From Dracula to Disney Dissertation The crossover between fearful and friendly.
Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, amongst many other well-known animation companies, have all banned together and helped make the progression between fearful and friendly supernatural creatures a smooth transition so that children may adapt to the idea of them more easily. They helped facilitate children to the idea of friendly and relatable creatures through such films as ‘The Nightmare before Christmas (1993)’, by Disney Animation Pictures, ‘Dark Shadows (2012)’ by Warner Brothers and ‘Hotel Transylvania (2012)’ by Sony Pictures Animation. These films present supernatural creatures in a more forgiving light as opposed to the ‘Blade trilogy (1998, 2002, 2004)’ by Marvel Enterprises and ’30 Days of Night (2007) by Columbia Pictures. Disney and Pixar Animation Studios are known as a child’s production company making films that, although adults will watch and enjoy, will be primarily films for a younger audience to take joy in. ‘The Nightmare before Christmas’, was such a great hit that the generation born during the 1990’s realise it to be a classic. Disney is still managing to sell all sorts of merchandise with Jack and Sally’s faces on it. Pixar’s ‘Monsters Inc. (2001)’ was such a success that they followed it with the prequel ‘Monsters University (2013)’ several years later. The premise of monsters scaring children and hiding in their closet was debunked and spun on its head during this film, with instead making children laugh at their funny, unusual features. The crossover between the representation of fearful and friendly creatures has become more popularised to suit a wider audience; allowing it to be easier to reach more target audiences, makin...
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...this way, Hollywood twists the unknown to make it more appealing to audiences. However, they can also just as easily contrast this by making the object less desirable, as seen in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. Where the Disney mermaid figure is flipped on its head and the beautiful innocent mermaid turns to sharp-fanged, devious, bloodthirsty merpeople. The general premise of the creature still appears, a half woman, half fish hybrid, however, being mythical creatures Hollywood can mould them into whatever they want, and whatever fits their needs most. There is no forced style everyone must adhere to as there is no evidence of their existence so Hollywood film studios can design their mermaid to whatever they want, probably to whatever makes them the most money. Completely depending on their target audience they could have anywhere between innocent and sinful creatures.
King chooses to compare the minds of a child and an adult to see the different resilience levels when exposed to the horror genre. He describes his findings as a paradox, “Children, who are physically quite weak, lift the weight of unbelief with ease” (PP 118). King assumes because the mind of an adult is mature it can handle the horrific depictions within the horror variety yet children seem too be able to withstand the pressure. King backed his theory by analyzing Walt Disney’s movies and their impact on a child’s imagination. Walt Disney’s movie Bambi is what Stephen King pinpointed when comparing the toll of horrific events in children and adult minds. King questioned adults about what was most terrifying about a movie when they were younger and they stated, “Bambi’s father shot by the hunter, or Bambi and his mother running before the forest fire” (PP 119). Another aspect King unveiled was the Doppler Effect and that, “A part of ‘growing up’ is the fact that everything has a scare potential for the child under eight” (PP 119). The cognitive imagination does not stop developing it just suppresses certain mental functions to draw a line between what is real and what is not. Horror novelist mask the tension with comedy yet with one swift motion it, “Knocks the adult props out from under us and tumbles us back down the slide into childhood” (PP
Nominated for three Academy Awards and winner of Best Original Song (IMDb, n.d), Monsters, Inc. is “well-liked by many” thus qualifying as an example of popular cinema (Storey, 2001). Produced by Pete Doctor and David Silverman, Monsters, Inc. tells the tale of two monsters, Mike and Sully, who both work at a utility company called Monsters, Inc(operated), where children’s screams are harvested as power. One night, Sully stayed late as a favor to Mike to finish his paperwork and noticed a door left on the scare floor. The door was left by Randal- a very competitive co-worker, who planned to kidnap the child to test his ‘scream machine’ that sucks the screams out of children at a much more efficient rate than scaring them. Just as Sully was
Monsters have been depicted in different ways throughout history, but scholars like Jeffrey Jerome Cohen have been able to dissect how monsters are viewed by culture along with examining the various functions that monsters serve in horror fiction and films. His theses cover a broad expanse of interpretations, ranging from topics as different as how monsters represent cultural and societal conflicts to how they fascinate us. Stories like Peter Crowther’s “Ghosts with Teeth” make the reader reflect on a different type of monster, one that constantly undermines our societal and cultural expectations through taking the form of a human. Crowther’s story is profitably interpreted through Jerome Cohen’s “Seven Theses” about monsters, suggesting that “Ghosts with Teeth” is more than the horror story seen at face value.
A fairytale is a fictional fantasy fable that passes through generations of children as source of interest to them. Though used for the intent of entertainment, fairytales often indirectly advocate a moral or message to readers (whom are usually children), in hopes that they will grow up to apply these ethics and lead a righteous life. This criteria, however, often originates from the occurrence of a magical transformation; it is this paranormality that introduces the characters of the story to a side of life far from what they have grown to know and learn to adapt to the dramatic amend in their life. This is evident in the characters in world-renowned tales such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.
