Not Just for a Princess

8/6/2019 Not Just for a Princess

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NOT JUST FOR A PRINCESS:

THE LEAD MALE ROLES OF DISNEY ANIMATED FILMS

DURING THE PAST FIFTY YEARS

by

Michael Andrew Nosal

History and Trends in Animation

When we think of Disney movies, we are usually assaulted with imagery of the

beautiful princess longing for her prince. However, she is more than likely in a tower,

under a spell and/or unable to vocalize her true desires to her love. All in all, these

women have it easy. Their good fortune comes to them at the end of the day and they all

live happily ever after. What one fails to notice, is that there a more films in the Disney

archives about the young male having to overcome some adversity or problem that many

times has a violent climax in order to reach his happy ending. This festival will look at

ten films from Disney Studios and observe the formula of the male as lead and their

similarities throughout the past fifty years. The films to be discussed are as follows:

The Sword in the Stone (1963) The Lion King (1994)

The Jungle Book (1967) Tarzan (1999)

The Fox and the Hound (1981) The Emperors New Groove (2000)

Oliver and Company (1988) Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

Aladdin (1992) Treasure Planet (2002)

It is of interest to note that even though many consider Beauty and Beast to be a

story about Belle, it is actually the story about the parentless prince and how he needs to

learn to love another and to be loved in order to break the spell placed upon him. Fearing

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rightful ruler, a sword imbedded in a stone mysteriously appears in a London churchyard.

Years later, in the English countryside, an 11-year-old squire Arthur, nicknamed Wart, is

devotedly helping his incompetent foster brother, Kay, train to become a knight, when he

meets the great magician Merlin. Merlin is determined to change a scrawny boy into a

famous legend. By being changed by Merlin into various animals, Wart learns the basic

truths of life, but he also runs into the evil Madam Mim, who tries to destroy him. A

tournament is held in London to pick a new king. Wart forgets Kay's sword and runs back

to the inn to get it, but the inn is locked. Wart, seeing the sword in the stone, innocently,

and easily, pulls it out and all hail the new king of England.

In The Jungle Book, Kiplings tale of the orphaned man cub raised by wolves

and his journey to the village of man where he would be safe from the dangers around

him had the foundations Reitherman needed to put this film together. Taking some

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liberties with the plot and pronunciation of the names, Disneys The Jungle Book

takes us on Mowglis travels from the wild to civilization. The lesson learned here is

bittersweet in regards to the sacrifices we have to make to ensure the safety of those we

love. Though Mowgli wants to stay in the jungle, he ultimately has to let go of the life he

knew to pursue one with others like him.

Ted Berman, Richard Rich and Art Stevens took great liberties with Daniel

Mannix's novel The Fox and the Hound, a story about the life and death of a fox, to tell a

story of friendship and growing up and apart from each other. The Fox and The

Houndtells the story of a friendship between traditional enemies. Tod is a fox whose

parents have died. He befriends a puppy named Copper. As Copper grows up, he learns

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that it is his job to hunt foxes. After an unfortunate accident, Tod is taken to live in a

game preserve for the fear of his life. Copper and his owner eventually enter the preserve

to hunt Tod. During the hunt, a bear attacks Copper and Tod rescues him at a great cost.

With Tod looking down the barrel of the owners rifle, Copper must decide between duty

and friendship. This is another example of the bittersweet lesson of letting go and moving

on. After saving Tod from his owners bullet, Copper lays at home remembering the

friendship they once shared.

No other tale of orphans and the lessons of right and wrong being learned was

more popular than Dickens Oliver Twist. George Scribners Oliver and Company

is the tale of young cat named Oliver, left alone in a box, while all the other young cats

have new owners. A dog named Dodger shows him how to get food and later Oliver lives

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film were about her, it would have been calledJasamine. I gave the children Belle, and

that is it. Now, the lesson that is learned here is about being true to yourself and to your

friends and the sacrifice we sometimes make to keep a promise. One other common

element with these films is that they were based on existing stories.

In 1994, directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff released their original story,

The Lion King. Unlike the stories before, the viewer actually gets to see both parents

alive and well at the start of the film. Simbas happy childhood turns tragic when his evil

uncle Scar murders the father, Mufasa, and drives Simba away from the kingdom where

he leads a seemingly carefree life. As he approaches adulthood, he is visited by the spirit

of his father who instructs him to defeat Scar and reclaim his rightful throne. This is a

coming of age story that is also centered on the sacrifices of ones own happiness in the

battle between right and wrong and how one must stand up in the face of injustice.

