Of Disney, Success, and Misrepresentation

By: A.P.
Let me start of by saying that I was a Disney kid growing up. My mother bought me an entire collection of classic Disney movies on VHS, which is how I was introduced to the magic of Disney. Everything from Snow White, Alice and Wonderland, Mary Poppins, Lion King, you name it I had it. My mother even remembers the time when I knew every line to Lion King, especially with the death of Mufasa scene. She heard me reciting the scene so much, she either thought that I was talking to myself, or completely mortified by the event, and each time I saw the movie (which was all the time) I had some sort of PTS. These movies played a huge art in my childhood, and with a lot of American families, Disney movies were seen as wholesome, family oriented entertainment.

                There was however, a couple of things that piqued my curiosity. A long time ago, I was told about a whole bunch of subliminal messages in Disney movies that had gotten them into a lot of financial trouble over the years. Some passed of controversial representation of characters, or had really disturbing underlying messages. It wasn’t until I watched a documentary called Mickey Mouse Monopoly, that some of the things that were told to me were confirmed, in vivid and analytical detail. Over the years, Disney, while being the most Iconic and successful company associated with kids entertainment, had a lot of values portrayed with their movies that were seen as offensive and disturbing. This however has changed a great deal in recent years, as Disney’s marketing focus has incorporated a larger audience. The greatest and most recent example of this is Disney’s The Princess in the Frog, which is the first Disney movie to have a predominate African American cast, and depict African American’s in the position of fairy tales in royalty. This was obviously a huge deal, as Disney was known to portray black in the spotlight in the past. Although this was a huge contrast to what Disney represented ever since the 1920’s, significant changes like these began to happen a lot more in the 90’s, as many cultures began to be represented in Disney films. Not only was this the case, these movies were actually critically acclaimed and did substantially well in the box office, further influencing Disney to market this new universal approach, as it would benefit them financially.

                Up until 1992, Disney mostly featured re-imagined fairy tales such as Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. These characters, all Caucasian in appearance, were the dominantly portrayed in these movies. A lot of the controversy behind this not only came from minorities not being represented, but also how they were portrayed when they did show up. In movies like Oliver & Company, although there was no Latin American humans portrayed in the film, their stereotypical personality was characterized and caricatured. The character “Ignacio Alonzo Julio Federico de Tito”, a Chihuahua, spoke with a heavy Latin accent, and was portrayed in to be somewhat dirty and sleazy. Another example of other nationalities being represented by animals was in the Movie Dumbo, were the crows and their leader “Jim Crow,” talked in jive, a slang that was predominately used by African Americans in that time period. It wasn’t until 1992, when another nationality was fully represented. Although this proved to be very successful financially, it still had its share of controversy.

                Aladdin, and adaption of one of the stories from 1001 Nights, was a box office hit in 1992. It debuted at #2 at the box office, and after 8 weeks, it went to #1 and eventually became the highest grossing film in 1992, earning over 217 million dollars in the United States. Although this was one of Disney’s most successful films, it was also one of its most controversial. The movie was described as “racist” by the American Arab Anti-Descrimination committee. The movie featured an opening theme called “Arabian Nights,” which received a lot of the backlash because of the lyrics. They eventually changed the lyrics with future releases. When Disney saw this approach, this obviously prompted a shift in direction, as the American audience in the 1990’s was becoming a lot more diverse, meaning they had more to feed from as far as their target demographic. In 1994, the Lion King was also a huge box office hit. It was the second highest grossing film in the U.S, but was the highest Worldwide. This film also had huge controversy behind it. Amidst the allegations of subliminal messages and song royalties, another racial depiction was also in the spotlight. The portrayal of the Hyenas Shenzi and Banzai were depicted in African and Latin American caricature, as servants to their master scar. Although the film represented Africa as a whole, the characters Mufasa and Simba, in particular, were portrayed with American and British personalities.

                As a kid, these movies were in particular were my favorites, and as a kid, I did not notice these influences in these movies. However, re-watching scenes from these movies with a new perspective as an adult, it is very hard for me to not notice them. These movies were a part of my childhood, and it is very scary how so many things we can pick up or inherit without us even knowing. As a kid, I loved the characters of the Hyenas, Shenzi especially, because in a sense the way they acted related to my surroundings. I knew a lot of people whose personality was the exact same way, whether it be her wise cracks or morals. Personally, I think that it’s a shame that these types of situations do exist. I also think that the people who bring these matters into question can sometimes be insightful and have good cause to protest against these things, but I also feel that sometimes they are a little overblown. Some of the things mentioned I feel add charm and personality to movies, but when the facts and information are right in front of my eyes, it’s hard not to take notice. Although this seems to be less of the case today, it still surfaces every once in a while, and sometimes, the results are shocking, no matter how politically correct or not our nation of America is.