Two life-long Disney fans take on the Disney film catalog, beginning with the animated features, and discuss with a critical lens. New episodes the first Tuesday of every month. @DeconDisney on social media.
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Family superhero saga, The Incredibles (2004), was another smash hit for Pixar. Although fun to watch, the focus on a middle aged male protagonist leads Erin and Rachel to ask once again, who is this movie really for?
Episode Bibliography
Al-Jbouri, E., & Pomerantz, S. (2020). A new kind of monster, cowboy, and crusader? Gender hegemony and flows of masculinities in Pixar animated films. Boyhood Studies, 13(1), 43-63. doi: 10.3167/bhs.2020.130104
Gillam, K., & Wooden, S. R. (2008). Post-princess models of gender: The new man in Disney/Pixar. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 36(1), 2-8. doi: 10.3200/JPFT.36.1.2-8
Wooden, S.R., & Gillam, K. (2014). Pixar’s boy stories: Masculinity in a postmodern age. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Home on the Range
Season 1 · Episode 52
Wednesday, July 3, 2024 • Duration 01:20:10
Episode Summary
Erin and Rachel venture to the Old West to discuss the oft forgotten 2004 flop Home on the Range. The convoluted plot, juvenile humor, and unsympathetic characters make for a frustrating viewing experience. Most critics and audience members seem to agree this movie would be best put out to pasture.
Disney animators combined computer generated animation with live action background scenery to create the visually stunning Dinosaur (2000). Unfortunately, the boring plot and lackluster characters leave Erin and Rachel wishing that these dinosaurs would hurry up and go extinct.
Episode Bibliography
Aguilar, C. (2020, May 26). Celebrating the risk-taking greatness of Disney’s Dinosaur, 20 years later. RogerEbert.com.
Business/Entertainment Editors & Retail Writers. (2000, May 18). SKECHERS USA announces its participation in McDonald's national campaign promoting walt disney pictures' ‘Dinosaur’. Business Wire.
Originally planned for a direct-to-video release, Toy Story 2 (1999) was deemed too good for the small screen and instead enjoyed a theatrical release that was met with rave reviews. The addition of a plucky heroine with a tragic backstory mitigates some of the toxic masculinity from the first installment, but ableism and fatphobia manage to sneak in.
Erin and Rachel swing to the end of the Disney Renaissance with their discussion of Tarzan (1999). The hosts fault the filmmakers for their choice of racist, misogynistic source material, but applaud the stunning visuals, quotable script, and catchy soundtrack.
Berglund, J. (1999). Write, right, white, rite: Literacy, imperialism, race, and cannibalism in Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan of the Apes. Studies in American Literature, 27(1), 58-64. DOI: 10.1353/saf.1999.0011
Bettany, S., & Belk, R.W. (2011). Disney discourses of self and Other: animality, primitivity, modernity, and postmodernity. Consumption Markets & Culture, 14(2), 163-176. DOI: 10.1080/10253866.2011.562017
Brode, D. (2006). Multiculturalism and the mouse: Race and sex in Disney entertainment. University of Texas Press.
A Bug's Life
Season 1 · Episode 40
Tuesday, February 28, 2023 • Duration 01:43:46
Episode Summary
Despite competing with a similar insect-themed offering from DreamWorks, Pixar’s sophomore feature film, A Bug’s Life (1998), earned positive reviews at the box office and solidified the reputation of the animation studio. Although misogyny, racism, and fatphobia are sprinkled throughout, Rachel eagerly celebrates this movie as a depiction of Marxist class revolution; Erin is less enthusiastic.
Erin and Rachel explore the mess of gender and culture in Mulan (1998), Disney’s adaptation of an ancient Chinese legend. The plucky heroine promotes the “Girl Power” feminism that has fueled the female protagonists of most Disney Renaissance films, but does so in a way that manages to completely misrepresent Chinese culture and values. Spoiler alert: Chinese audiences did not love this movie.
Chen, R., Chen, Z., & Yang, Y. (2021). The creation and operation strategy of Disney’s Mulan: Cultural appropriation and cultural discount. Sustainability, 13(5), doi: 10.3390/su13052751
Davis, A. M. (2007). Good girls and wicked witches: Women in Disney's feature animation. John Libbey & Company.
Davis, A. M. (2014). Handsome heroes and vile villains: Men in Disney’s feature animation. John Libbey & Company.
Dong, L. (2010). Mulan’s legend and legacy in China and the United States. Temple University Press.
Unlike its eponymous protagonist, Hercules (1997) is more “zero” than “hero.” Erin and Rachel discuss the film’s rampant misogyny and obnoxious product placement. Compelling vocal performances and soaring musical numbers–the last of Alan Menken’s contributions during the Disney Renaissance–can’t rescue this box office disappointment from the River of Death. Much like Achilles, it just doesn’t go the distance.
