Steven Watts argues a positive view of Disney’s importance in American history, although acknowledges the difficulty of understanding his impact on modern American culture. Many critics believe that Disney’s commercial success and popularity mean that his films cannot have cultural significance. In addition, the strong contradictory opinions of Disney make it difficult to simply look at his impact in order to gain understanding rather than to criticize or admire his work. Watts looks at Walt Disney as an artist of sentimental modernist films and as a promoter of American ideals, qualities that are evident in Disney’s rendering of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

America’s original perception of Disney was of a serious artist, inspired by both modernist art and sentimental realism. These two often contradictory influences show in his work. He blurred the line of reality and imagination by creating worlds where animals could talk, plants were animated, and household objects felt emotion. In Snow White, the forest through which the banished girl flees has trees which try to grab and trip her, but nearby, kind animals prepare to comfort her. In addition, he incorporated dreams often in his work. Walt Disney encouraged naturalism to a degree unheard of in animation and cartoons. He insisted that his animators take evening art classes and he invented the multiplane camera, which created the illusion of depth in Snow White and his other animated feature films.

Disney also used his films to imbue hope and to promote certain virtues to his audience during the depression. His films in the 1930’s remind Americans that they will overcome the hard times through vigor and virtue. Two Disney films in the ‘30s stand out in particular for encouraging the persistence and courage of underdogs. Three Little Pigs (1933) features the song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf,” while the dwarves in Snow White (1937) merrily sing “Heigh Ho, It’s Off to Work We Go.” Snow White, too, exhibits a hard-working demeanor both in her house and the dwarves’. Disney claims that “wisdom and courage is enough to defeat big, bad wolves of every description, and send them slinking away.” Through his films, he encouraged self-reliance, a quality that he had exhibited since his youth.

Summary:

Merritt divides up his essay into three distinct parts: an introduction with historical background, a formal musical analysis of the score, and an assessment of the Eisenstein-Prokofiev collaboration. In the first part, he delivers a harsh criticism against both artists. He accuses Eisenstein of “inconsistencies, contradictions and confusions” in Nevsky and condemns his tactics of manipulating the epic compression and ellipsis in order to reinvent Nevsky for war propaganda purposes. These ellipses in the narrative are underscored by Prokofiev’s music, which opens up “fissures between the soundtrack and the images, commenting on and occasionally even contradicting what is seen on the screen” (36). The analysis of the music is very formalistic and examines the interplay of audio and visual forms, eventually arriving at the conclusion that sequences in the movie work through “principles of irony and denial” – the sound denies the evidence before our eyes and there are no attempts to resolve these contradictions (39). The third part is the most interesting one and it does a superb job in integrating Prokofiev’s experience in Hollywood with the conditions for sound-production in the Soviet Union, claiming that Nevsky is “the greatest film score ever written trapped inside the worst sound track ever recorded” (44). It also reiterates the fact that “by all accounts, the Eisenstein/Prokofiev collaboration was a remarkably creative and congenial one” (42).

Evaluation & Analysis:

The most interesting aspect of Merritt’s essay is the influence of Walt Disney on Prokofiev and thus on the sound design of Alexander Nevsky. Other secondary sources tend to either overlook this fact or assign only a minor importance to it. The Eisenstein/Prokofiev occasional operational method of shooting film to a pre-recorded score has been frequently – albeit incorrectly – labeled as first director/composer collaboration where the composer composed a score before the images were filmed. Merritt does a brilliant job in pointing out that Prokofiev’s visit of the Walt Disney studio in 1938 – the most ignored one in all of Prokofiev’s studies - had intrigued Prokofiev, particularly the fact that Disney’s animators synchronized their drawings to the comic scores and were able to an create an absolute, close synchronization (in fact, the term is “Mickey-mousing”). Ergo, Prokofiev witnessed for the first time a branch of film-making where music was recorded before the images were animated. Yet, it is important to keep in mind that the relationship between music and visuals created by Eisenstein/Prokofiev in Alexander Nevsky are almost devoid of minute synchronization, because the music does not accompany or punctuate the action, but merges with the structure of the film and thus comments on the images. Merritt acknowledges this fact, but asserts that there is something “Disneyesque” in the comic effects of Prokofiev’s score, which is basically a very sound argument, but unfortunately, Merritt designates only one short paragraph to it and the argument therefore remains in its embryonic form.

McEvoy, JP.  "Walt Disney Goes to War".  The LA Times. 5 Jul 1942.

