Deconstructing Disney

Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel discuss Disney's first full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, snidely referred to by critics as "Disney's Folly" before its release and subsequent box office success in 1937. The hosts unpack the impact of this groundbreaking film on popular culture, including its sexist and ableist themes. 

Episode Bibliography

Aloff, M. (2013). Disney’s Snow White at 75. Virginia Quarterly Rev...

Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel offer a less favorable take on Disney’s Pinocchio (1940) than the 100% Rotten Tomato rating of this film might suggest. They discuss the historical context of WWII in which the film was released and consider how this relates to the film’s themes about morality and family relationships. 

Episode Bibliography

Allan, R. (1999). Walt Disney and Europe: European Influences on the Animated Feature Films of Wa...

Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel review Disney’s Fantasia (1940) segment by segment and discuss the film’s repeated racist, female objectifying, and fatphobic imagery. But the music and unicorns are pretty! Maybe there’s a reason Disney likes to focus on Sorcerer Mickey when they talk about this film...

Episode Bibliography

Armstrong, S., Algar, J., Roberts, B., Satterfield, P., Sharpsteen, B., Hand, D.D., Luske, H., Handley, J., Beebe...

Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel unpack Disney’s pachyderm-focused 1941 film, Dumbo. This beloved classic helped Walt Disney Studios recover financially from previous box office busts and an animator strike. Despite being the shortest Disney animated film at only 64 minutes, there’s no shortage of racism, sexism, or horrifying elephant-based hallucinations. 

Episode Bibliography

Andrews, T. (2019, March 29). The original ‘Dumbo’ was de...

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Hear how “twitterpated” Erin and Rachel both are with Bambi (1942), the delightful classic that chronicles the lives of forest creatures with a heavy-handed conservationist agenda. Widely panned by critics following its initial release, this is the first time the grade Erin assigned on behalf of 1942 viewers is lower than the grade Rachel assigned based on a current day perspective! 

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Bálint, E. (...

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As unofficial ambassador of Franklin Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor approach to foreign policy, Walt Disney traveled to South America on a so-called “goodwill tour,” the results of which were Saludos Amigos (1942) and The Three Caballeros (1944). Join Erin and Rachel for this special double episode as they unpack the political and cultural influence of these lesser known “package” films.

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Adams, D. (2...

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In this bonus episode, Erin and Rachel unpack The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), and debate which is the most frightening: the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, Mr. Toad’s untreated mental illness, or the complete lack of female and BIPOC representation in this film.

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Burton, N. (2012). A short history of bipolar disorder. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday...

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...

Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel don’t have time for nonsense, and neither did 1951 audiences when Alice in Wonderland flopped at the box office. Thankfully, marijuana-fueled college students in the 1960s had all the time in the world for a trip down the rabbit hole, thus solidifying a permanent place in popular culture for Alice in Wonderland, a film surprisingly devoid of racist or sexist content compared to its predecessors. 

Episo...

Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel have A LOT of thoughts (just under two hours worth) about Peter Pan (1953), a film so full of racism and sexism, they’re left scratching their heads about why this Disney classic is so beloved. Join the hosts as they unpack all the different ways this movie is offensive toward indigenous people, women, and even people with disabilities! 

Episode Bibliography

Boyd, J. (2015). An examination of Native Ame...

Episode Summary

Join Erin and Rachel as they examine the surprising amount of ethnocentrism and classism imbued in the 1955 classic Lady and the Tramp. Walt Disney Studios did its part to promote the myth of the American melting pot while also cautioning audiences about the "yellow peril," memorably embodied by the infamous Siamese cats who disrupt Lady's idyllic Victorian home life. 

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Akita, K., & Kenney, R. (2013...

Episode Summary

Can a film with a female protagonist who sleeps more than anything else be considered “feminist”? Erin and Rachel wrestle with this question and more as they discuss Sleeping Beauty (1959), Disney’s third and final princess film until the Disney Renaissance thirty years later. 

Episode Bibliography

Butler, L. (2014, November 6). How Sleeping Beauty is Accidentally the Most Feminist Animated Movie Disney Ever Made. Tor....

Episode Summary

Like a Dalmatian’s coat is sprinkled with spots, Disney’s 1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians has bits of sexism, racism, classism, and fatphobia sprinkled throughout. However, those questionable moments weren’t enough to sour Erin and Rachel on what is overall a heartwarming and visually interesting film. Oh, and did we mention how cute the puppies are? 

Episode Bibliography

[Ciné-DOCS]. (2019, April 12). Sincerely Yo...

Episode Summary

Journey back to the Middle Ages for a discussion of The Sword in the Stone (1963), a film beset with sexism and classism befitting its medieval setting. The last fully animated film before Walt Disney’s death in 1966, this story of Arthurian legend leaves a lot to be desired in terms of plot and songwriting as well. Erin and Rachel try to make up for the latter with some singing of their own, and for that, they since...

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://thedig...

Episode Summary

Join Erin and Rachel as they journey to the jungles of India to discuss the 1967 classic, The Jungle Book. Based on the book by Rudyard Kipling, a champion of British Imperialism, the film demonstrates more implicit racism and sexism than colonialist themes. 

Episode Bibliography

Biography.com Editors. (2019, October 21). Rudyard Kipling biography. Biography. https://www.biography.com/writer/rudyard-kipling

Cash, D. (20...

Episode Summary

Released three years after Walt Disney’s death, the 1970 animated film The AristoCats (yes, the “C” is capitalized!) marked the beginning of a new era for Walt Disney Animation Studios. Join Erin and Rachel as they discuss the tough questions such as, does everybody want to be a cat? 

Episode Bibliography

The Aristocats. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved December 22, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aristocats

Th...

Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel travel to Sherwood Forest and discuss Robin Hood (1973), the first Disney film to feature a cast entirely composed of anthropomorphized animals! Although their qualms with the film include the limited agency of female characters and the derision of fat characters, they also enjoyed the exciting plot and folksy music. 

Episode Bibliography

Asher-Perrin, E. (2018, April 18). The Robin Hood You Love is A L...

Episode Summary

Venture into the Hundred Acre Wood with Erin and Rachel as they discuss the The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, the 1977 feature-length film that compiled three previously-released featurettes about a willy nilly silly old bear. The conversation touches on issues of gender and racism, but Rachel’s biggest qualm with this movie is the fat shaming directed at our favorite tubby cubby.  

Episode Bibliography

Dudley, S...