The "NEW" Lion King

I just came across the article, "Disney and Jon Favreau Joining Forces on “The Lion King”!" I am so excited! Since I am writing my paper on racism in The Lion King, I am very curious as to what his spin on the characters is going to be. 

Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen’s Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World felt more like a story than an article. Hiaasen’s word choice throughout the book illustrated that he is a fiction writer. It made for a much more entertaining and easier read than the pieces we read by Giroux.  He used phrases like, “Snag the children…” and “…saucer-eared idol stood there, jauntily swinging his overstuffed arms…”, which are very descriptive but not very scholarly. He also incorporated aggressive diction in the piece which revealed his true feelings about Disney. He explains Disney inhabiting of Orlando as “The rape of Orlando”.  Although the quote is very definitive, readers understand his stance and can either agree or disagree. I felt his valid points and stories were diminished by his fictional writing-based word choices and his use of curse words. I did not take him as seriously as I did Giroux.

 I thought it was very important to note that he is a native of Orlando and his motivation behind his hatred for Disney is personal. He adds one line zingers throughout the book to remind us that he is from the place that Disney, to him, ruined. He says, “Enough Orlando’s, already.” and “…maybe you can appreciate my concern.”, furthering the idea that Disney has directly impacted Haaisen’s life negatively. I was surprised when he said he took his son to Disney a couple of times considering he wrote a book about Disney corporate moguls being rats.  

I really liked the idea that Hiaasen discussed about Disney’s incessant need for control. His explanation in the last chapter, “Control has been a signature ingredient of all the company’s phenomenally successful theme parks…”, transcends just theme parks. All aspects of Disney are so controlled and artificial. That is the part of Disney that I feel is the biggest problem. Disney only introduces something that “Middle America” is ‘ready’ for; It make no innovative or out-of-the-box ideas for fear of losing money or their audience. It exercises complete control of its state of Reedy Creek. Reedy Creek has its own government with an independent ‘police’ force, power plant and even airport. This is the ultimate form of control for Disney.  

Something I did not expect from Haaisen was his shift of blame (for a little while), from Disney to parents of children watching Disney. He explains that Disney, although responsible for what it shows to children, is not necessarily responsible for what it makes them or their parents do. He uses the example of 101 Dalmatians, where many families bought Dalmatians thinking they would be a great pets. Many of those animals ended up in shelters because families were not prepared for the responsibility of having an animal. Hiaasen fully blames the parents for making a decision based on a movie, as do I. Disney does not for people to do things; Subconsciously, Disney may have an impact on our children but parents ultimately have the final say on what their kids consume. Disney’s unjust practices are what Hiaasen really is vehement on expressing. From concealing the princesses getting spied on to the death of the 18 year old boy at the hands of Disney’s fake police, Hiassen expresses that Disney gets away with so much because of its false image of innocence and never-ending supply of money.

Cinderella Response

I really enjoyed Cinderella. I thought I was going to be bored and not able to pay attention to it fully; However, the content, colors, and music drew me in. The opening music was very ‘Disneyesque’. The soft yet elegant tone prepared me for the princess film I was going to watch. I did not remember the classic “Once upon a Time” line used at the beginning of the movie. So naturally my inner 7-year-old heart skip a beat. I also did not remember Cinderella having any personality; I was pleasantly surprised when she called the clock that woke her up a ‘kill joy’. I probably did not pick up on her attitude as a child, but after re-watching the film, I saw some of her personality come out. Also, I loved the King. He became one of my favorite characters in the movie. His facial expressions and color changes were hilarious, as well as his intense desire for his son to fall in love. He is not the cliché ‘strong, manly, no emotion’ king that many kings are portrayed as; He is quite emotional and has an intense desire to have grandchildren who he can spoil.

There were many cute moments in the film including the looks the animals gave Cinderella when she sang and when Cinderella and the Prince walked down the aisle. There were also some scenes of the movie I disagreed with. I especially did not like when the mouse sang ““leave the sowing to the woman”; That could send sexist messages to girls and boys watching the film. I also thought the marriage/proposal was very abrupt considering he was going to ask her to marry him before he knew her name. This provides unrealistic expectations in relationships for children viewing the movie. Overall, the positives in the film outweigh the negatives. This classic film should be shown to children without question.

The depiction of evil in Cinderella is uniform during the film. It begins with Lucifer, the cat. Automatically, I knew the cat was going to be one of the villains in the movie considering his name means Satan. I also noted that his fur was black because in many Disney movies dark colors are often associated with evil. The next villains were the evil step-sisters and step-mother. Although the sisters were not dressed in dark colors (they were actually in pink and green), neither of their hair was blonde nor long like Cinderella’s and their overall appearance was plain (not nearly as beautiful as Cinderella). I noticed that when the sisters left their rooms, they were always leaving from darkness: there were never lights on in the rooms. The evil step-mother was always in dark colored clothing. Her facial structure was masculine (sharp jawline) and her hair was grey and short. Her bedroom consisted of dark hues of purple, grey and black. The step-mother’s eyes also turned a deep shade of green which resembled that of a monster, further portraying her evilness. I think it is also important to note that Cinderella was almost always in plain clothe at the beginning of the movie and a beautiful white gown by the end pf the movie. The white gown furthered Cinderella’s pure and innocent portrayal. It was interesting to see the depiction of evil in this film because many of the malicious things they did to Cinderella were underhanded and realistic like giving her too many choirs so she had to miss the ball and locking her in a closet. I expected something less feasible like putting a spell on Cinderella.

My favorite scene was the bubble scene. I have loved that scene since I was little and it continues to mesmerize me even when I watch it from an academic standpoint.