Deconstructing Disney

Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel discuss the classic hybrid film, Mary Poppins. Although Julie Andrews’ famous nanny may be “practically perfect in every way,” the co-hosts find plenty of flaws in the 1964 film’s messaging on family values, gender roles, and classism.

Episode Bibliography

Coate, M. (2014, August 27). Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: Remembering “Mary Poppins” on its 50th anniversary. The Digital Bits. http://thedigitalbits.com/columns/history-legacy--showmanship/mary-poppins-50th-anniv

Dudley, S. (2018, December 14). Making of Mary Poppins (2004 Full). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtYJlmdn48U

Flanagan, C. (2005, December 12). Becoming Mary Poppins: P. L. Travers, Walt Disney, and the making of a myth. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/12/19/becoming-mary-poppins?currentPage=all

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Lawson, V. (2005). Mary Poppins, she wrote: The life of P. L. Travers. Simon & Schuster.

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Nel, P. (2019). Was the Cat in the Hat Black? Oxford University Press.

Ness, M. (2014, April 3). A spoonful of music makes the nanny: Disney’s Mary Poppins. Tor.com. https://www.tor.com/2014/04/03/a-spoonful-of-music-makes-the-nanny-disneys-mary-poppins/

Nym Mayhall, L. E. (1999). Domesticating Emmeline: Representing the suffragette, 1930-1993. National Women's Studies Association Journal, 11(2), 1-24.

Robb, S. (2008, July 21). How not to do an American accent. BBC News Magazine. Retrieved November 13, 2020, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7509572.stm

Stevenson, R. (Director). (1964). Mary Poppins [Film]. Walt Disney Productions.

Szumsky, B. E. (2000). “All that is solid melts into the air”: The winds of change and other analogues of colonialism in Disney’s Mary Poppins. The Lion and the Unicorn, 24(1), 97-109.

Travers, P. L. (1934). Mary Poppins. Harper Collins.

Episode Summary

Disney’s Cinderella thrilled Erin and Rachel almost as much as it thrilled 1950 audiences, with “almost” being the operative word. The co-hosts revisit their favorite topics of gender roles and colonization, while also debating what, exactly, dreams are made of for the second Disney princess.

Episode Bibliography

Beauchamp, F. (2010). Asian origins of Cinderella: The Zhuang storyteller of Guangxi. Oral Tradition, 25(2), 447-496.

Cinderella. (2020, June 20). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella

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England, D. E., Descartes, L., Collier-Meek, M. A. (2011). Gender role portrayal and the Disney princesses. Sex Roles, 64, 555-567.

Geronimi, C., Luske, H., & Jackson, W. (Directors). (1950). Cinderella [Film]. Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Giaimo, C. (2017, June 14). The ATU Fable Index: Like the Dewey Decimal System, But With More Ogres. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved from https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/aarne-thompson-uther-tale-type-index-fables-fairy-tales

Higgs, S. (2016). Damsels in development: Representation, transition, and the Disney princess. Screen Education, 83, 62-69.

Hovdestad, W. E., Hubka, D., & Tonmyr, L. (2009). Unwanted personal contact and risky situations in ten Disney animated feature films. Child Abuse Review, 18, 111-126.

Huggins, N. I. (1971). Harlem renaissance. Oxford University Press.

Mahar, W. J. (1985). Black English in early Blackface minstrelsy: A new interpretation of the sources of minstrel show dialect. American Quarterly, 37(2), 260-285.

Maurice Rapf. (2020, June 25). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20190118074308/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Rapf

Rosalind Sibielski (2019) Reviving Cinderella: Contested Feminism and Conflicting Models of Female Empowerment in 21st-Century Film and Television Adaptations of “Cinderella”, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 36:7, 584-610

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Tóth, Z. A. (2017). Disney’s violent women: In quest of a ‘fully real’ violent woman in American cinema. Brno Studies in English, 43(1), 185-212.

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Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel unpack The Fox and the Hound (1981), the most expensive Disney animated film up to that point, due largely to conflict amongst the film makers. They discover that even a movie about the best of friends isn’t immune to racism in the form of Black stereotypes and underlying messages about segregation.

