Dissecting Disney

Dissecting Disney


Latest Episodes

Who Was Walt Disney?
August 28, 2020

A sexist, racist and anti-Semite? These are some pretty serious allegations! We figure out what kind of person Disney was through discussing a rejection letter to a female animator, horrible Jewish caricature in 3 Little Pigs and portrayal of black actors

Family Dynamics, Morality & Mediocrity in The Incredibles (2004)
August 21, 2020

Ever noticed how Mr Incredible was kind of a poor father figure for some parts of The Incredibles? We didn't until we were older! From not helping out Helen to parent their kids to lying about losing his job, he certainly wasn't a role model all the way t

Sleeping Beauty Untold
August 14, 2020

Trigger warning: rape and sexual assault is discussed Have you ever wondered how the story of beloved Aurora came about? We're telling you now, it's not pretty! Cannibalism, rape and goddesses - it is safe to say that Sleeping Beauty's origin stories...

Frozen: Why People Couldn't Let It Go
August 07, 2020

This 2013 hit movie left soooo many parents with earworms thanks to its Oscar-winning song 'Let It Go'. Why was it such a big hit? Join us today for a discussion which includes the subversion of tropes, the empowering message behind Let It Go's lyrics,...

Feminism in The Princess & The Frog (2009): Part 2
July 31, 2020

This episode continues to dive into how Disney portrayed its first black princess, Tiana. Topics include: the portrayal of healthy relationships, what it was like to be a black woman in the 1920s, gender roles (with its subversion) and the use of male...

Black Representation in The Princess & The Frog (2009): Part 1
July 24, 2020

This episode covers how well Disney portrayed its first black princess, Tiana. Topics include: the controversy behind Tiana's original name which was too close to 'mammy', Creolization, Disney skirting around the issue of segregation, jazz, food, and...

Chinese Representation in Mulan (1998)
July 17, 2020

In the second installment of our representation series, we talk about Disney's improvement in representing POC compared to Aladdin such as actually hiring actors with Asian heritage! Topics include Confucian vs Western values, differences between...

Representation: Aladdin (1992)
July 10, 2020

Which places inspired Aladdin? South Asia, Cental Asia, Middle East... China? There's evidence for all of these! We discuss how well Disney portrayed its first POC princess, Princess Jasmine, through the movie Aladdin. Topics include racist lyrics,...

Drugs, Monarchy, and Adolescence: what is Alice in Wonderland?
July 03, 2020

Disappearing cat, talking rabbit, mushrooms that change your physical state... Alice in Wonderland is one weird movie! In this episode, we discuss whether Alice's trip is actually a personification of an LSD trip, how the movie is a satire of the...

Did Snow White Invent Pretty Privilege?
June 26, 2020

"Magic mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" In this episode, we unpack this iconic line from Snow White and discuss whether there is a link between beauty and morality (there's some science behind this!). Other topics include questioning...