Table Of Content

Contemporary Disney Animation 7730_Benhamou.indd 1 07/10/22 12:37 PM To my father 7730_Benhamou.indd 2 07/10/22 12:37 PM Contemporary Disney Animation Genre, Gender and Hollywood Eve Benhamou 7730_Benhamou.indd 3 07/10/22 12:37 PM Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses in the UK. We publish academic books and journals in our selected subject areas across the humanities and social sciences, combining cutting- edge scholarship with high editorial and production values to produce academic works of lasting importance. For more information visit our website: edinburghuniversitypress.com © Eve Benhamou, 2023 Cover image: Frozen (2013), Walt Disney Studios/Photofest © Walt Disney Cover design: www.paulsmithdesign.com Edinburgh University Press Ltd The Tun – Holyrood Road 12 (2f) Jackson’s Entry Edinburgh EH8 8PJ Typeset in 11/13 Adobe Garamond Pro by IDSUK (DataConnection) Ltd, and printed and bound in Great Britain A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 1 4744 7612 6 (hardback) ISBN 978 1 4744 7614 0 (webready PDF) ISBN 978 1 4744 7615 7 (epub) The right of Eve Benhamou to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498). 7730_Benhamou.indd 4 07/10/22 12:37 PM Contents List of Figures vii Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 1 Animating a Formula: Disney, Genre and Hollywood Animation 22 Part 1 Disney and Romance 2 Reanimating Fantasies of Fairy-tale Romance: Disney Nostalgia and The Princess and the Frog 51 3 The DreamWorks Formula and the Post-feminist Disney Couple: Tangled’s Romantic Parodies 77 4 Brave New Tale? Reframing Love and Romance in Frozen 100 Part 2 Disney and Action Adventure 5 Animating the Digital Action-adventure Spectacle 125 6 Disruption/Containment: Gender, Marvel and Disney’s Superheroes 150 7 Animal Action Buddies: Disney’s Anthropomorphic Reimaginings in Zootopia 180 8 Reflections of/on Contemporary Disney Animation: Ralph Breaks the Internet 206 Filmography 221 References 226 Index 242 7730_Benhamou.indd 5 07/10/22 12:37 PM 7730_Benhamou.indd 6 07/10/22 12:37 PM Figures 1.1 Shrek tears the page of the formulaic fairy-tale book. From Shrek 35 1.2 Robert’s incredulity challenges Disney’s formulaic fairy-tale musical. From Enchanted 44 1.3 Robert embraces sentimental fairy-tale romance, embodied by Giselle. From Enchanted 44 2.1 Eudora reads The Frog Prince to young Tiana and Charlotte. From The Princess and the Frog 58 2.2 Tiana and Naveen’s fairy-tale wedding is infused with post-feminist nostalgia. From The Princess and the Frog 63 2.3 Tiana and Naveen’s unexpected second ‘kiss’. From The Princess and the Frog 72 3.1 Flynn questions the integrity of the diegetic musical. From Tangled 82 3.2 Rapunzel’s excitement at visiting the theme-park inspired kingdom. From Tangled 85 3.3 ‘I See the Light’ celebrates Disney’s formulaic display of coupledom. From Tangled 93 4.1 The reunited sisters are central to Frozen’s happy ending. From Frozen 111 4.2 Frozen prioritises ‘sensitive and sweet’ homme-com hero Kristoff. From Frozen 116 4.3 Elsa reclaims the camp performance of Disney’s witches. From Frozen 120 5.1 Hiro’s ‘pre-production’ work for Baymax. From Big Hero 6 138 5.2 Ralph represented as a plasticine-like deranged monster. From Wreck-It Ralph 140 7730_Benhamou.indd 7 07/10/22 12:37 PM viii Contemporary Disney Animation 5.3 Sea adventure initially represents a fantasy for Moana. From Moana 146 6.1 Superheroes’ spectacular muscular physique as a ridiculous fantasy. From Big Hero 6 158 6.2 Baymax as a hybrid superhero. From Big Hero 6 161 6.3 ‘Mini-Maui’ re-enacts Maui’s spectacular feats. From Moana 164 6.4 Elsa’s powers reveal the ‘plasmatic’ freedom of animation. From Frozen 171 7.1 Judy is framed as a minuscule, defenceless creature. From Zootopia 187 7.2 Judy’s over-the-top performance of the attacked prey. From Zootopia 196 7.3 Zootopia as an enchanting Disney theme park. From Zootopia 198 8.1 The princesses repurpose their fairy-tale icons into weapons. From Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 210 8.2 Vanellope demystifies the formulaic Disney musical. From Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 212 8.3 Shank, Vanellope and Ralph form a ‘buddy’ triangle. From Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 217 7730_Benhamou.indd 8 07/10/22 12:37 PM Acknowledgements My first thanks go to Gillian Leslie, her colleagues at Edinburgh University Press, as well as Eliza Wright, for making this a smoother publication experience than I could have wished for. This book began as a doctoral thesis at the University of Bristol. I pass on my immense gratitude to my supervisors for their dedicated guidance, patience, and enthusiasm for my project. Kristian Moen’s illuminating advice and constant encouragement have been invaluable. Sarah Street has always provided insightful feedback and assistance. My sincere appreciation goes to the University of Bristol for its financial support. Thanks must also go to my examiners, Pete Falconer and Susan Smith: the book is richer for their ideas and constructive criticism. I am particularly grateful to my fellow PhD students at Bristol for their thought-provoking observations on my research and infectious passion for cinema. The long film discussions over cake or ice cream were fully appreciated. Special thanks go to Miguel Gaggiotti, Dominic Lash, Hoi Lun Law, Steven Roberts, Polly Rose and Sarah Watts. The denizens of the Arts & Humanities graduate school also provided joyful and animated support. Special praise goes to Jawaher Alghamdi, Rhiannon Easterbrook, Bethany Pleydell and Dana Ramona. Many thanks to my former colleagues at Swansea University for providing encouragement and opportunities to share my research as the book devel- oped, and to Joanna Rydzewska for her mentorship. The British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS) has represented an important support network for me to develop as a researcher. I am very grateful to members who shared advice and expertise throughout this time, including Christopher Holliday, Catherine Lester, Chris Pallant and Sam Summers, and to anyone who listened to my papers. Thanks in particular to Malcolm Cook, who provided crucial input and invaluable insight at key stages of the project. I am forever indebted to my mother for her unwavering confidence in me and in my work, and for fostering my love of film through an extensive 7730_Benhamou.indd 9 07/10/22 12:37 PM