Handsome Heroes and Vile Villains: Masculinity in Disney’s Feature Films PDF
Preview Handsome Heroes and Vile Villains: Masculinity in Disney’s Feature Films
Handsome Heroes & Vile Villains This page intentionally left blank Handsome Heroes & Vile Villains Men in Disney’s Feature Animation Amy M. Davis HANDSOMEHEROES&VILEVILLAINS BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Handsome Heroes&VileVillains:MeninDisney’sFeatureAnimation AcatalogueentryforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary ISBN: 0861967049(Paperbackedition) Coverdesign:JonnyWood. Ebookedition ISBN:9780-86196-907-4 EPubboloiskheeddibtiyon publishedby JJoohhnnLLiibbbbeeyyPPuubblilsihshininggLtLdt,d3,L3eLiceeiscteesrteRroRado,a Nd,eNweBwarBneatr,nHete,rHtseErNts5E5NE5W5,EW, UUnniitteeddKKiinnggddoomm e-mail:[email protected];website:www.johnlibbey.com e-mail:[email protected];website:www.johnlibbey.com Directorders:MarstonBookServicesLtd:[email protected] PDriisntrtiebdutaenddinelAecstiraoannidcNbooortkhoArmdeerrsic(aWboyrIldnwdiiadnea):UInndiviaenrsaitUyPnirveessr,s HityerPmraenssB,Wells HLiberramrya—nB35W0,e1l3ls20LEib. r1a0rtyh–S3t.5, 0B,lo1o3m20inEg.t1o0nt,h I NSt.4,7B4l0o5o, mUiSnAg.townw,wIN.iu4p7re4s0s5.i,nUdiSanAa.edu www.iupress.indiana.edu © 2013CopyrightJohnLibbeyPublishingLtd.All rightsreserved. Unauthorisedduplicationcontravenesapplicablelaws. ©2015CopyrightJohnLibbeyPublishingLtd.Allrightsreserved. Unauthorisedduplicationcontravenesapplicablelaws. PrintedandboundinChinaby1010PrintingInternationalLtd. iv Contents (cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:6) Acknowledgements vi Introduction 1 Chapter1 OnWoodenBoysandAssistantPig-Keepers 19 Chapter2 DashingHeroes 95 Chapter3 HandsomePrinces 147 Chapter4 EvilVillains 187 Conclusion 247 AppendixA ListofFilmsinthisStudy 255 AppendixB ListofDisneyAnimatedFeatureFilmstoDate 257 Bibliography 259 Filmography 265 Index 271 v HANDSOMEHEROES&VILEVILLAINS Acknowledgements Thoughthisbookmayhaveasingleauthor,undoubtedlytherehasbeen ateamofpeoplewhohavebeenofhelpandsupportatvariouspoints during the book’s creation. I cannot name individually everyonewho hasbeenthereformeduringthisprocess,butifyouplayedapartand youknowit,Ithankyoufromthebottomofmyheart.Specialmention mustgotosomewhohelpedinenormousways,oftenaboveandbeyond thecallofduty.Theyaremymother,KathleenDavis,mygrandmother, BettyErwin,andmybrother,BrianDavis,whoboughtmemanyofthe dvds(andsomeofthebooks)thatweretoplayapartoftheresearchfor thisproject,talkedDisneywithme,andkeptmegoing;specialthanks to my mother for reading drafts and giving detailed feedback, too! Likewise,Imustthankcolleagues(manyofwhomarealsofriends)past andpresentfortheirgivingmespaceandencouragement,andforletting mebounceideasoffofthemfromtimetotime(nottomentionletting me complain when I realised just how useless Prince Charming is!). SpecialmentionmustgotoMáireMessenger-Davies,DavidEldridge, andJamesZborowski,whodiscussedideasandthemesatvariousstages oftheprocess.ImustalsothankJohnLibbey,thepublisherofthisbook, forhisunendingpatiencewhenteaching,administrative,andlifecom- mitmentsmeantthatthemanuscript’ssubmission“deadline”hadtobe changedagainandagain.Ipromisenevertomentionanothernewbook toyoubeforeitisatleastnintypercentcompleted(ifnotactuallydone)! Also,averyspecialthankyoumustgotomystudents,pastandpresent, whostudiedonmyAmericanAnimationHistorymoduleandmyDisney Studiesmodule.Onmorethanoneoccasion,ourclassroomdiscussions helpedmetoworkthroughideas,sometimesseethingsinanewlight, orremindmeofsomethingI’dforgottenbecauseIfirstthoughtabout it or readabout itquite sometime ago, andithad since slipped away frommypoor,tiredbrain.Oneofthegreatestjoysofteaching–apart fromsharingwithothersasubjectyoulove–isthat,invariably,youlearn fromyourstudentsthemselves,aswellasfromtheprocessofexplaining things to your students. For that, know that you have my sincere appreciation;Ihopethatyou,too,havebenefitedfromourtimetogether. Thereare,ofcourse,others(colleaguesand/orfriends)whodeserveto be singled out for thanks for discussing (formally and informally) all sortsofthingsabouttheworldofDisney(films,parks,andmerchandise), gender roles, handsome princes, animation, bad guys, the process of academic writing, andthe like. Inno particular order,Iwouldliketo thankRachaelKelly,DoreneKoehler,IrisKleinecke-Bates,JamesAston, Jemma