This piece from the LA Times is from 1942, the year that The New Spirit was made.  The author summarizes the different types of war films Walt Disney had made at that time, and who views them.   Disney made films to be distributed internationally in support of the American cause, shorts advocating the Agricultural Department’s food drive, and training movies for the military.  He used the same characters that appeared in his cartoons for children to promote American ideals, and he was able to have a considerable influence on the American public.

The most defining line in this article is that art is a “dynamic force”.  For Disney, his art became a cultural and political force both at home and abroad.  He was able to apply his comedy to films that addressed the very grim reality of war.  Because his films featured familiar characters and lighthearted storylines, they appealed to a wide audience and were extremely effective.  As the article points out, with The New Spirit, he was able to make audiences laugh while paying their biggest income tax installment.  His unique ability to make war films funny is why he is considered a “propaganda genius” and was able to be so influential.

Watts, Stephen.  "Walt Disney: Art and Politics in the American Century" The Journal of American History 82(1): 84-110.

This essay by Steven Watts presents a historical look at Walt Disney and his films, and the effect that Disney’s background had on his filmmaking.  Watts explains that Disney’s conservative, Midwestern upbringing made him sympathetic to the common man, and his films reflected that.  Mickey Mouse was the representative populist hero, always shown triumphing over someone larger or more powerful.  The article traces Disney’s shift from an idealistic supporter of FDR and the New Deal to a disillusioned anti-Communist.   He made countless training and propaganda films during WWII, but his experience with the US government proved to be frustrating, which contributed to his change in politics.  Watts concludes the article by explaining how Disney’s identity as “Mr. Average American” allowed him to reach a wide audience and mediate historical change.

This article explains how Disney became a cultural force and was able to enact political change through films like The New Spirit and Spirit of ’43.  It also gives insight into the development of his ideals and how they played into his decisions as a filmmaker and studio head.  During World War II, he was already well-known for making films that appealed to children and adults, which is why his propaganda films were so effective.  The films contain recognized characters like Donald Duck, who is described as representing someone who “has no qualms about asserting his capabilities and defending his place in society” (98).  Disney was able to become a cultural phenomenon, and because of this, his films like The New Spirit and Spirit of ’43 were able to have real political implications.

Arnold, Thomas K. "DVD-Day for Disney's WWII Films".  USA Today. 18 May 2004.

This article from USA Today is about the release of Disney's WWII films on DVD in 2004.  It explains that some of the material may be seen as offensive today since the films frequently portray Germans and Japanese in a negative manner.  The film critic Leonard Maltin comments on the DVD set, saying that Disney’s short films like The New Spirit are so significant because they are unlike any others put out by Disney or other studios.  The article also offers statements from an animator who worked on many of Disney’s war shorts.

The release of these films on DVD 60 years after they were first shown to audiences is a testament to their lasting impact on American culture.  The article states that Disney produced “hundreds of hours” of material, which is why his films were so prevalent during this time.  Maltin said that this set of DVDs was one of the most important ones he has been involved with, and this is because of the unique circumstance of their production.  A studio that usually made films for children was now a powerhouse of wartime propaganda and military morale building films.  Films like The New Spirit are considered to be a part of American history, even though their influence is even more far-reaching than the national level.   The article states that Hitler was inspired by Disney’s shorts to commission his own animators to produce German propaganda films.  Through his animated shorts, Disney became a political player in WWII.

"Donald Duck to Clear Income Tax Mysteries".  New York Times.  22 Jan 1942.

This article is from the New York Times in 1942, and it announces the impending release of The New Spirit to local theaters.  The film is presented as an informative guide on preparing income tax returns that will be shown in 12,000 theaters across the country.  The film was made by Walt Disney, but it was commissioned by the US Treasury, and its tax experts chose Donald Duck to be the featured character to represent the head of the household.

This article is a primary source from the year that The New Spirit was released.  Its premiere received coverage from a major newspaper, which shows that Disney films were in the national spotlight.  The film is described as being purely informational to explain how to fill out income tax returns, with no mention of political agenda.  However, the film’s use of the phrase “Taxes to beat the Axis” clearly implies that paying taxes will result in American victory in the war.   The article also explains that the use of Donald Duck as the lead character was because he was the head of the household and had a “legal and moral obligation” to his adopted nephews.  Disney used characters that people could relate to, and the Treasury Department’s use of that terminology could indicate their attempt to make the American public associate paying taxes with their obligation to their families as well.  Studies done after the release of the The New Spirit will show that more people did in fact pay their income taxes early after viewing this film.

