Deconstructing Disney

This is the third episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn how the movies of the Disney Renaissance influenced them, including their beliefs around gender. Female characters like Belle (Beauty and the Beast, 1991), Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1996), and Mulan (Mulan, 1998) represented a new...

This is the sixth episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn how the movies of the Disney Renaissance influenced them, including their beliefs about families. After recounting their family trips to Disney theme parks during childhood, millennial women share how Disney Renaissance films showcased a divers...

This is the first episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn about their childhood experiences watching Disney movies during the late 1980s and 1990s, a period during which advances in home video technology allowed children unprecedented access to their favorite films. This episode also provides an overv...

This is the fourth episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn how the movies of the Disney Renaissance influenced them, including their beliefs around romance. Every single female protagonist in the Disney Renaissance movies experienced some sort of romantic entanglement, conveying to millennial girls th...

This is the fifth episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn how the movies of the Disney Renaissance influenced them, including their beliefs around beauty standards. While the female protagonists of this era retained the unrealistic hour glass figures and oversized facial features of their predecessors...

This is the second episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn about their childhood experiences watching Disney movies. In this episode, we learn how Disney Renaissance films provided comfort, connected girls with their family and friends, and promoted consumerism of Disney merchandise. Thanks to Grace B...

This is the final episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn how the movies of the Disney Renaissance influenced them. Millennial women embraced inspirational messages about following one’s dreams of adventure in the great, wide somewhere and going the distance to find where one belongs. Disney Renaissan...

This is the seventh episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn how the movies of the Disney Renaissance influenced them. In this episode, millennial women reflect on their feelings about the Walt Disney Company as an agent of both wondrous joy and capitalist greed. Despite their ambivalence about the Wal...

Episode Summary Erin and Rachel discuss Pixar’s first princess movie, Brave (2012), debating whether protagonist Merida is a feminist icon or just another subjugated female character. Of course, no trip to these fictional Scottish highlands would be complete without mentions of ableism and heterosexism.  Episode Bibliography Andrews, M., & Chapman, B. (Directors). (2012). Brave [Film]. Pi...

Episode Summary Erin and Rachel return to the Hundred Acre Wood for Winnie the Pooh (2011), the sequel to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977). Although it’s stuffed with as much fluff as its protagonist, nostalgia and a 69-minute run time make this benign film pleasantly watchable.  Episode Bibliography Anderson, J. [@jenna.sais.quoi.paris]. (n.d.). Reels [Instagram profile]. Instagram....

Episode Summary Erin and Rachel follow Lightning McQueen and Mater around the globe in this discussion of Cars 2 , a spy-themed sequel with a convoluted plot and disappointing politics.  Episode Bibliography Abg 13. (2021, February 21). Cars 2 Tokyo Race Lap One w/ Film Maker Commentary (Subs Included) . YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB-qsiCs6us&list=PLkVBJymkFErmVjGA_sJvZwr7CFirexCaa&i...

Episode Summary Erin and Rachel discuss Tangled (2010), the 50th animated film from Walt Disney Animation Studios and one of Rachel’s favorites. Based on the fairytale of Rapunzel, this coming-of-age tale features songs from Disney veteran Alan Menken and impressive computer animation. Although Erin and Rachel disagree about the viability of the romantic plot, they agree that Mother Gothel is an e...

Episode Summary Erin and Rachel discuss Toy Story 3 (2010), the third and allegedly final installment in the Toy Story franchise. Despite some minor misogyny and heteronormativity, the film manages to delight (and emotionally devastate) the hosts.   Episode Bibliography Bianculli, D. (2011, February 4). The People Behind Pixar's 'Toy Story 3' . NPR. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/133471041?storyI...

In this very special episode, Erin talks to Rachel and her research assistant, Grace, about a study they recently published about the portrayal of fat characters in Disney animated films. Spoiler alert: the depictions of fat characters are rife with harmful stereotypes, and the hosts have something to say about it!  Rachel's and Grace's article "'You're Getting a Little Big for This': Fat Characte...