Gilboy Alexander Ornella, Georgina Waterhouse, Charlotte Waterhouse,andEmmaWaterhouse(andCara&Rob,too!). My most sincere thanks to each and every one of you whom I’ve mentionedhere,whetherornotI’velistedyoubyname.Withoutyou, astheysay,itwouldnothavebeenpossible. vi Introduction (cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:11)(cid:12)(cid:13)(cid:14)(cid:9)(cid:15)(cid:11)(cid:8) “Story-wise,wesharpenthedecisivetriumphofgoodoverevilwith ourvaliantknights–theissueswhichrepresentourmoralideals.We doitinaromanticfashion,easilycomprehendedbychildren.Inthis respect, moving pictures are more potent than volumes of familiar wordsinbooks.” –WaltDisney.1 W hen many people think of the Disney studio’s ani- matedfeature films,theythinkofprincesses.Andon thesurface,it’snowonder.Thefilmswhichwerekey financial,critical,andpopularsuccessesforDisney–SnowWhite andtheSevenDwarfs(1937),Cinderella(1950),TheLittleMermaid (1989),BeautyandtheBeast(1991),Aladdin(1992),Tangled(2010) –aswellasturningpointsinthestudio’shistory,allfeatureyoung women who are either born or become princesses. The young womenaroundwhomthesestoriescentrearecharismatic,beau- tiful,interesting, andbesetwithmonumental problems,and so they have what it takes to capture much of our interest. The problems theyface, byand large, in most of the examplescited above,2 are caused by equally-compelling women: evil to the pointofmonstrous,theirdetermination,jealousy,anddynamism nearly steal the show from the heroines who are the targets of 1 JeffKurtti,TheArt ofTangled(San theiranimosity. Francisco: ChronicleBooks But what about the men? The young boys who go on amazing LLC,2010),p.104. adventures? The princes and heroes who win the hearts of the 2 BeautyandtheBeast andAladdinarethe princesses and heroines and who, we just know by the ends of exceptions,andin the films, will go on to live in love and romantic unity happily bothofthesecases, theyarescene- everafter?Thefriendsandcompanionswhoassistedthemalong stealingmen, the way? Villains who bring danger – and in most cases excite- villainswhohave bothgreatcomic ment–tothestory?Yes,they’rerememberedbythepublic,toa timingand degree.Beingabletonameallsevenofthedwarfsissomething genuineaurasof menaceanddanger. ofatriviagameinsomequarters(Doc,Happy,Bashful,Sleepy, 1 HANDSOMEHEROES&VILEVILLAINS Sneezy,Grumpy,andDopey,incaseyoucan’tquiteremember). Characters such as Snow White’s Prince, Cinderella’s Prince Charming, and other royal suitors comes up (though many would have trouble naming character traits for any of them). Those whoare that bitmore “into”Disneywillrememberthat 3 SaturdayNightLive, Season37,Episode the prince with whom Ariel falls in love has an actual name, 16,OriginalUS Prince Eric, but he is not the most memorable character in the AirDate3March 2012. story,eventhoughwewouldneverhavethestoryatallifhehad 4 Notallofthe not been there for Ariel to rescue and fall head-over-heels for charactersinthe (onceshegotherlegs,anyway). “Princess Collection”are Certainly,the DisneyCompanyhas recognisedthis:theirmar- princessesintheir films.Mulan,for ketingstrategiesincludetheincredibly-successful“PrincessCol- example,isnotof lection”which,in-and-ofitself,hasspawnednumerousparodies royalbirth,nor doesshemarrya andreferences(mypersonalfavouriteisthe2012SaturdayNight prince.Theyoung Live sketch featuring LindsayLohan, “The Real Housewives of manwhoislikely Disney”3), and the memorable Disney Villains Collection, an tobecomeher husbandsomeday, ideawhichhas becomeassociatedwithHalloweeninparticular Shang,isnota prince;soeven but, in some circles, is popular all year round. But there is no uponmarriageto official Disney Princes Collection, or Disney Boys Collection. him,Mulanwould continuetobeof Whenheroesaremerchandisedandmarketed,itisalmostalways thesamesocial as counter-parts to the heroines and notas agroupworth cele- rankasthatwhich sheheldatthe brating. startofthefilm. But why have the “princesses”4 come to dominate the public’s Likewise,some princesses–to imagination?Itisnotdowntomarketingassuch:whenCinder- includecharacters whoareprincesses ellawasreinventedasaDisneyheroineinthe1950film,shewas intheirownright perceived in the popular press – and presumably by many –havebeenleft outofthePrincess amongstthegeneralpublic–asbeingatypicalDisneyprincess, Collection despite