“The fairy tale of film — created with the magic of animation — is the modern equivalent of the great parables of the Middle Ages.”—Walt Disney
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Hi, my name is Angela and I’m a Disney-holic. I got hooked when I was small and I still go see the studio’s movies in the theaters, by myself if need be. For my formal introduction on this blog, I wanted to share a little bit about the role Disney’s had in my life.
Disney means a lot of things to a lot of people—production company, ultimate theme park, greedy global conglomerate—and while I’m aware of all its facets, Disney first and foremost is for me the provider of stories into which I can escape.
I’ve been an escapist since before I knew the word. I was a voracious reader growing up, and I felt myself drawn most to fantasy stories, everything from the imaginary realms of Middle Earth and Oz to the fantasy of the ancient world in Greco-Roman mythology and the legends of King Arthur and Merlin.
It’s no surprise, then, that I became an instant Disney addict. I can’t remember my first experience with the films; it just feels like they’ve always been there. Back before modern CGI it felt like no other films could do justice to the realms of chivalry, sorcery, high-spired castles, and quiet medieval villages that ran rampant through my mind. Only the artistry of Disney sufficed.
In fact, a particular scene in “Beauty and the Beast” captured the sentiment I felt the most: Belle, fuming after facing down another of Gaston’s smug proposals, races away from her house into the fields below. “I want adventure in the great wide somewhere,” she sings, twirling around to take in the full view of purple mountains and glistening streams before her. “I want it more than I can tell.”
Scenes like that, which outside of books I could only find in Disney movies, scratched a deep itch of longing inside me. As I grew older I knew just how historically inaccurate the settings for the films were, and stopped longing to step directly into them. My enjoyment of Disney matured into an appreciation of the artistry of its animation and the creativity it displayed in revising classic stories for modern audiences.
Although I’m an unabashed Disney fan, it doesn’t stop me from being critical of the company. Disney films meant much to me when I was younger, and that really makes me want Disney to keep a devotion to family values, at least as far as its family films are concerned. So expect not only Disney adoration from this blog, but also a critical approach taken to its products.
Disney’s presence is everywhere we look, as evidenced by the Peter Pan-themed Disney travel ad that just appeared on my web browser. Because of this we need to be wary of the effects its ever-present messages might have on children, from its culture of consumerism to the potentially damaging obsession with the Disney Princess theme.
Disney is a talented company with a long tradition of making wonderful films, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take a critical approach to the content it provides. It’s because I love Disney that I have such high standards for it, and I’m excited to share both my enthusiasm and my concerns with the community at families.com.
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*(This image by hyku is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
