From Snow White to Shang Chi
The cinematic release of Snow White changed the world of cinema.
- The debts were paid off (until Walt threw more money into his next films, millions of profit in the bank, Walt built a studio- which grows and grows, and we now have a massively influential global conglomerate.
- A reduction in quality to speed up the process had to occur at some point- Walt hated the idea of this.
- WW2 saw the Disney studios commandeered
- Walt died in 1966 whilst making The Jungle Book
Pinocchio was the next film after Snow White but it didn't do anywhere near as well
Walt threw a party to celebrate the success of Snow White. Walt told his colleagues that they would start on the next film the day after the party. He was very work-driven and aimed for success.
Since the release, Snow White has appeared in many other tv shows or movies. This is because the movie was such a huge success that other companies wanted to include her character.
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Cross media convergence- when a movie is featured in another form of media, such as in Doctor Strange 2 where Wanda's children are watching Snow White on the TV. Disney bought Marvel so they are trying to promote their other films.
DreamWorks was made by an ex Disney employee and created films such as Shrek, which portray Snow White as a bad character. This was allowed as Disney didn't create Snow White (brothers Grimm did). After this, Disney decided to play around with Snow White's character and included her, and other princesses, in more films such as Wreck it Ralph.
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Modern audiences look for something a bit different- in addition to a story and technology, we also challenge the social and cultural context. Snow White has no diversity except dwarfism. However, it is difficult to judge a nearly 100 year old film on this, so the film industry had to change.
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Exam board may have chosen Snow White and Shang Chi because Snow White is a character with skin as white as snow, with very little diversity. However, Shang Chi is a very diverse film that represents many people. Shang Chi features Asian actors/actresses and very few white characters.
#OscarsSoWhite
People noticed that the majority of people winning oscars were white. People also realised that films with black people as the main character won oscars, however the main characters didn't win any oscars.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/28/disney-box-office-wish-the-marvels#:~:text=This%20continued%20all%20the%20way,produce%20a%20billion%2Ddollar%20hit.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/03/snow-white-and-the-depressing-culture-war-over-disney-woke-remake
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Disney princesses have evolved...
Sleeping beauty (1959)
Aurora is kissed after a 100 year sleep by a man she has never met, but it is okay because he is handsome and rich?
Anna (Frozen) (2013)
A good role model as she rescues her sister through sisterly love and finds her own personality and spirit.
MERIDA
- Produced in 2012
- The main protagonist in Brave
- First Disney princess to be created by Pixar
- She gives the message that you should be brave, passionate and confident, be true to yourself and mend broken relationships
CINDERELLA
- Produced in 1950
- Lived with stepmother and step sisters and was forced into slavery
- Gives the message that she still remained kind through hardship
- Protagonist
ARIEL
- Produced in 1989
- Follow desires
- Stereotypical storyline
- Teaches people to embrace who you are-things that could be normal to you are amazing to someone else
JASMINE
- Produced in 1992
- "Don't let anyone tell you what you're worth"
- Strong willed princess
- In the 2019 live action, she is speechless and isn't afraid to stand against a man-this is progressive for princesses
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As well as cultural values changing, the way that the audience interact with films has also changed.
Due to covid, many people have changed their cinema habits and go more or less than before.
Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney for breach of contract over the studio's decision to release Black Widow on Disney+ and in cinemas at the same time. This reduced her box office takings and reduced how many tickets were sold in cinemas, as people could access it on Disney+, so Scarlett didn't make as much money.
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