Disney/Pixar: Critiquing Society

Hamlet is only slightly more hairy in this picture. Claudius is also way more awesome when voiced by Jeremy Irons.

Ah Disney... where would I be if it weren't for your teaches and subliminal messaging? I shudder to consider the thought. You have given us, me included, so much. Sure, you butcher fairy tales/stories/plays for adults add make totally happy endings out of gruesome, cruel stories, but that's why we love you. You make your own world for kids to explore from a very young age, but one that many continue to adore as an adult. From the jungles of Africa and suburbia, to the American Wild West and Arabia and so much more, Disney's universe has taken us to many magnificent places.

I love Disney movies. I've long since lost count of how many times I've seen every Disney animated movie. I have pretty much all the Disney songs, and sing them unashamedly. I remember The Lion King was my first movie with I was really little. There was no going back. Then later came Toy Story. By the way, the third one was amazing and I love how Andy grew up with kids my age. It was an extremely nice touch.

The real wonder of Disney is its ability to convey adult messages in kids movies. No, I'm not talking about the not so subtle references to adult content. I'm talking about Disney movies as a critique and satire of life in our society today.

Examples:
Pocahontas: Xenophobia and imperialism are bad.
Cinderella: Slavery being horrible and feminism being important.
Pinocchio: Drugs and lying are bad. Also don't get swallowed by a whale. Not so much fun.
Tarzan: Poaching and deforestation aren't good.
Lady and the Tramp: Wealth does not equal happiness.
Fox and the Hound: Interracial relations being important and possibly gay rights.
Bambi: Deforestation and man being terrible to nature.
Peter Pan: Letting out your imagination and inner child is crucial.

The list goes on and on.

This totally isn't a critique on America today. Nope. Not at all.

Perhaps, the best example of Disney critiquing society in recent movies, at least for me is in Wall-e.

I love this little guy. The first 15-20 minutes of his movie are nearly silent, and yet its possibly the best 15-20 minutes of movie magic ever created, in my opinion which is saying something because I usually don't like silent movies at all.

The message of the movie is clear from the beginning, or at least part of it is. I was actually surprised at how much of a punch in the gut Disney gives the audience with the messages of environmental issues in Wall-e. Not only that, but obesity and being complacent and blindly obedient to the government and corporations that run our society. Disney even makes it a point to push that if the government or the corporations get too powerful and become a fascist society, or is heading in that direction, the people must overthrow their masters and regain control to restore virtue to their society.

Powerful stuff, but that's Disney. Wall-e is easily one of my favorite Disney movies and the message is a big part of that.