Brady, Thomas F.  "Donald Doesn't Duck the Issue". New York Times.  21 Jun 1942.

This article is from 1942, the year that The New Spirit was released.  It describes how large Disney’s contribution to the war effort was, with 80% of his film output being devoted to government projects.  Disney was also described as being the single most ambitious Hollywood contributor to the war effort.  The author provides a brief timeline of how Disney first got involved with war effort films, starting with his production of “Four Methods of Flush Riveting” for the Lockheed Airplane Company.  Following this, Disney volunteered his services to other war industries and government departments.  It was after this that the Treasury Department commissioned him to produce The New Spirit and later, Spirit of ’43.  The US military became his major contractor, commissioning him to make training videos for Army and Navy.

This account of Walt Disney’s role in the war effort was written during the period when he was actively producing war films, so it gives an insight into what the popular opinion at the time was.  It reveals how extensively Disney and his studio were involved with the production of war films and propaganda.  Disney’s relationship with the government and the military is discussed in this article, which was a major component of his prominence in the war effort.  Disney’s shorts were able to permeate the government, the military, the public, and even populations abroad.

This book gives a comprehensive overview of the animated films produced in America during World War II.  It contains an extensive filmography of all the cartoons mentioned in the book as well.  Walt Disney was an important figure in the industry of animated short films at this time, and was perhaps one of the few executives to realize early on that cartoons could be both entertaining and political.  Disney made a wide variety of short films during the war.  He made some films due to his own beliefs, some that were commissioned by government agencies, and some that were meant for military training.  The New Spirit and Spirit of ’43 were each included in the book’s filmography, and both films focused on emphasizing the patriotic duty to pay income tax.  Both of these films were successful, with The New Spirit having a record 11,700 bookings.

The authors assert that animated shorts are an important part of the study of wartime films.  Disney was a very powerful producer during this period, and his propaganda films were highly influential.  He decided to use cartoons to make political statements early on in the war, and he was able to procure numerous contracts to make government films.  Disney took full advantage of every filmmaking opportunity the war presented him, making a specific business plans and diversifying the types of films he made, and that is why his influence was so widespread.

This is a transcript from testimony Walt Disney gave in 1947 in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee.  Disney explains the films he made during WWII, referring to them as propaganda and anti-Nazi.  He also talks about the impact he believes his films had on the public during the war, particularly with regards to The New Spirit and Spirit of ‘43.  According to Disney, 29% of Americans said that the films caused them to pay their taxes earlier and gave them a better understanding of what taxes do.  He goes on to implicate former studio employees as members of the Communist party, and states that they are to blame for the strike the Disney studio experienced a few years prior.  In his testimony, Disney makes clear his anti-Communist and anti-labor union sentiments.

In this source, Disney himself discusses his war films and the effect they had on the world during World War II.  He establishes that film is an effective way to disseminate propaganda, and cites a study that claims that his films caused 29% of people to file their income taxes earlier.  This is a very significant effect, and it indicates that not only were people watching the Disney films, but they were changing their behavior based on them.  In part due to Disney’s films, the war effort was able to garner the support of the American people.

"Walt Disney Goes to War".  Life Magazine.  31 Aug 1942, 61-69.

Life Magazine ran an article about Walt Disney and the war effort in August 1942.  It describes how hard Disney was working to make films for the government and military, with 90% of his 550 employees making films that related directly to the war.  The article also shows pictures and sketches from specific films that Disney studios made for the Army and the Navy, along with other propaganda films.  His “Aerology” films for the Navy were used to allow pilots to experience animated weather conditions that they may not typically encounter in their training.  In the propaganda film “Reason and Emotion”, Disney uses humorous images to encourage Americans to use reason throughout the war and not to be swayed by emotions. 

This article provides examples of how animation was used to create effective propaganda and training films.  Animation can create scenarios that may not normally exist, which can be helpful in military training.  It allows the viewer to see things that a camera could not reach.  The reason that Disney had such enormous success in animation was his integration of humor to his films.  The article states that Disney’s artists were such good teachers because they kept the audience’s imagination.  Because he was able to present factual material in an entertaining manner, the viewers paid attention and took his films to heart.

The culture of fairy tales has changed with time. Today, they are considered children’s stories by adults. The only way in which fairy tales have survived is through parents reading them to children, but these adults have been disapproving of those parts of fairy tales that make them serious literature. The marchen, or fairy tale, has evolved into simple happily-ever-after romance as parents have pushed stories for children away from violence and irrationality. Stone argues that adults should not censor out the parts of fairy tales that make them literary. The brutality and unreality does not affect young readers negatively. In fact, it is the parents, rather than the children, that are most disturbed by such stories.

