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Haddock, Shelley A., Lori K. Lund, Litsa Renee Tanner & Toni Schindler Zimmerman. “Images of Couples and Families in Disney Feature-Length Animated Films.” American Periodical of Family Therapy 31.5 (2003): 355-374. EBSCO MegaFILE. University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia. 7 April 2008. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&AN=10833476&site=ehost-live>
This article is based on a study that identifies themes about families and couples in a number of Disney feature-length animated films. It states that a main way in which children are socially educated is through the media, and especially through animated Disney films, since these films are often passed from one generation to another. The study claims that its findings will be useful in helping parents and family therapists understand what children are learning through these films. Included in the results is the finding that a majority of the 26 films analyzed evoked the notion that being married and/or having children was the normal route for couples to follow. This idea is emphasized by the fact that characters are depicted as being married just after meeting. Remarriage may be seen as bad, because in the films in which remarriage is illustrated, stepmothers are depicted as evil, such as in Cinderella. All of the couples in the films analyzed were heterosexual couples, and the majority of them experienced “love at first sight,” which thus emphasizes the importance of physical appearance. And, in the majority of these movies, one does not find out how relationships are maintained; rather, most couples just “lived happily ever after.”One of the films analyzed in this study is Cinderella. The study helps convey the notion that Cinderella is a film that presents us with romantic ideals – it contains the idea of “love at first sight,” that marriage is normal yet also an immense dream to have in life, and that happily ever after is attainable. It can teach children about social aspects of life, especially concerning couple relationships. This article can help to provide further evidence that Cinderella creates within children ideas about what love is like. According to the study, love is depicted as happening immediately and without effort, and marriage is seen as the ultimate goal. Thus, Disney films such as Cinderella create an unrealistic ideal about romance and love.