Presentation Titles and Context

My presentation layout with headers and a bit of content.

Male Representation In Disney Animation

'Disney attempts to send the message to boys that if you don't get the girl, as long as you are persistent, eventually, you will succeed. Disney plays at this attitude in a light and humorous way, but never touches on the negative sides of pursuing someone to whom you are attracted.'

'Unhealthy body images are common among young teens, who are brought up in a society that puts importance on beauty. From the very beginning, we see images of beauty that change and shape who we become. Disney is one of the first experiences we have with these ideas of beauty. We learn from these films that we should aspire to look a certain way, or that we should act a certain way. Boys are "shown" how men should act and what they should look like if they want to be real men.'

'But we don’t spend nearly as much time discussing how these fairy tales affect young boys growing up' 

The reason I have chosen to do 'The Representation of Males in Disney Animation' is to show how it impacts the viewer and how they think they should look and act. There are bad role models like Hurcules who is an egotistic jerk who thinks he's better than everyone else. His structure also makes young boys think that being super muscular is what they should aspire to and look like, creative a bad representation of a male in a Disney Animation.
Another reason I have chosen to do the representation of males is because i don't think people are aware of the affect it can have on young boys. People are normally focused on the representation of females in disney as they are poorly portrayed, but it stops people considering how males feel about being shown as bumb and egotistical.

There's a Tangled Sequal???

Tangled Ever After was released in 2012 after the hit Tangled, but didn't release in the UK, which had a huge amount of gross of £19,977,533 (13 March 2011).
This lead me to believe that maybe Tangled didn't have as big a male audience as they had anticipated with meant that they felt the UK was not an appropriate audience for a short remake as it wouldn't make a profit.
the Official Tangled Ever After Trailer

Why Change the Name?

The name change is, we're guessing, designed to ensure that boys go see the film as well as girls, sacrificing the familiarity of the title for something more gender-neutral and somewhat in keeping with recent Disney hit Enchanted. Certainly, from what we've seen of the film this is a Princess Bride-tinged tale rather than some pink-hued Barbie-as-Rapunzel story, so there will no doubt be lots there for boys to enjoy. But the change does put this out of step with, er, every Disney fairytale ever (hello Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Mulan and the rest), which are generally titled for their central character, and it's kinda sad that Disney apparently thinks a film named after a girl won't draw both genders of kids to see it.

Tangled name - Empire

Both Tangled and Frozen are Disney Princess films, yet their names are not Rapunzel or The Snow Queen. I think this is because Disney are trying to reach a wider audience i.e. young boys. This also supports why the teaser trailer for Frozen was just of Olaf and Sven making it appeal to younger boys because it is not only funny but it is also has of two of the sub characters/ sidekicks, not revealing to much of the film.

Is Frozen Made for Boys?

There are a few other male archetypes in the Disney world: it’s mostly a choice between heroes and buffoons, and some are both. Kristoff is a hero who’s a bit of a buffoon; he’s an awkward and sometimes, a grumpy loner with a reindeer for a best friend, who reluctantly helps Anna. He does possess some of the important characteristics of a Disney hero: he’s roughly handsome, strong, and protective of Anna when necessary. I wonder what boys make of the stereotypical Disney heroes who are good-looking in a jutting jaw kind of way, muscular in a brutish sort of way, and humorous in a childish sort of way. For example, here’s what Kristoff says to Anna when he learns she’s going to marry Hans, the guy she barely knows: “Have you had a meal with him yet? What if you hate the way he eats? What if you hate the way he picks his nose…and eats it?” (While I suspect this line was added for the benefit of the boys in the audience, many girls probably also found it funny.)
And yet, we all know the allure of a good story, the power of identification– whether it’s a little girl who wants to be powerful, build an ice palace and look like a princess, or a boy who wants to be handsome and strong and conquer a brutish snowman named, Marshmallow. I’m trying to be grateful that this movie has at least moved beyond the fairytale ending and celebrates the power of two girls and their sisterly love. However, I can’t help but wish for the day when both girls and boys (women and men) will be portrayed as complex, positive, and fully-realized characters in the highest-grossing movies of all time.

'Perhaps, as with Tangled, Disney are trying to hide those fairytale roots to attract young boys' -Empire Magazine

How Males are Portrayed in Pocahontas

 John Smith is a handsome young English explorer, he is regarded for his courage and heroism. He is brave, determined, adventurous, witty, caring, loving, selfless. In his appearance  he is slender, handsome, muscular, blond hair and blue eyes, showing how you have the typical type of hero being muscular with the Aries structure.