Marchen used to conjure up images very different from those conjured by fairy tales today. They used to force readers and listeners to consider the balance of good and evil and the necessity of overcoming obstacles before ultimate goal achievement. The romance was rarely an integral part of the story, but rather a symbol of maturity. Often a small act of disobedience was necessary before the protagonist may reach maturity.

The marks of reworked Marchen began as early as Perrault’s version of “Cinderella” in 1697, emphasizing romance, strongly contrasting good versus evil, and muting the violent pieces. However, the Grimm brothers told stories that were closer to original Marchen, where romance was not the solution to most tales and where violence was a comment theme. The Grimms expected their stories to be taken seriously, and they were.

Disney’s Snow White is a clear example of today’s reworked Marchen. Compared to the original Grimm version, there is little distasteful content. The stepmother does not eat Snow White’s liver and lungs in the film. The romance is emphasized in Disney’s version, as the prince meets Snow White in the first scene, and kisses her in the final one. In addition, good and evil are blatantly contrasted in Disney. The stepmother’s uses black magic and has a menacing cackle, while Snow White has a sweet, innocent demeanor. In addition, the seven dwarves play secondary characters that provide humor and yet another contrast to the villainess.

Steven Watts argues a positive view of Disney’s importance in American history, although acknowledges the difficulty of understanding his impact on modern American culture. Many critics believe that Disney’s commercial success and popularity mean that his films cannot have cultural significance. In addition, the strong contradictory opinions of Disney make it difficult to simply look at his impact in order to gain understanding rather than to criticize or admire his work. Watts looks at Walt Disney as an artist of sentimental modernist films and as a promoter of American ideals, qualities that are evident in Disney’s rendering of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

America’s original perception of Disney was of a serious artist, inspired by both modernist art and sentimental realism. These two often contradictory influences show in his work. He blurred the line of reality and imagination by creating worlds where animals could talk, plants were animated, and household objects felt emotion. In Snow White, the forest through which the banished girl flees has trees which try to grab and trip her, but nearby, kind animals prepare to comfort her. In addition, he incorporated dreams often in his work. Walt Disney encouraged naturalism to a degree unheard of in animation and cartoons. He insisted that his animators take evening art classes and he invented the multiplane camera, which created the illusion of depth in Snow White and his other animated feature films.

Disney also used his films to imbue hope and to promote certain virtues to his audience during the depression. His films in the 1930’s remind Americans that they will overcome the hard times through vigor and virtue. Two Disney films in the ‘30s stand out in particular for encouraging the persistence and courage of underdogs. Three Little Pigs (1933) features the song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf,” while the dwarves in Snow White (1937) merrily sing “Heigh Ho, It’s Off to Work We Go.” Snow White, too, exhibits a hard-working demeanor both in her house and the dwarves’. Disney claims that “wisdom and courage is enough to defeat big, bad wolves of every description, and send them slinking away.” Through his films, he encouraged self-reliance, a quality that he had exhibited since his youth.

Bacchilega examines the similarities and differences in three different written versions of “Snow White”: Barthelme’s Snow White, Carter’s “The Snow Child,” and Coover’s “The Dead Queen.” It is not unusual to change and embellish upon a traditional story; people have been doing it for centuries. However, fairy tales maintain their key characteristics. In the case of “Snow White,” those include flat characterization, supernatural setting, and isolation of characters in a strange, exaggerated world.

“Snow White” dramatizes the association of the good angel-like character with the evil devil-like one. This interaction is monitored and incited by a male voice: the mirror. This man in the mirror defines the identity of both the main characters as well as their relationship. The protagonist is “the fairest of all” and the antagonist is the former bearer of that title, and their interactions are marked by rivalry and jealousy.

Most folklorists interpret the story as a female initiation tale, symbolizing the process of sexual, psychological, and social maturation in women in general. Snow White’s story shows the necessity of culture in the transformation of self, but also illustrates the boundaries beyond which she cannot venture. Snow White is stifled by her obligate domesticity. The men’s influence in Snow White’s life is clear. The huntsman, dwarfs, and prince all aid in her socialization. This implies that her initiation will only be complete once the white and red parts of her life – semen and menstrual blood, representing male and female opposites – unite through her black ritual “death.” In this way, the thematic colors of the story (skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, hair as black as ebony) apply to Snow White’s personal growth.

