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articulates the reason for his book: the necessity for examining diversity and a
wider range of it within Disney appears pertinent in our age of globalization (4).
How right he is. For better or for worse, Disney films form an important part of the
cultural landscape, and the images in them resonate. As scholarship on Disney has
proliferated in recent years, this topic has gained attention, notably in Douglas
Brodes Multiculturalism and the Mouse (2005), which argues that Disney films were
more forward-thinking than most people give them credit for. Cheus volume, which
takes a decidedly more critical approach, contributes to the dialogue. The book is
divided into four sections: race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, disability, and
reimaginings and new visions. It addresses classic films that Walt Disney himself
Some of the books sections cover familiar ground. Scholars have frequently
Americans, Italians, and Asians, and this book follows suit. In the lead essay in the
volumes first section on race and ethnicity, Kheli R. Willetts takes a highly personal
approach that reflects the mindset of many in Disneys audience. Growing up,
she writes, I searched for characters who mirrored the people in my community
and reflected the values and aesthetics of the Other, in this case, African, Latino,
magic did not apply to her but hopes that one day, Disney will make new magic
that, complete with enough sparkle for everyone, and finally fulfill my wish for
images that look, and feel, familiar and beautiful (21). Essays on Disneys
Indians in Peter Pan, Orientals in Lady and the Tramp, and interclass relationships in
Oliver and Company argue that Disney narratives perpetuated predictable patterns
of privilege and dominance. In the last essay in this section, Blackness, Bayous
and Gumbo: Encoding and Decoding Race in a Colorblind World, Sarah E. Turner
refrains from labeling The Princess and the Frog, the first Disney film with a black
princess, as yet another racist Disney production designed to further extend its $4
billion a year Princess line (83). Instead, she contends that the film represents a
the politics of colorblindness (83). Collectively, the essays in this section reflect
up-to-date scholarship and thoughtful analysis of the Disney Studios images of race
Just as race is a hot topic for Disney research, so too are gender and
sexuality. The essays in this section of Cheus book look at topics such as the Cold
and liminality in Mulan, and alternative lifestyles in The Lion King. The strongest
Villains in Disney Films, a delightfully written piece that looks at the popular
daughters request to watch the one without a mean lady, Putnam argues that
either strong masculine qualities or as strangely de-feminized , while the male bad
affectation (147-148).
Cheu specializes in disability studies so it is no surprise that he is able to
bring together a solid group of essays in a section titled Of Beasts and Innocents:
Essays on Disability. The first article in this section, Martin F. Nordens Youre a
Surprise from Every Angle: Disability, Identity, and Otherness in The Hunchback of
Notre Dame , explores the character of Quasimodo from the point of view of
disability studies, which has among its aims the deconstruction of disability
(164). This finely constructed essay addresses issues of identity, stereotyping, and
at its worst, preaching tolerance for societys Others while relying on stereotypes
and outdated thinking (174). Other essays in this section, Dopeys Legacy:
Films by Karen Schwartz, Zana Marie Lutfiyya, and Nancy Hansen and A Place at
the Table: On Being Human in the Beauty and the Beast Tradition by Tammy and
Viktor Berberi, provide sharp analyses of some of Disneys best known characters
and acknowledge the ways in which images of disability in film have progressed
over time.
The last section of the volume looks, especially, to Disney fare since the
1980s and points the way to the future. Of particular interest are two essays
Humanist Theory and Pixars Wall-E, addresses the importance of the film, with its
wheelchair-like robot, for disability studies. Home Is Where the Heart Is: Pixars
Up by Dennis Tyler takes up the changing nature of family and suggests reasons
Like most edited books, this one is uneven: It contains some misspellings,
lackluster writing, and predictable arguments, but also substantive and eloquent
analyses of Disney fare linked with some of the most pressing social concerns of the
past century. Given the pervasiveness of Disney films, especially for impressionable
youth, the ideas in this volume are important. Johnson Cheu deserves praise for
contributing to Disney scholarship with a useful and engaging text that keeps alive
the debate on the ways in which popular cinematic narratives and images reflect a