This semester

This class was not like I expected. But different, as I've learned a lot recently, does not (and in fact mostly never) means bad. I've actually really enjoyed this class for multiple reasons. I learned so many things about not only Disney, but on critics and society. It seems to me that critics like to over-analyze every single detail. But often, that is part of the art of English and Literature. Re-watching and discussing popular Disney films brought up so many different thoughts that I never would have thought of before. Pre-Decoding Disney, I never would have thought of how many problems the setting of The Princess and the Frog could cause. It just simply never crossed my mind that these movies aren't only watched by Disney kids. Adults grew up with Disney as well and they have just as much love for it as the five year olds watching it today. I can see that feelings change about movies as time goes on. Some movies that were favorites aren't, and some that weren't liked, are now loved. But, we must acknowledge that Disney is a growing art and it will continue to grow with the generations to come. They will love Disney just as we have and probably for many different reasons. But Disney is still Disney.

The voice behind it all

http://celebs.answers.com/tv/7-cartoon-characters-that-you-may-not-know-were-voiced-by-celebrities?param4=fb-us-mo-gut#slide6

Who knew?! Just something I found interesting. I never knew any of the voices of most of these characters.. it's kind of surprising!

You can do it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvSPgKr4spU

Tis the season y'allll.. Just a little inspiration to get you through finals.

Plus...It's almost Christmas Break and it's killing me not being able to watch 25 Days of Christmas!!!

Masks of Mickey

Going back and reading "Masks of Mickey" got me thinking.. why is Mickey the 'cover' of Disney? Although we focus on the princesses a lot, in my personal experiences whenever I think of Disney, I think Mickey and Minnie. People aren't as "crazed" now as they were before because these characters aren't new anymore. Still, they are the real stars behind it all.

But why hasn't Disney done anything to change these stars? In Brockways article, he talks about how Mickey started as a real mouse and transformed, and even matured in animated personality, over the years until he found success. In a way, he grew as the generation did. But, why hasn't there been a "renovation" Mickey and.. will there ever be? Will there be another "mask" of Mickey? It's something to think about. As the generations continue, Mickey gets lost in the past. Unlike Brockway says, he is subtlety still here in shows like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "I'm waiting on that breakthrough moment when Mickey shines again. As I said already, he is the true star. And like Brockway puts it, "Future generations will encounter him again." (33)

The Notebook by Disney

This is too funny, I had to share! Who doesn't love a little spin to The Notebook?!

Disney's Transformation of the Little Mermaid

I found Regina Bendix's article very interesting as it provided a lot of comparison between Anderson and Disney's version of The Little Mermaid. Perhaps what was most interesting was not all of the differences that I already noticed after reading the tale, but all of the differences that I had not noticed. This article was informative at showing how each tale was extremely different from one another even though they both had the same plot. What confused me about this article was, where is Bendix's argument? Is this supposed to be an informative article?

Either way, I found it interesting how Bendix focused on the perception of sexuality in each of the tales. I did not notice that in Disney's version, there are barely any female characters compared to Anderson's tale. Also, I found it shocking how Anderson's tale had a symbolic reference to the loss of virginity. However, I can see why Disney neglected this in their version. As the article notes, Disney still keep a bit of sexuality in the movie by the way they dress Ariel. Her seashell mermaid bra is anything but prudish.

Overall, I can see why Disney had to change a lot about Anderson's tale before showing it to the public. There would be far more controversy and the "happy ending" that Disney is known for wouldn't be apparent. Honestly, I think Andersons tale is way too harsh and "peerlessly mythic" for an audience of such a young age (281).

Princess and the Frog

In Gehlawat's article  The Strange Case of the Princess and the Frog: Passing and the Elision of Race, I found a lot of over-analyzed information. I truly think the author thought too much into The Princess and the Frog. The movie is the start of change. It shows a slow transition for Disney. This article says that by making the main characters into frogs, it avoids the racial issues. In my opinion, it's even better that Tiana And Neveen are frogs majority of the movie because it shows that race doesn't matter. Like we talked about in class, you can still tell the background of a character just by the way they are portrayed (even if they are an animal, a car, or anything else other than a human). If the movie would have shown Tiana as a black sassy character the entire time, someone would have had a problem with it being a racist movie. I think Disney did a lot of research and succeeded in both covering the issue while making sure it wasn't over-dramatic.

This article starts off over-analyzed in the very beginning. It talks about how the setting isn't properly portrayed and how the time period was before World War I where there were segregation laws on trains that were passed. Honestly, this information is useless. This is a Disney movie aimed at children. No child has any idea about any of this. Therefore, it does not matter and these parts are not fully relevant. No child will watch the movie and say this is racist because they are sitting in the back of the train! The movie did a wonderful job showing that race is not an issue (especially by showing Charlotte and Tiana as friends their entire lives). It also teaches a lot of other morals besides race which is why I think it will (and should) be considered a classic.