Disney

The Animated Bestiary critically evaluates the depiction of animals in cartoons and animation more generally. Paul Wells argues that artists use animals to engage with issues that would be more difficult to address directly because of political, religious, or social taboos. Wells draws on a wide range of examples, from the original King Kong to Nick Park's Chicken Run to Disney cartoons such as Tarzan, The Jungle Book, and Brother Bear to reflect on people by looking at the ways in which they respond to animals in cartoons and films.

This book critically examines how Walt Disney Animation Studios has depicted - and sometimes failed to depict - different forms of harming and objectifying non-human animals in their films. Each chapter addresses a different form of animal harm and objectification through the theories of speciesism, romanticism, and the 'collapse of compassion' effect, from farming, hunting and fishing, to clothing, work, and entertainment.

David Whitley's compelling study examines a range of Disney's feature animations, from Snow White to Finding Nemo, in which images of wild nature are a central aspect of the narrative.

How did Walt Disney, an artist known the world over for his animated cartoons and features, decide, in 1948, to produce the first of the True-Life Adventures, a live-action educational featurette about Alaskan seals? The road that led Walt to the creation of this landmark film was a long and winding one, full of trials and errors, replete with false starts and brilliant insights.was starting to plan for the creative rebirth of The Walt Disney Studios after World War II. We must also unearth some of the abandoned True-Life Adventures.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was created in 1927 by Walt Disney and his team through twenty-six successful cartoon shorts. At the end of that initial run, Walt lost the contract to Oswald, which prompted the creation of Mickey Mouse. Over the years, Oswald became a footnote in the Disney story until 2006, when The Walt Disney Company recovered rights to Walt's twenty-six shorts.

Meeusen’s chapter explores contemporary trends and discourses surrounding portrayals of animals in children’s animated film. Building from a brief examination of the preponderance of problematic depictions in Disney animal movies, Meeusen uses Zootopia (2016) to suggest that this trend may not only reflect a discomfort with the concept of representing non-White individuals in children’s film, but also leads to problematically ambiguous messages about institutions of power that act as the basis for prejudice. She then draws on two additional films produced the same year—The Secret Life of Pets and Kubo and the Two Strings—to consider animated animal portrayals alongside cultural, political, and ideological discourses related to power, privilege, and representation, interrogating the challenges and complexities of intertwining animated anthropomorphism and cultural representation.

Presents a behind-the-scenes account of the techniques and trials of training various animals who have appeared in Disney productions.