Directions:  Like so many other aspects of mass communications in the United States, the movie business is ruled by six companies (since the late 1990s):  Viacom, Fox, NBC Universal, Time Warner, Sony, and Disney.

We think of Disney films, particularly, as wholesome family entertainment, appropriate for very young children and entertaining to older children and even their parents.  Many Disney animated films are retellings of familiar fairy tales.

For this assignment, analyze an animated Disney film of your choice. You will need to find at least 10 points of stereotyped characters or problematic incidents (or alternatively, positive role models or incidents) that you see in the Disney film you have selected.  Be sure not only to list the character or incident, but to briefly explain the problem/advantage you see with the character or incident.

(For example: 1.  Belle is depicted as an intelligent heroine—in the movie opening she is shown always reading books--although she remains the typical Disney female character, beautiful, white, with large eyes and a curvaceous figure).

As you watch your film, you might want to consider the roles of the various cartoon characters in regards to their age, race, gender, accents (or for animals and things, in regards to their implicit age, race and gender).  You might want to think about the system of social hierarchy that is set up, as well as any play on stereotypes.  For those films which are based on previous stories or histories (Pocahontas, Little Mermaid, etc.) you might want to consider what changes the Disney studio made to the “original story.”

(Remember, this assignment is for animated Disney films only, not animated films by Pixar or another company—so not Shrek or Ice Age, etc.)