Everyone’s Favourite Children’s Film Conglomerate: Disney …. or so you thought ….

Everyone knows about Disney. Who didn’t grow up watching The Jungle Book, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, or A Bug’s Life? The list of Disney movies that have been released over the years is endless, and those movies are recognized world-wide. Although Disney has released some really great children’s movies that both children and parents enjoy, there have been some movies that have had quite a controversial attachment to them.

This post will cover some of the controversial Disney films, and demonstrate how they were, or perhaps should have been handled from a public relations perspective.

1. Alice in Wonderland
   When this film was released by Disney in 1951, it was picked apart by its viewers. British critics were saying that Disney had “Americanized” what was originally an English novel written by Lewis Carroll back in 1865. These critics did not like the fact that the original components from the story had been modernized upon creation of the production. The movie was also criticized for its “technicolour” experience and funky vibes. Many people believed that the bright colours, offbeat settings and characters in the movie were supposed to be seen as though through the eyes of someone under the influence of hallucinogenics. They argued that it was not at all appropriate for the young viewers the film was aimed toward. Moving forward from the negative critiques, it has been argued by Disney and other movie-goers that the use of the vivid colour and dramatic characters was in fact a great sense of creativity and expression. Back when the film was released, vivid images were not often seen, so by presenting them in Alice in Wonderland made the viewing experience that much more entertaining. Disney was able to expand children’s imaginations through the film. As stated by a writer from the NY Times, “What we are saying is simply that Mr. Disney has plunged into those works, which have rapturously charmed the imaginations of generations of kids, has snatched favorite characters from them, whipped them up as colorful cartoons, thrown them together willy-nilly with small regard for sequence of episodes, expanded and worked up new business, scattered a batch of songs throughout and brought it all forth in Technicolor as a whopping-big Disney cartoon.”It was promised that no reference to any illegal substances was made during the kids film. By responding so well and timely to complaints, Disney was able to save their reputation and people continued to believe in and trust the company.
2. The Little Mermaid
   Upon the release on The Little Mermaid, many adults believed that the towers on the castle in the background were illustrated to represent phallic symbols. As soon as word spread about this assumption, people were up in arms about the situation, complaining to Disney about how inappropriate it was. Disney responded to this accusation by ensuring concerned parents that the towers were never ever meant to look like anything other than towers. “This is the Walt Disney Company… Why would we do something like this?“The artist of the VHS cover clearly stated that it “was an accident due to time constraints”, but it was never intentionally drawn to represent such things. Upon the release of the next version, Disney had made it a point to change the drawing on the cover. By listening to the concerns of the consumers, and making changes based on those concerns, Disney demonstrated its commitment to its followers and its willingness to make changes in order to keep viewers satisfied. By gaining the trust of their consumers, Disney, and any other company, will be on the road to success.
3. The Princess and the Frog 
   
   This movie is one of Disney’s more recent films, having been released in 2009. That being said, parents were more judgemental towards the film since it was released in a more modern time. Parents were upset about this movie because the Prince that Princess Tiana falls in love with has lighter skin than she does, which adults thought was very old-age stereotypical. Why couldn’t the Prince be African-American as well? Also, there was controversy around the fact that the movie was set in New Orleans, not long after hurricane Katrina devastated the homes and lives of thousands. New Orleans is home to a large African-American community, so viewers deemed it to be insensitive to have the movie take place in that area so soon after the hurricane. Lastly, there are glimpses of “voodoo” in the movie, which viewers also saw as stereotypical toward African-Americans.When the movie was first thought-up, the main character’s name was supposed to be Maddy, which people argued was not a suitable name for an African-American princess. After hearing these complaints, Disney changed her name to Tiana to better suit the character. They also changed her occupation from house maid to house chef to be more pleasing. Before the movie was even screened, Disney made changes in hopes of pleasing everyone and avoiding the criticisms, but “most creative ideas face challenges and criticism.” Disney was trying to teach young children a valuable lesson about “believing love even in tough circumstances, the struggle of moving up from one’s social standing, and the idea of beauty being skin deep.” They have continued to do so in movies released after The Princess and the Frog; they continue to rise above the criticism and turn the comments into positive ideas for future films.
4. Bambi
   Bambi is another old Disney classic, released in 1942. Early on in the movie, Bambi and his mother are running through the woods when Bambi’s mom is killed by a hunter. Bambi is then orphaned and with the help of his woodland friends, he must learn how to survive on his own while dealing with the loss of his mother. For a movie designed for young children, people were, and continue to be, concerned about the gruesome nature of the film. Between Bambi and The Lion King, it is often a question of whether children should be exposed to such ideas at a young age.

Though many people react negatively toward the themes of Bambi, since it is designed for young children, the movie instills a “sense of reverence and wonder at the splendor and cruelty of nature and life itself, and likewise reflects darkly on the sometimes destructive relationship between man and nature.“This may be a hard pill to swallow at such a young age, but when it comes down to it, children have to learn about these things at some point. Disney is known for teaching lessons in their movies, and Bambi is not short-fall. It terms of responding to this criticism, Disney did not have much to say. From a public relations perspective, they could have marketed the film to an older age group or made reference to other children’s media that display similar themes.

The above criticisms have put somewhat of a bad taste in some people’s mouths toward Disney filmmakers, and the list of criticisms do not end here. From a public relations perspective, the company has dealt with these issues promptly as they arose, which has allowed them to  continue to succeed and move forward in the film industry.

For the most part, Disney has always taught valuable lessons through their stories and the adventures continue to be timeless. I believe they will continue to create everlasting stories for the whole family to enjoy.

Do you agree with the way Disney has gone about responding to their viewers’ criticisms, or should they have employed different methods to deal with them? Leave us a comment to voice your opinion!