the fact that she is preceded by only one other Disney entirely,suchas PrincessKidafrom princess – Snow White. Indeed, the princesses were outnum- Atlantis,2001.By beredbythe commonersthroughoutthehistoryofDisneyfea- theendofAtlantis, Kida’sfatherhas tureanimation,somuchsothatnotevenallofthecharacterswho diedandshehas comprisetheofficial“DisneyPrincessCollection”marketingare inheritedthe throneofAtlantis actually princesses. Mulan, for example, is from a high-status inherownright, family,buttheyarebynomeansroyalty.Therehavebeenagreat therebybecoming theonlyoneofthe manymoreprincessestojointheDisneycharacterfamilybegin- Disneyprincesses ning with Arielin 1989, butthisseems tohavebecome atrend tobecomea reigningqueen inDisneyanimatedfeaturefilmssimplybecausetheideaofthe beforeherfilm’s Disneyprincesshadsocapturedthepublicimagination.Ariel,in end. fact,isthefifthprincess,5butisfollowed(asofthetimeofwriting 5 Thepreviousfour areSnowWhite, this)byanotherseven:Belle,Jasmine,Pocahontas,Kida,Tiana, Cinderella,Aurora RapunzelandVanellope. (fromSleeping Beauty,1959),and And princes? Where do theyfigureintoallofthis? Whatabout Eilonwy(fromThe BlackCauldron, male heroes generally? Looking at the list of the twenty-eight 1985). filmsanalysedinthisstudy,6nineareactuallynamedafteramale 6 SeeAppendixA. 2 Introduction character;onlyfivearenamedforasinglefemalecharacter,three makereferencetoboththemaleandfemaleleadsinthetitle,and elevenare genderneutral.When you includeallfifty-twofilms todate,7thenumberofmaletofemaledesignatedtitlesisineven sharper contrast: twenty-one films are named solely for their male leads, six for their female leads, five titles make explicit reference to having both a male and a female lead, and twenty titlesaregenderneutral.Allofthefilmswithafemalecharacter’s name as the title are humans (if you count Ariel, the Little Mermaid, as human; for our purposes here, since she spends mostofherfilmhumanandishumanattheendofthestory,I consider her human). Titles which name only the male lead, however, have a mix of species: humans, an elephant, a deer, severalbears,alion,achicken,andadog.Asofthetimeofwriting thisbook,titleswhichare eithermaleorgenderneutralarethe overwhelming majority: forty-one. While this does not always reflecttheimportanceofleadcharacters–forexample,Wendyis asimportantasPeterinPeterPan(1953),justasJasmineisvital toAladdin(1992)–onthesurface,itappearsthatmalecharacters are more important to titles than females, and possiblymale or neutral namesaresaferforattractingaudiences. Thelikelihood is that this trend against featuring a female character as the single-namedcharacterinafilmlookslikelytocontinue,too.In aLosAngelesTimesarticlepublishedon9March2010,thearticle’s authorsmaketheargument–whichtheysupportbyquotesfrom people like Ed Catmull (at that time president of the Pixar and 7 SeeAppendixB. DisneyAnimationStudios)andRoyConli(theproducerforthe 8 Chmielewski, 2010filmTangled)–thatthereasonthatTangledwaschosenasa DawnC.,and title instead of Rapunzel (the film’s original title) was precisely ClaudiaEller, “DisneyRestyles becauseitwasnotagirl’sname,andtheperceptionwasthatboys ‘Rapunzel’to wouldnotwanttoseeafilmwhichfeaturedafemalenameinits AppealtoBoys”, fromTheLos title. Even the article treats this revelation with a disdainful AngelesTimes,9 attitudeofmockshock:“Aftertheless-than-fairytaleresultsfor March2010; foundat: itsmostrecentanimatedrelease,ThePrincessandtheFrog,execu- http://articles.latime tivesattheBurbankstudiobelievetheyknowwhytheacclaimed s.com/2010/mar/09/ business/la-fi-ct- moviecameupshortattheboxoffice.Braceyourself:Boysdidn’t disney9-2010mar09 wanttoseeamoviewith‘princess’inthetitle.”8Thearticlegoes 9 Chmielewskiand ontoquoteCatmull’sclaimthat,“Basedupontheresponsefrom Eller,“Disney Restyles fans and critics, we believe it [The Princess and the Frog] would ‘Rapunzel’to havebeenhigher[initsboxofficetakings]ifitwasn’tprejudged AppealtoBoys”, LTonline. by its title”.9 Mentioning that, at that time, the planned movie 10 Infact,thefilm– based on “The Snow Queen” had been shelved because the underthegender studiohad concludedthat“ithad toomanyanimatedgirlflicks neutraltitleFrozen –issettobe initslineup[sic]”,10thearticleconcludeswitharatherinteresting releasedin claim: November2013. 3
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