The three versions of “Snow White” analyzed here differ in point of view, adherence to the original storyline, and even primary message. Disney’s Snow White is more similar in all three points to the Grimm version of the tale.

 Nesbet analyzes Disney’s impact on Eisenstein’s Ivan the Terrible, especially the similarities between style of Snow White and Eisenstein’s film. Like Disney, Eisenstein valued full understanding of the characters and stories he portrayed on film. He studied Ivan’s story from multiple angles, from folklore to histories, to do just that. Eisenstein admired Disney for the comfort he brought to America and the world through his films. He believed that Americans were trapped in a world of torment and injustice, and Disney offered a temporary escape from that. Even though Disney films seem to support a form of obliviousness to the misfortunes throughout the country, he gives the nation something else that they need: laughter. One critic cited the American proverb: “A laugh a day keeps the doctor away,” which certainly brings to mind the similar proverb about an apple, and how it connects to the stepmother in Snow White and her deceptively beautiful poisonous apple that leads to “sleeping death.” Nesbet wonders if Disney has played the role of the apple for Eisenstein, irresistible to the Russian director.

            Eisenstein valued animation as a medium, due to its versatility of form. It allows for metamorphoses and transformations otherwise unachievable on film. The fire behind the mirror’s mask in Snow White, for example, also exhibits “flowing diversity of forms.” Shadow, too, has this quality. In Snow White, the dwarfs’ shadows occasionally move independently. At one point, Doc’s shadow turns and motions for quiet from Dopey’s shadow. Soldiers’ shadows in Ivan also seem to occasionally move independently across the wall. Disney uses the versatility of form to create comedy. However, occasionally malleable forms seem more grotesque than comedic, so certain characters had to be drawn more realistic than others. It was acceptable for the dwarfs to have unusual and exaggerated features, but Snow White could neither be comedic nor grotesque, so Disney based her motions off those of a real actress.

Girardot explains the tale “Snow White” in the context of the main character’s initiation and transition into adulthood. Fairy tales, she argues, are not simply for amusement and escape, but also for gaining knowledge and broadening the imagination. Folklorists place “Snow White” into a “Banished Wife or Maiden” tale category. Fairy tales cannot be removed from the magical and religious spheres, as some critics have tried to do, because they are not simply meant to teach readers how to adjust to adult reality. The magic plays an integral part in “Snow White,” as well as other fairy tales. As for religion, fairy tales place angels inside heroines and fairies, and devils inside villains. Girardot acknowledges that Disney’s Snow White maintains the darker side of the original tale, especially in the evil stepmother character.

            It is necessary to analyze multiple versions of a piece of folklore before creating an overarching analysis on the story’s meaning. For “Snow White,” this is a more difficult task, because many of the versions have been influence and changed by the Grimms version. However, the basic framework of the story has remained the same throughout the years. The message that the tale promotes, for example, has remained unchanged. On the surface level, the meaning of the story concerns the triumph of a beautiful and good heroine over the evil, jealous stepmother. However, the story goes deeper than that. It is a tale of maturation, the transition between childhood and adulthood, natural to cultural life, and asexual to sexual life.

            Girardot analyzes “Snow White” by placing the girl’s story into five steps associated with initiation rituals: Prologue and Problem, Separation, Liminal Period, Reincorporation and Rebirth, and Epilogue. The first step is the introduction of the tale, from Snow White’s birth to her banishment into the woods. The Separation period entails her trek through the forest and eventual discovery of the Dwarfs’ cottage. Snow White’s stay with the dwarves and her “death” encompass the Liminal Period, and her revival and marriage to the prince are her Reincorporation and Rebirth. The last step is Snow White’s revenge on her stepmother during the wedding ceremony. Disney’s version of Snow White involved these steps as well, making it also an initiatory tale of a girl’s transition into womanhood.

Wood examines how Disney uses his film Cinderella to “civilize” his viewers by presenting models of proper behavior while entertaining them. Snow White, like Cinderella, sings while she does her household chores. In analyzing Disney’s conservative ideology, she touches upon how his views affect his other works, such as Snow White.

            To keep his films entertaining, Disney reworked European marchen. He included well-loved romantic plots and added comic relief through subplots involving animals and secondary characters, such as the dwarves in Snow White. Marriage is based on love, rather than family constraints. “Love’s first kiss” wakes both Snow White and Sleeping Beauty from their slumbers. Disney used realism in his animated films to present a sense of immediacy to his audience. He included a solid plot and clear personalities to the characters so that viewers would feel a deeper connection with the story. The seven dwarves in Snow White each have their own unique name, temperament, and appearance. The recurring gags, often in the form of handicaps, also keep children viewers interested. For example, Dopey is mute and clumsy while Doc has a stutter and is absent-minded.