Although Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” published in 1837, contains many patronizing nineteenth-century attitudes towards women, a value system that at least acknowledges the legitimacy of femininity shapes the fairytale. Unfortunately, Walt Disney’s 1989 film version of “The Little Mermaid” eliminates the values that affirm femininity in the original story (Trites 145)
Monsters and the Moral Imagination, written by Stephen Asma, presents many possible outcomes as to why monsters are the rise. Mr. Asma discusses why monster portrayals could be on the rise in movies, books, and stories throughout his subsection Monsters are on the Rise. Perhaps the rise is due to traumatic events in recent history such as the holocaust or the terroristic attacks of 9/11 in
Horror films are designed to frighten the audience and engage them in their worst fears, while captivating and entertaining at the same time. Horror films often center on the darker side of life, on what is forbidden and strange. These films play with society’s fears, its nightmare’s and vulnerability, the terror of the unknown, the fear of death, the loss of identity, and the fear of sexuality. Horror films are generally set in spooky old mansions, fog-ridden areas, or dark locales with unknown human, supernatural or grotesque creatures lurking about. These creatures can range from vampires, madmen, devils, unfriendly ghosts, monsters, mad scientists, demons, zombies, evil spirits, satanic villains, the possessed, werewolves and freaks to the unseen and even the mere presence of evil.
The Walt Disney Company started as a small entertainment company in 1923 (Disney.com, 2011). Since that time the company has used various strategies enabling them to grow into a global entertainment company.
For decades Disney has been the source of happy endings, fairytales, and family friendly stories for children of all ages. These stories range from realistic and familiar, to the eye-catching magical fairytale. The key to each of these stories are the happy endings brought about by each of the characters unique personalities and dreams. Disney’s films are attempted to provide children with the basic understanding of wrong versus right, but instead influences our society’s beliefs and awareness. Although Disney’s efforts to provide the basic morals to our children are misleading and affect our society strongly, they also contain the use of racism in a form which shows the major differences between characters. The once admired and well-known characters are seemed to be recognized by their species, ethnicity and even their social class. Disney films have taken out of context and have persuaded their viewers understanding of racial stereotyping, which is thoroughly explained in Henry Giroux and Grace Pollock’s novel, The Mouse that Roared. They bring awareness to the underlying racial stereotyping in Disney films, which deeply affect our societies understanding today. Giroux and Pollock bring into perception these admired and regularly watched films through precise examples and racist rendering of the specific characters species and ethnicities which strongly influence our society and lead children to intake these negative influences.
Mermaids are very popular in the modern days, with a visible role in our society, from books to movies, and toys they are a constant figure. A good example is the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade, where hundreds of thousands of spectators dress up to celebrate the beginning of summer. Another good example is the movie The Little Mermaid, which tells the story about a teenager mermaid that fell in love with a human prince, that particular movie is so popular that generated an idea about mermaids. The movie generated thousands of dollars and from it they created mermaid dolls and accessories for kids and
These dark underwater creatures are said to have many different magics as well (Harris para 12). These powers vary from the ability to predict the future, curse human beings, or even granting wishes (Harris para 10-11). The mermaids are also said to be beautiful of face and voice, shown by the way human men often tried to capture the mermaids and bind them to the land (Harris para 13). The effect of these folk tales on today’s entertainment can be found in some of our most popular and well known movies and plays.
If a girl was going to search for her Prince Charming, the first place she should look is in the world of animation. Animation has probably been around since the beginning of time. Although, the artwork that originally resembled animation was only one or two cels, animation today is made up of hundreds or thousands of cels.
The purpose of this essay is to apply the feminist framework to the film The Little Mermaid (1989) in order to deconstruct Disney. First, I will provide a textual description of The Little Mermaid (1989), explaining the film's plot line. Then, I will describe my analytical framework, the feminist framework, using Ott and Mack (2010) and additional media related studies. Next, I will give an in depth analysis of The Little Mermaid (1989), using the feminist framework and several additional sources. Finally, I will give a brief conclusion, providing an...
Monsters Inc. is an incredible animated movie (by Pixar Studios, 2001, and directed by Pete Doctor) about monsters working in a scare factory. Proudly, the scare factory – a pillar in the community – is a workplace in a monster world where monsters scare children. Through a high-tech system, doors are brought to the factory that, if activated, allows the monsters to enter the child’s room through the youngster’s closet. The scream produced by the child creates energy for the monster world, so that monsters can do everyday things, such as quickly turning on a light or vacuuming the carpet. However, this is not an easy job because children are extremely toxic to monsters (who tremble when a child is near), and are also becoming increasingly hard to scare. With lessoned screams, Monstropolis (the monsters’ world) is experiencing a scream shortage. Who will save the day?
While young adults might do costume parties and children may wear costumes on October 31st, it is rare to see children go trick or treating or see a house decorated with Halloween decorations. While I enjoy Halloween and its myth, I grew accustomed to not celebrate it. However, when I came to Japan, I was surprised by how colorful and how fun shops decorations and designs for any kind of products would become during October as Halloween approached. The commercials of Disneyland on television would amaze me with its amazing costume design and its rapidity to adapt the park for Halloween and Christmas. Back in high school, I discovered the joy of celebrating Halloween with my friends as we wore our costumes to Japanese most famous spot during Halloween: Shibuya. The town was flooded with people, celebrating Halloween like there was no tomorrow. This year, however, as I fell ill I, unfortunately, could not go anywhere. Nonetheless, I tried to celebrate Halloween by watching one of my favorite Halloween themed animated movies: Paranorman. Released in 2012, Paranorman is a 3D stop-motion animated comedy horror movie that tells the story of Norman Babcock who is an 11-year-old boy. Norman can speak with dead but no one believes him besides his friend Neil. One day, Norman's strange uncle explains him of an important annual ritual he must do to protect the Blithe Hollow from a curse cast by a witch it doomed centuries ago. Norman agrees to cooperate, but things do not go according to plan. A magic storm of the witch menaces the town as the dead rise. With unexpected new allies, Norman struggles to save his town, only to discover the horrific truth of the