Dreher, R. (1997, June 22). 'Hercules' Is A Bit Hipper This Time Out. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Season 1 · Episode 37
Tuesday, October 4, 2022 • Duration 01:58:01
Episode Summary
Erin and Rachel spend a lot of time wringing their hands over the mature themes in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Disney’s animated film about a bell ringer in medieval France. The film underperformed at the box office; apparently, a children’s movie about adult sexuality is a bell you can’t un-ring. The depictions of disability and race induce further cringing that the dazzling music and visuals can’t completely overcome. Join the party!
Biography.com Editors. (2014, April 2). Victor Hugo Biography. Biography.
Toy Story
Season 1 · Episode 36
Tuesday, September 6, 2022 • Duration 01:46:50
Episode Summary
Erin and Rachel travel to masculinity and beyond in their discussion of Toy Story (1995), the first feature-length entirely computer-animated film. After a thorough discussion of the history of Pixar and the technology of computer animation, the hosts delve into the world of boy toys and wrestle over the problematic representation of female and disabled characters.
Content warning: Discussions of workplace harassment
Al-Jbouri, E., & Pomerantz, S. (2020). A New Kind of Monster, Cowboy, and Crusader? Gender Hegemony and Flows of Masculinities in Pixar Animated Films. Boyhood Studies, 13,(1), 43-63. doi: 10.3167/bhs.2020.130104
O’Boyle, J.G. (1996). “Be sure you’re right, then go ahead”: The early Disney westerns. Journal of Popular Film & Television, 24(2). DOI: 10.1080/01956051.1996.9943716
Sexton, T. (2019, February 13). Associate professor discussion work on Disney’s Dinosaur. The Blue Banner. https://thebluebanner.net/10117/arts-features/associate-professor-discusses-work-on-disneys-dinosaur/
Tripp, B. (2022, February 15). Countdown to Extinction: Inside the Evolution of Animal Kingdom's Time-Traveling DINOSAUR Dark Ride. Park Lore. Retrieved May 18, 2023, from https://parklore.com/main/lost-legend/dinosaur/
Ward, A.R. (2002). Mouse morality: The rhetoric of Disney animated film. University of Texas Press.
Zondag, R., & Leighton, E. (Directors). (2000). Dinosaur [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures.
Kapur, J. (2005). Obsolescence and other playroom anxieties: Childhood in the shadows of late capital. Rethinking Marxism, 17(2), 237-255. doi: 10.1080/08935690500046793
Lasseter, J. (Director). (1999). Toy Story 2 [Film]. Pixar Animation Studios.
Newsinger, John (1986). Lord Greystoke and darkest Africa: the politics of the Tarzan stories. Race and Class, 28(2), 61–64. DOI: 10.1177/030639688602800204
Newsinger, J. (2000). Me Disney, you Tarzan. Race and Class, 42(1), 78.
Wannamaker, A., & Abate, M. A. (Eds.). (2012). Global Perspectives on Tarzan: From King of the Jungle to International Icon. Routledge.
Ward, A.R. (2002). Mouse morality: The rhetoric of Disney animated film. University of Texas Press.
Weeks, J. (1999, June 27). Tarzan and the race card: The ape-man's creator might have believed in white superiority, but the new Disney film goes out of its way to avoid the black and white issues. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved from https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1999-06-27-9906280262-story.html
Whitley, D. (2012). The idea of nature in Disney animation: From Snow White to WALL-E (2nd ed.) . Ashgate.
Mulder, C. P. (2013). It’s the time of your life: Marxism in animated films. Rethinking Marxism: A Journal of Economics, Culture & Society, 25(2), 284-292. DOI: 10.1080/08935696.2012.696806
Murray, R. L., & Heumann, J. K. (2011). That’s all folks? Ecocritical readings of American animated features. Nebraska.
England, D. E., Descartes, L., & Collier-Meek, M. A. (2011). Gender role portrayal and the Disney princesses. Sex Roles, 64, 555-567. doi: 10.1007/s11199-011-9930-7
Grady, C. (2020, September 4). The history of Mulan, from a 6th-century ballad to the live-action Disney movie. Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/21412785/mulan-history-original-chinese-ballad-disney
Hoffmann, E. S. (2019). Diversity dissected: Intersectional socialization in Disney’s Aladdin, Mulan, and The Princess and the Frog. Leviathan: Interdisciplinary Journal in English, 5, 60-126.
King, S. (1998, June 25). Fa, a Long Long Way to Come. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-25-ca-63261-story.html
Kung, J. (2019). Disney’s Mulan and unlocking queer Asian-American masculinity. sprinkle: An Undergraduate Journal of Feminist and Queer Studies, 12, 40-49.
