Gender Roles in Disney Animation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gender Roles in Disney Animation - Essay Example However, follies of young women can come with great consequences that help build character strength and self-confidence in the long run. This is a message that the company clearly supported through their publicity and marketing campaign for the movie. From Disney’s first full length animated features Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to their succeeding films, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Mulan, all of these films share something in common with The Little Mermaid. It is a close marketing strategy that ties in closely with the production values promoted by the movie. This campaign has made Disney seem, in the public eye a company that sees gender causes as a commercial issue more than anything else. This, perhaps, has something to do with the unparalleled success of Disney in both the animated film and merchandising sales arena. It was in 2001 when Disney created the Princess line that aggressively targeted and marketed products to l ittle girls and young women. The line was composed of the aforementioned eight traditional Disney Princess films each turning in a huge profit and marketing franchise for each as well. All eight movies are proven to have a strong influence on children in terms of developing concepts of social behavior and norms (Graves 724-5). However, it is The Little Mermaid in particular that struck a chord with the little girls looking for a strong feminine image model that they could identify within our contemporary society. The original Little Mermaid story by Hans Christen Andersen had its main character Ariel suffer a tragic fate as chose to love a man she could never have. In the original, Ariel died carrying an unrequited love to her watery grave with her. As with other fairy tales of its era, the original meant to serve as a warning to young women. It was meant to help control rather than empower them. Disney never believed that fairy tales should have tragic endings which is why their re telling of the fairy tale is a far cry from its original. In the Disney version, we see a playful and oftentimes strong-willed blossoming young lady in Ariel, the little mermaid. She falls in love with a prince whom she saved from drowning. The mere fact that Ariel interacted with human beings and even worse, fell in love with one, was in direct defiance of the edict of King Triton, her father.