Episode Bibliography

Associated Press. (1977, July 19). A New Generation of Animators is Taking Over at Disney Studios. The Baltimore Sun, 20.

Benson, S. (1981, July 10). 'Fox, Hound' Cuts No Corners. The Los Angeles Times, 96.

Berman, T., Rich, R., & Stevens, A. (Directors). (1981). The Fox and the Hound [Film]. Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Canby, V. (1981, July 10). The Fox and the Hound. The New York Times, 5.

Cawley, J. (n.d.). The Animated Films of Don Bluth: The Disney Years. Cataroo. Retrieved March 20, 2021, from http://www.cataroo.com/DBdis.html

Corliss, R. (1981, July 20). Cinema: The New Generation Comes of Age. TIME. http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,954873-1,00.html

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Ebert, R. (1981, January 1). The Fox and the Hound. RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 6, 2021, from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-fox-and-the-hound-1981

Entman, R. M., & Rojecki, A. (2001). The Black image in the White mind: Media and race in America. University of Chicago Press.

Eric Larson. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Larson

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Glenn, C. L., & Cunningham, L. J. (2009). The Power o f Black Magic: The magical negro and white salvation in film. Journal o f Black Studies, 40(2), 135-152

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Ness, M. (2015, September 24). Well, I'm Traumatized: The Fox and the Hound. Tor.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021, from https://www.tor.com/2015/09/24/well-im-traumatized-the-fox-and-the-hound/

Ness, M. (2015, October 1). Forbidden Friendships: Disney's The Fox and the Hound. Tor.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021, from https://www.tor.com/2015/10/01/forbidden-friendships-disneys-the-fox-and-the-hound/

Price, T. H. (2019). A cauldron of chaos and cultivation: Rediscovering Disney animation of the 1980s [Master’s Thesis, Chapman University]. ProQuest.

Sito, T. (1998, November). Disney's The Fox and the Hound: The Coming of the Next Generation. Animation World Magazine, (3.8). https://ww...

Episode Summary

Thanks to its impressive technological innovation and astounding attention to detail, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) achieved commercial and critical success under the Touchstone Pictures film label. Erin and Rachel debate whether the clever script and filmmaking can adequately compensate for offensive content. Importantly, they also consider whether Jessica Rabbit is actually bad, or just drawn that way.

Episode Bibliography

Arbeiter, M. (2018, June 21). 15 Things You Might Not Know About Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Mental Floss. Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/62910/15-things-you-might-not-know-about-who-framed-roger-rabbit

Corliss, R. (1988, June 27). Cinema: Creatures of A Subhuman Species Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Time. http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,967766-1,00.html

Dirks, T. (1996). Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). Filmsite. Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https://www.filmsite.org/whof.html

Ebert, R. (1988, June 22). Who Framed Roger Rabbit. RogerEbert.com. Retrieved September 13, 2021, from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/who-framed-roger-rabbit-1988

Howe, D. (1988, June 24). 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?' (PG). The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/whoframedrogerrabbitpghowe_a0b16f.htm

jpo. (2016, November 13). Siskel & Ebert - Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). YouTube. Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bwyuw7igyk

Lassek, W.D., & Gaulin, S.J.C. (2016). What makes Jessica Rabbit sexy? Contrasting roles of waist and hip size. Evolutionary Psychology, 14(2), https://doi-org.wv-o-ursus-proxy01.ursus.maine.edu/10.1177/1474704916643459

Loughrey, C. (2018, June 22). Who Framed Roger Rabbit? at 30: The feminist appeal of Jessica Rabbit. Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/who-framed-roger-rabbit-30th-anniversary-jessica-feminism-appeal-a8411501.html

Siskel, G. (1988, July 3). Tooned In. Chicago Tribune, 59.