            Disney supports wish-fulfillment, as is evident in his films. Dreams in Cinderella are similarly important in Snow White. While Cinderella sings of “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” Snow White opens her story with “I’m wishing / For the one I love / To find me.” Disney reassures viewers that with good effort and self-control, one will get the desired result. According to him, the ultimate wish for girls is to marry the rich and handsome Mr. Right.

Shortsleeve tries to articulate the fear that Disney inspires in critics, and from where this fear originates. He views it as a slippery slope process. Beginning in the 1930’s, criticism of Disney’s corporate, artistic, and public influences worsened with time. Disney’s personal ideology, reflected in the way he worked with people, appears in his films.
            Walt Disney elicits a range of complaints from critics. The primary one that appears is of the “Disneyfication” of fairy tales, the simplification of stories. Many critics view the Disney versions as patronizing and overly sentimental. Disney has created a form of entertainment that restricts thought-provoking expression. Others argue that the racial stereotypes Disney shows in his films encourage racism in viewers across the world and further US imperialist agenda. Feminists claim that depictions of Barbie-like heroines give young girls negative body images. Some say that Walt Disney has unacceptable labor practices in his studios and that he displays a false innocence to the media.
            Shortsleeve believes that what frightens people is that the Disney Company has remained unchanged from its glory days in the 1930’s. After bitter arguments with his animators in 1941, Walt Disney lost his confidence, and the company ideologically stalled in the “magic” of the ‘30s. The company still exhibits contradictory values, with heavy-handed management of employees, yet support for the common man in its films. The incongruity of its totalitarian tendencies with its democracy attractions at its amusement parks leads to confusion from critics and the general public alike. This confusion has led to tension, suspicion, and paranoia.
            Despite his criticism, Shortsleeve acknowledges the positive impact Disney has had on America, especially during the Great Depression. Audiences wanted to escape their dreary lives for two hours, to enter a fantasy world where everything ends happily. When Disney decided to create his first full-length animated film (Snow White), even his oppressed employees regained new hope and excitement at the thought of being involved in such a ground-breaking project.

Snow White exhibits the “Disneyfication” about which so many critics complained. It diverges from the original Grimm version toward simplification and sentimentality. Disney’s clear belief in self-reliance and hard work are evident in the dwarves’ “Heigh Ho, It’s Off to Work We Go” song, as well as in Snow White’s agreeable temperament while doing chores. Disney expected his animators to work just as willingly, but they were unhappy that they would not receive screen credit for their efforts, and so began the strike in ’41 that destroyed Walt’s confidence and locked the company in its ‘30s mindset.

Stone argues that Walt Disney has created household names of heroines in his films, but in so doing, is encouraging passivity and inaction from female viewers who are influenced by the pretty-but-dumb characters. Disney has changed the role of women from the original stories for the worse in his films. The Grimm brothers have 40 heroines in their tales, and not all are passive and pretty. Their villains are not always women, either. While Grimm heroines are often not rewarded for having spirit, Disney females are even less so. The three Disney films based on other fairy tales (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella) all star an innocent, beautiful girl who is victimized by a jealous, evil villainess.

            Disney encourages the image of a perfect housewife in his heroines. They all exhibit patience, obedience, passivity, diligence, silence, and beauty. To become a heroine for Disney, one must have all those qualities. To mute the heroine inside oneself, one must simply don dirty rags. While in Disney, Cinderella is only a heroine when properly cleaned and dressed, in traditional fairy tales, the heroines may be unattractive and disheveled. Their appearance does not affect their success. In Snow White, it is her beauty that eventually leads to her success. It is because of her face that the prince falls in love with her and frees her from sleeping death with love’s first kiss.

            In recent tales, there is great disparity between hero and heroine characteristics. Heroes are judged on their ability to overcome difficulties. They succeed by acting. Heroines, on the other hand, do not develop throughout the story because they start out perfect, without defects. All they need is their beauty and passivity to succeed. This is apparent in both the Grimm and Disney versions of Snow White. Snow White’s beauty is emphasized, as is her kindness toward others and chipper attitude toward housework. She does nothing in either version, except clean house and look pretty, qualities that Stone believes Disney is encouraging in women throughout the world.