Episode Summary Erin and Rachel hop on down to 1920’s New Orleans, where Disney’s first Black princess spends most of her time as a frog in the Louisiana bayou. The Princess and the Frog (2010) provided much needed representation, but leaves a lot to be desired in terms of its race, class, and gender politics.  Episode Bibliography The 82nd Academy Awards | 2010 . (n.d.). Oscars. https://www.oscar...

Episode Summary Erin and Rachel wallow through an elderly man’s grief journey with Pixar’s critically acclaimed Up (2009). They argue the beautiful art and cute sidekicks aren’t enough to redeem this (admittedly beloved) film, especially since the (admittedly moving) love story invokes the classic “dead wife” trope. We’ll keep sailing our balloon house onto the next one, please and thank you.  Epi...

Episode Summary Erin and Rachel discuss Bolt (2008), a lesser known film about a dog who thinks he’s a super hero. Under new leadership, Disney Animation Studios starts to come out of their slump with this film that some people found boring (Erin) and others found heartwarming (Rachel).  Episode Bibliography Amidi, A. (2006, December 18). Chris Sanders No Longer Directing American Dog . Cartoon Br...

Episode Summary Erin and Rachel travel 700 years into the future to discuss WALL-E (2008), Pixar’s robot romance with an unintentionally anti-capitalist message. Fatphobia and misogyny make this dystopian tale unwatchable despite its endearing protagonist, striking animation, and moments of nostalgia.  Episode Bibliography The 81st Academy Awards | 2009. (2009, February 22). Oscars.org. https://ww...

Episode Summary Erin and Rachel discuss Ratatouille (2007), a Pixar film about a French rat who wants to be a chef. Their discussion includes a fine stew of food politics, meritocracy, and sexism with a garnish of fatphobia. Bon appetit!  Episode Bibliography Baker, J. (2005, January 17). Dan Lee . James Baker. https://www.james-baker.com/news/dan-lee/ Bird, B. [@BradBirdA113]. (2020, July 13). Th...

Episode Summary Erin and Rachel travel to a frenetic future to discuss Meet the Robinsons (2007), a fever dream of a film that performed poorly at the box office despite intervention from John Lasseter, newly seated Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Sexist and fatphobic content are only minimally present, but that doesn’t mean Erin and Rachel enjoyed this chaotic whirlwind o...

Episode Summary In this episode about Cars (2006), Erin and Rachel take a road trip to Radiator Springs, discussing Pixar history, environmentalism, and masculinity and masculinity along the way. Ka-chow!  Episode Bibliography The Amazing Double Life of Jorgen Klubien . (2013, October 15). FLIP. https://flipanimation.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-amazing-double-life-of-jorgen.html Arnold, W. (2006, Jun...

Episode Summary Chicken Little (2005), the modern retelling of the classic folk tale, will make you wish the sky was falling so the movie would end. Erin and Rachel discuss the gender dynamics and fatphobia in this story about a father and son (and also baseball and aliens).  Episode Bibliography Åström, B. (2015). The symbolic annihilation of mothers in popular culture: Single Father and the deat...

Episode Summary Family superhero saga, The Incredibles (2004), was another smash hit for Pixar. Although fun to watch, the focus on a middle aged male protagonist leads Erin and Rachel to ask once again, who is this movie really for? Episode Bibliography Al-Jbouri, E., & Pomerantz, S. (2020). A new kind of monster, cowboy, and crusader? Gender hegemony and flows of masculinities in Pixar animated...

Episode Summary Erin and Rachel venture to the Old West to discuss the oft forgotten 2004 flop Home on the Range . The convoluted plot, juvenile humor, and unsympathetic characters make for a frustrating viewing experience. Most critics and audience members seem to agree this movie would be best put out to pasture.  Episode Bibliography #26. A Conversation with John Sanford . (n.d.). Fülle Circle...

Episode Summary Welcome to our family time! Erin and Rachel discuss Brother Bear (2003), another entry in the canon of Disney’s flop era. Despite disappointingly little effort on the part of the filmmakers to ensure cultural authenticity, Brother Bear manages to tell a sweet story with surprisingly little offensive content.  Episode Bibliography Alaska Travel Industry Association. (2024). Yup'ik a...