Soloman, C. (1988, June 22). The Animated Arena of ‘Roger Rabbit’ : Integration of Cartoons With Live Action Will Set Standard. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-22-ca-4589-story.html

Who Framed Roger Rabbit. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved September 2, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Framed_Roger_Rabbit

Wolf, S. (2008). Don Hahn talks about "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" MouseClubhouse.com. Retrieved September 2, 2021, from https://archive.md/20120908053504/http://www.mouseclubhouse.com/Interviews/don-hahn/don-hahn-beauty-roger-rabbit.htm#selection-107.0-111.38

Episode Summary

Amid mounting pressure from new leadership, Disney animators ushered in a new era with its first ever computer-generated image (CGI) sequence in The Great Mouse Detective (1986). Erin and Rachel discuss their attraction to Disney characters and their puzzlement with the lengthy cabaret sequence in this Sherlock Holmes-inspired adventure film.

Episode Bibliography

Black, R.S., & Pretes, L. (2007). Victims and victors: Representation of physical disability on the silver screen. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 32(1), 66-83.

Bogdan, R., Biklen, D., Shapiro, A. & D. Spelkoman. (1982). The disabled: Media's monster. Social Policy, 13(2), 32-35.

Culhane, J. (1986, July 27). 'The Great Mouse Detective' Gives Clues to the Future of Disney Animation. The New York Times, 16.

Darnton, N. (1986, July 2). Film: 'The Great Mouse Detective'. The New York Times, 29.

Donnelly, C. E. (2016). Re-visioning negative archetypes of disability and deformity in fantasy: Wicked, Maleficent, and Game of Thrones. Disability Studies Quarterly, 36(4).

Ebert, R. (1986, July 2). The Great Mouse Detective. RogerEbert.com. Retrieved August 17, 2021, from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-great-mouse-detective-1986

Fanning, J. (2016, June 30). Did You Know? Unravel 8 Sneaky Facts from The Great Mouse Detective. D23. Retrieved August 24, 2021, from https://d23.com/did-you-know-unravel-9-sneaky-facts-from-the-great-mouse-detective/

Frayling, C. (2014). The Yellow Peril: Dr. Fu Manchu and the rise of Chinaphobia. Thames & Hudson.

Goldstein, A. O., Sobel, R. A., & Newman, G. R. (1999). Tobacco and alcohol use in G-rated children’s animated films. JAMA, 281(12), 1131-1136. doi:10.1001/jama.281.12.1131

The Great Mouse Detective. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved August 17, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Mouse_Detective

Korkis, J. (2011, February 23). How Basil Saved Disney Feature Animation: Part One. Mouse Planet. Retrieved August 24, 2021, from https://www.mouseplanet.com/9534/How_Basil_Saved_Disney_Feature_Animation_Part_One

Korkis, J. (2011, March 2). How Basil Saved Disney Feature Animation: Part Two. Mouse Planet. Retrieved August 24, 2021, from https://www.mouseplanet.com/9549/How_Basil_Saved_Disney_Feature_Animation_Part_Two

Motamayor, R. (2020, April 2). Revisiting ‘The Great Mouse Detective’, the Unsung Kickstarter of the Disney Renaissance (And One of Disney’s Creepiest Movies). /Film. Retrieved August 17, 2021, from https://www.slashfilm.com/the-great-mouse-detective-revisited-2/

Ness, M. (2015, October 22). This, Too, Started With a Mouse. Tor.com. Retrieved August 26, 2021, from https://www.tor.com/2015/10/22/this-too-started-with-a-mouse-disneys-the-great-mouse-detective/

Peraza, M. (2010, April 1). Basil of Baker Street. Ink and Paint Club. Retrieved August 24, 2021, from http://michaelperaza.blogspot.com/search/label/Basil%20of%20Baker%20Street

Siskel, G. (1986, August 8). Flick of Week: 'Vagabond' One of Finest Films in Years. Chicago Tribune.

Steinmetz, J. (1986, July 2). 'Great Mouse Detective': Vintage Disney, Updated. Chicago Tribune.

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Willistein, P. (1986, July 27). A Very Animated Fellow Candy Candido Lends Vocal Support to Some Memorable Disney Characters. The Morning Call.

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