Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film

This is a relatively short academic work, with 135 pages of text, 16 pages of notes, a 20-page bibliography, and index. The author is Chair & Associate Professor of Communication Arts at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, IL. She draws her conclusions from five Disney contemporary animated features: The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and Mulan, with a chapter on each. These are bookended by two additonal chapters: Disney, Film and Morality: A Beginning and A Disney Worldview: Mixed Moral Messages.I found this a mostly ponderous read and didn't think it broke any new ground. There just wasn't much for me to get excited about.

It won't blow you away if you're well versed in Disney critique, but I found it to be illuminating and I found the section on Pocahontas quite useful in discussion of that movie. It serves as a good introductory guide to examining the messages and problems within Disney's cannon.