identity -- Tropical discourse : unstable ecologies in Tarzan, The lion king and Finding Nemo. Abstract: Whitley's compelling study complicates our understanding of the classic Disney canon by focusing on the way images of the natural world are mediated within popular art for children. He examines a range of Disney's feature animations, from Snow White to Finding Nemo to show that, even as the films communicate the central ideologies of their times. Read more...