 

Scenes

From our first introduction to john smith, we can see that he is strong, manly, 'heroic' and witty. But we witness all this before we even see the main protagonist Pocahontas. This is why the opening is an interesting way to start this film, so i've chosen this scene to show the many sides of John Smith. But it also shows how likable and caring he is, and how easy he is to get along with.

(unfortunatly this scene isn't available on youtube or the web so i cannot upload it on here)

This trailer for 'Pocahontas' starts with just the main female protagonist pocahontas but it is only momentary, because John Smith then appears, and makes it appear that he is a bigger character than Pocahontas.

How Males are Portrayed in Hercules

Hercules - While his strength is above average, Hercules isn't all that intelligent. But what the hero lacks in outstanding brains, he makes up for in compassion and the desire to do good. Hercules is compassionate, and his most dominate trait is, without a doubt, his innocent and massively kind heart, in spite of being treated like a "freak" by his peers and those around him.

Scenes
One scene that I have chosen to analyse is the scene when he finds out he was found by his 'parents', to try and find where he 'belong(s)'. The reason i have chosen this scene is because Disney is showing that to fit in you have to change yourself, which is similar to Grease where both Sandy and Danny go though changes to be accepted by someone else.

And I will also study the scene where Herk trains to be a hero, to be with his parents in Olympus. I have chosen this scene because it links with the reason that you must change yourself to fit in and be accepted. because at the end of this scene, he becomes quite abnoxious and very 'male' thinking that all females need saving.

This video trailer mainly features Hercules (the protagonist) and Hades (the antagonist). this can show that it is targeted towards boys as it shows Hercules slaying monster and the action side of the story.

This trailer not only shows Hercules but also Megara, Phil and Hades, making a wider appeal to audiences, because Megara is a strong female role which is rare with early Disney animation.

How Males are Portrayed in Tangled

Flynn Rider/ Eugene Fitzherbert - At first Flynn comes off as cocky, arrogant and a little bit self-centered. He is overly concerned about money, wealth and the tiara he wishes to regain from Rapunzel. However, when one gets to know him, he is sensitive, laid back and good hearted. He is agile, strong and quick-witted, which is shown from his experience in theft.

 

This video contains some of Flynn Riders more ridiculous moments in the film, showing him off to be a goof and ignorant in many different ways.

The Official Tangled Trailer was made to attract a wider audience than mainstream Disney films like Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella which are targeted just to a female audience. This is because this trailer mainly contains Flynn Rider, who is the main male role in the film, and describes how courageous and fearless he is, which well encourage a male audience to see it.

Official Tangled Trailer

How Males are Portrayed in Frozen

The Guardian - In Frozen (2013) "It's men either devious or daft while it's woman are outspoken and powerful"
This quote shows how Disney are changing the ways male and female characters are represented. Males used to be seen as strong, brave and the hero of the stories like in Hercules (1997), where the lead protagonist saves the damsel in distress. And yes, it's good that the female role is becoming more dominant and independent, but the males would like to have there courageous role returned. Some reasons why it is a good idea to have more heroes like Hercules, is so young boys can have a role model growing up and if they see a 'devious or daft' male they think that is what they should be.

Kristoff - Kristoff is a bit of an individualist, and acts as a loner. He can also be rather grumpy and selfish at times, as well as a bit lazy. But with all these flaws comes a heart of gold, as well.Kristoff is the build and structure of a typical Disney Male, so before you even see the whole film you already have a feeling that Kristoff will end up trying to save Anna at least once.

 'need the help of tough guy mountain man Kristoff' - empire magazine

Hans - Cold, conniving, calculating and cruel, Hans is a devilish prince with a hunger for admiration, power, obedience and honor. Though he appears to be noble to the fullest extent, Hans is merely a master manipulator, caring nothing for anyone other than himself. Through his charm and charisma alone, he is able to fool both Anna and Elsa as well as the entire kingdom of Arendelle and its visiting royals, providing excellent proof of his dangerous power over manipulation.