Wang, Z. (2020, July 10). Cultural “Authenticity” as a Conflict-Ridden Hypotext: Mulan (1998), Mulan Joins the Army (1939), and a Millennium-Long Intertextual Metamorphosis. Arts, 9(3), 78. MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts9030078
Wang, Z. (2021, December 6). From Mulan (1998) to Mulan (2020): Disney Conventions, Cross-Cultural Feminist Intervention, and a Compromised Progress. Arts, 11(1), 5. MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts11010005
Ward, A.R. (2002). Mouse morality: The rhetoric of Disney animated film. University of Texas Press.
Yin, J. (2011). Popular culture and public imaginary: Disney vs. Chinese stories of Mulan. Javnost – The Public, 18(1), 53-74. Doi: 10.1080/13183222.2011.11009051
Zhao, X. J. (2020, October 24). Everything culturally right and wrong with Mulan 1998 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SHC7CnmErM
Hartl, J. (1997, June 22). Disney's `Hercules' Plays Up The Comic Side Of An Epic Tale -- Missing From The Disney Treatment Of The Hercules Story Will Be Some Darker Details Of His Life, Including His Illegitimate Birth. The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19970622&slug=2545749
Primo, C. (2018, November 16). Balancing Gender and Power: How Disney's Hercules Fails to Go the Distance. MDPI. Retrieved October 22, 2022, from https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/7/11/240/htm
Scherer, R. (1997, June 13). Disney's Herculean Feat: Stopping New York Traffic For Movie Premiere Parade. Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://www.csmonitor.com/1997/0613/061397.us.us.5.html
Turan, K. (1997, June 25). 'Hercules' is not your professor's version of the tale, but it is another triumph from Disney animation and quip masters. : Didja Ever Hear the Myth About. . . ? Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-06-25-ca-6546-story.html
Coyne, S. M., & Whitehead, E. (2008). Indirect aggression in animated Disney films. Journal of Communication, 58, 382 –395. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2008.00390.x
Davis, A. M. (2007). Good girls and wicked witches: Women in Disney's feature animation. John Libbey & Company.
Davis, A. M. (2014). Handsome heroes and vile villains: Men in Disney’s feature animation. John Libbey & Company.
DreamloverMimi. (2017, February 7). The Making of the Hunch Back of Notre Dame (1996). YouTube. Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efEUV7cDsB0
Feng, Y., & Park, J. (2015). Bad seed or good seed? A content analysis of the main antagonists in Walt Disney- and Studio Ghibli-Animated Films. Journal of Children and Media, 9(3), 368-385. doi: 10.1080/17482798.2015.1058279
galaxies352. (2017, April 9). Disney Hunchback Of Notre Dame Premier Parade 6/19/96 WVUE-TV New Orleans, La. YouTube. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_ukR__9brY
Graham, J. A., Yuhas, H., & Roman, J. L. (2018). Death and coping mechanisms in animated Disney movies: A content analysis of Disney films (1937–2003) and Disney/Pixar films (2003–2016). Social Sciences, 7, 199-213. doi: 10.3390/socsci7100199
Lacroix, C. (2004). Images of animated others: The orientalization of Disney's cartoon heroines from The Little Mermaid to The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Popular Communication, 2(4), 213-229.
McGill, C. M. (2018). "This burning desire is turning me to sin": The intrapersonal sexual struggles of two Disney singing villains. Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture, 3(1), 27-49. doi: 10.1386/qsmpc.3.1.27_1
Towbin, M. A., Haddock, S. A., Zimmerman, Z. S., Lund, L. K., & Tanner, L. R. (2003). Images of Gender, Race, Age, and Sexual Orientation in Disney Feature-Length Animated Films. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 15(4), 19-44. doi: 10.1300/J086v15n04_02
Trousdale, G., & Wise, K. (Directors). (1996). The Hunchback of Notre Dame [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures.
Ward, A.R. (2002). Mouse morality: The rhetoric of Disney animated film. University of Texas Press.
Hernandez, P. (2018, June 28). Former Pixar employee details how the company’s rampant sexism went far beyond John Lasseter. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/28/17514430/sexual-harassment-pixar-john-lasseter-cassandra-smolcic-metoo
Lasseter, J. (Director). (1995). Toy story [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures.
Luisi, T. (2019). Toys will be toys: gendered interaction frames in the Toy Story trilogy. Journal of Children and Media, 13(1), 20-35. DOI: 10.1080/17482798.2018.1513852
Wooden, S., & Gillam, K. (2014). Pixar’s boy stories: Masculinity in a postmodern age. Rowman & Littlefield.
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