The fifties were the most successful years for Disney. With America finally out of the Great Depression, people were eager to spend money on movies that had a happy ending. To start off the decade, Disney put out Cinderella in 1950. The story about a poor, unlucky young woman becoming a princess was just what the nation desired.
The next year, Disney unveiled Alice in Wonderland . The exotic colors and mind-blowing plot enticed moviegoers to spend money on the spectacle.
One of Disney’s most successful movies ever came in 1955 with Lady and the Tramp. It was not just the story of a mangy mutt finding love with a ravishing, wealthy purebred dog. Rather, it symbolized the dream of many Americans at the time. A person, no matter what his beginnings, could achieve wealth and happiness.
Sleeping Beauty hit theaters in 1959. The last film of the decade, it once a gain had a happy ending filled with love. The villain is defeated, and the hero and his girl live happily ever after. The colors and images were the most vivid of all movies produced by Disney at the time.
Disney knew exactly what the country wanted at the time. Americans were ready to spend their newly regained wealth on movies that were eye catching, or those which portrayed an animated version of an underdog achieving the American dream. However, Disney films also had some undesirable tones of the fifties. For one, all of the women portrayed in Disney movies at this time only found happiness and prosperity by clinging on to a man. Race was also an issue. No heroes or heroines were of any descent besides Caucasian. Though Disney had major success during this period, Americans’ opinions were evident in the plots and characters of Disney films.
Check It Out! Disney Tutti Frutti
Info
http://classicfilm.about.com/od/childrensmovies/tp/Disney_Animated_Films_1950s.htm
Images
http://mdfazal.wordpress.com/category/animated/page/9/
http://students.ou.edu/A/Kateri.M.Arnaud-1/storybook2.html.html
http://www.top39.com/2010/09/peter-pan/
http://www.freewebs.com/thedisneyclassics/animatedclassics.htm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1094028/Disneys-Dames-As-Sleeping-Beauty-turns-50-reveal-stories-Walts-heroines-.html
Nice job, Larissa. But I would have liked to see links to contemporary reviews of these movies to see if some of the issues you noted (race, gender) were pointed out at the time.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, Larissa! I grew up loving Disney movies, so it was nice to see that all Americans loved Disney movies when they first came out. I never thought of movies like Lady and the Tramp representing the American dream, but now that you pointed it out i totally see it!
ReplyDeleteWell done, Larissa. I enjoyed how you made it very clear how America was coming out of the Great Depression, and here came this company, Walt Disney, at the seemingly most perfect time. I felt that you pictures given were very fitting; I was able to imagine myself seeing this as the movie poster when it first came out with the wonderful colorful backgrounds and settings. I felt that your summaries of the movies were all very well done, especially one in particular, Lady and the Tramp, was very well summarized. Once again, great job Larissa!
ReplyDeleteGood Job, Larissa. I found it very interesting that all of these classic Disney movies were brainstormed in the 50's. I also find it no suprise that all of the characters were of Caucasian decent. I do not know if it was the racism of Disney writers or just the concern that more people would go see the movie at this time if there were only Caucasian stars.
ReplyDeleteLarissa, great work!! You are clearly well-versed in and knowledgable about the Disney history as you have studied these topics before for your Odyssey and show a great depth of understanding here. The summaries and details regarding the production, background, and plots of movies, inlcuding "Cinderella'' and "Sleeping Beauty," helped illuminate an overlooked aspect of 1950's popular culture. It also took me back in time to my early childhood.
ReplyDeleteI think its so interesting that these Disney films mirrored the decade. I always just watched them as a consumer back in the day. These movies definitely represented the popular culture of the time, so that all ages could understand them. The topic was definitely appealing since teenagers and adults always are interested in things from their past. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHey Larissa I loved the topic of choice since Walt Disney is still all around and everyone watces or hears of Walt. These movies definitely influenced the time and era then and still today with younger kids the Disney movies still influence. The pictures used are cool and liked reading about Walt.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic because I really love Disney movies.These movie really influence me in many ways. Also, it brings me back to my childhood.
ReplyDeleteGood job Larissa! I really like how you analyze each movie. It is cool to see why certain movies were so appealing to Americans. I know that children and adults alike enjoyed watching Disney movies because of the story they presented. Disney movies are still very popular in America today and I know that many people in our generation watched them constantly when we were children. I still watch them today!
ReplyDeleteGood information. I like the way you set this blog up with the picture placement. The overall layout is really done well too. I like the white on back, it works really good together. Great job though, I like this one!
ReplyDelete