'Disney also continues its trend of pulling away from perfectly plastic prince charming in favor of a more layered, interesting male lead with flaws and quirks of his own. In Frozen, just as there are two female leads, there are two male leads: one prince (Prince Hans) and one average guy (Kristoff), both of which play vital roles in the story. Hans very successfully sets himself apart from the 2D princes of old and I found Kristoff to be an improvement to Disneys gruff male lead formula. In their attempt to create a new down-to-earth male lead in the princess movies, Disney began featuring more rugged types, the opposite of the stark, clean blankness of past prince characters.'

Trailers

Disney has made many different trailers for Frozen to make it appeal to certain groups of people. For example, there is an Elsa trailer and the first trailer released for Frozen only stared a snow man and a reindeer, containing no sign of a female lead role. This then shows that Disney are trying to appeal to a variety of audiences through marketing.

Elsa Trailer for Frozen

First Frozen Teaser Trailer

 

Official Frozen Trailer

Reviews

Pocahontas

The New York Times
Cross Road
The Guardian

Hercules

Roger Ebert
New York Times
Animated Film Inspector

Tangled

Telegraph
The Guardian

Frozen

the Guardian - " It's men either devious or daft while it's woman are outspoken and powerful"
This quote shows how Disney are changing the ways male and female characters are represented. Males used to be seen as strong, brave and the hero of the stories like in Hercules (1997), where the lead protagonist saves the damsel in distress. And yes, it's good that the female role is becoming more dominant and independent, but the males would like to have there courageous role returned. Some reasons why this is a good idea to have more heroes like Hercules, is so young boys can have a role model growing up and if they see a 'devious or daft' male they think that is what they should be.

Box Office

Pocahontas

Budget
$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend
$29,531,619 (USA) (28 July 2012) (2,569 Screens)

Gross
$141,579,773 (USA) (28 July 2012)
£10,103,234 (UK) (17 December 1995)
£9,423,433 (UK) (19 November 1995)
$14,707,300 (UK)

Hercules

Budget
$85,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend
$21,454,451 (USA) (29 June 1997) (2,872 Screens) (wide release)
$249,567 (USA) (15 June 1997) (1 Screen)

Gross
$99,046,791 (USA) (21 December 1997)
$252,712,101 (Worldwide) (18 August 2012)

Tangled

Budget
$260,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend
$48,767,052 (USA) (28 November 2010) (3,603 Screens)
£5,106,612 (UK) (30 January 2011) (445 Screens)

Gross
$200,821,936 (USA) (2 June 2011)
£19,977,533 (UK) (13 March 2011)

Frozen

Budget
$150,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend
$243,390 (USA) (24 November 2013) (1 Screen)
£4,704,940 (UK) (8 December 2013) (505 Screens)

Gross
$400,447,148 (USA) (11 May 2014)
£39,143,033 (UK) (9 March 2014)

Ideal Male

Useful Films

Hercules, Lion King, Peter Pan, Aladdin, Tarzan - Male Titles
The Little Mermaid, Mulan, Princess and the Frog, Pocahontas - Female titles
Beauty and the Beast - Both Genders
Tangled, Frozen

Men idealized, - Who Is The Most Attractive Male Character
I Chose this video because it shows how the public feel about animation characters, and who is the most attractive

The Males normally end up risking their lives to save the main female.

Hercules

Hercules is a stereotypical male hero who saves the people who always seem to need help. But 'Herc', as he's called by his friends, has a weakness like all men and heroes do, and his weakness is Meg, a girl who lures him into her trap. This gives a view that men are weak towards woman.

 

Hades Traps Hercules

Flynn Rider

Flynn is the main male character in 'Tangled' 2010, who can aslo be known as Rapunzels prince.

Flynn is shown to be self obsessed and arrogent, demonstraiting a steriotypical male demenour.

 

 the hilarity of Flynn Rider

John Smith

John Smith may look like the typical hero of a Disney film, and in some ways he is, through his curiosity and hunger for adventure.

 

Aladdin

 Aladdin is the main protagonist in the Disney film 'Aladdin' 1992

This representation of a man shows that they are sly and can get away with anything without paying a price.

Useful stuff
Gender Roles and Stereotypes Found in Disney Films
male representation in Disney Films
Gender roles in Disney Films

Famale Roles in Disney Films

Useful Films to Use

Mulan, Frozen, Pocahontas - Positive views on woman
Snow White, Sleeping Beauty - Negative views

What I Like

Genres

Comedy
Crime
Action
Adventure
Crime
Drama
Musicals

Production Companies

Disney
Universal