The Cinema of Early Disney: Bigotry or Revolution?

There is no doubt that Walter "Walt" Elias Disney (December 5, 1901 - December 15, 1966) was one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century and, arguably, of all time. His entertainment enterprise has been responsible for everything from gigantic theme parks, which are some of the most sought after vacation destinations in the world, to live-action and animated films, which have become some of the most recognizable in film history (and everything in between). But, as Steven Watts, a professor of history at the University of Missouri at Columbia, explained in an article for The Journal of American History, three barriers for making sense of this American icon loom large. "First, Disney's enormous popularity has contributed to his dismissal in critical circles... Second, a swiftly moving flood of Disney productions has engulfed attempts at analysis. The output of the Disney Studio has been so extensive, in so many venues, over so many decades that it resists interpretive synthesis. Third, violently contrasting reactions to the Disney legacy have polarized opinion in the academy and outside it" (Watts 84). It is those polarized opinions that the following essay will both examine and hold up to scrutiny.

Walt Disney's filmography is a truly massive list, totaling nearly a thousand credits, as producer, director, writer, animator and even actor-he was, after all, the voice of Mickey Mouse (IMDb). During the time period examined specifically in this piece-from the studio's beginning through 1950-Disney Studios made five feature length animations- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941), Bambi (1942), as well as a number of other controversial works, including the combination live-action/cartoons Song of the South (1946) or The Three Caballeros (1944), and animated shorts such as Pecos Bill (1948).