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Author Edgar Rice Burroughs once suggested that animation would be the ideal

medium to bring his Tarzan to the screen, and 81 years after the first film about the

famous ape-man, Chris Buck and Kevin Lima bring us the first full-length animated film,

Tarzan. After a disaster at sea causes their ship to sink off the coast of Africa, a British

couple finds their way to shore with their infant son in tow. However, a leopard kills the

parents. The infant is discovered by a gorilla and takes the baby, naming him Tarzan, to

be raised among the gorillas. Tarzan's idyllic life in the jungle is changed forever by the

arrival of a hunter guide named Clayton, Professor Porter, and his lovely daughter, Jane.

The Professor and Jane have arrived in Africa to study the wildlife in its natural habitat,

although Clayton would prefer to bag as many trophies as he can. Tarzan finds himself

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torn between his desire to be with his tribe and the new, unfamiliar emotions that he feels

for Jane. His sacrifice of staying behind for the sake of the tribe teaches us of loyalty and

duty. Love does conquer the day as Jane decides to stay with Tarzan and Janes father

decides to stay with his daughter.

Mark Dindal offered an interesting take on selfishness with the original The

Emperors New Groove. Young, and parentless, Emperor Kuzco is a self-centered

egomaniac that has little thoughts or concerns of the people around him and he displays

this by planning to destroy farmer Pachas home to place a summer home in its stead.

After a botched assassination attempt leaves Kuzco in the form of a llama and stranded

far from the palace, he begins to learn compassion, empathy and humility as he and

Pacha try to make it back to the palace to regain his human form and the throne. He

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succeeds and proves he learned his lesson by building the summer palace next to Pachas

home and strengthening the friendship that was formed.

Set in 1914, young linguist orphan named Milo Thatch buries himself in books trying

to unlock the secret to the location of Atlantis. Bankrolled by eccentric millionaire

Preston Whitmore, Milo teams up with a diverse crew of mercenaries led by

submarine commander Rourke. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise take us on this

original and fantastical Jules Vern type of adventure withAtlantis: The Lost

Empire. Once Milo and the team find Atlantis, they discover it is still inhabited.

Milo falls in love for the kings daughter and they stumble across the ulterior motives

of Rourke and his group that jeopardizes the very lives of the Atlantians. Milo stands

up for what he believes is right and fights in a battle to save Atlantis from utter

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destruction. In the end, Milo sacrifices his newfound friendships and his place in the

world above to be with the woman he loves and to help rebuild the glory of Atlantis.

Finally, we will take a look at Robert Louis Stevensons classic tale of adventure

with a science fiction twist. Ron Clements and John Musker team up once again and

release Treasure Planet. The hero, Jim, is a young man that was abandoned by

his father as a youth and yearns for a life of excitement and adventure. Upon

receiving a treasure map from a dying man, Jims life, as he knew it, has changed

forever as he embarks on a journey across the stars in search of the infamous

Treasure Planet. He soon becomes close friends with the galley cook, John Silver,

and discovers his plans to overtake the ship. Despite his friendship with Silver, Jim

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refuses to take part in the mutiny. In the end, Jim has to decide between riches over

loyalty and friendship. Forsaking riches, he is rewarded for his loyalty and is able to

live happily ever after.

As we look back on these Disney films, we see that the male protagonists have

much more on their plates than their female counterparts in the quest for a happy ending.

Each one of them has special circumstances that inhibit the ultimate goal of peace of

mind and well being that they all want. Just about all of these characters need to make a

sacrifice of one kind or another to achieve their goal of happiness. These Disney films

teach us, the viewer, the importance of sacrifice and how, if we are true to ourselves and

not compromise our principles, a Happily Ever After is possible.

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B I B L I O G R A P H Y

Aladdin.Allmovie.com. Rovi Corporation, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

Aladdin. IMDb.com. IMDb.com., Inc, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Allmovie.com. Rovi Corporation, 2011. Web. 14 March

2011.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire. IMDb.com. IMDb.com., Inc, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

Emperors New Groove, The. Allmovie.com. Rovi Corporation, 2011. Web. 14

March 2011.

Emperors New Groove, The. IMDb.com. IMDb.com., Inc, 2011. Web. 14 March

2011.

Fox and the Hound, The. Allmovie.com. Rovi Corporation, 2011. Web. 14 March

2011.

Fox and the Hound, The. IMDb.com. IMDb.com., Inc, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

Jungle Book, The. Allmovie.com. Rovi Corporation, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

Jungle Book, The. IMDb.com. IMDb.com., Inc, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

Lion King, The. Allmovie.com. Rovi Corporation, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

Lion King, The. IMDb.com. IMDb.com., Inc, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

Oliver & Company. Allmovie.com. Rovi Corporation, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

Oliver & Company. IMDb.com. IMDb.com., Inc, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

Tarzan. Allmovie.com. Rovi Corporation, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

Tarzan. IMDb.com. IMDb.com., Inc, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

Treasure Planet. Allmovie.com. Rovi Corporation, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

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Sword in the Stone, The. Allmovie.com. Rovi Corporation, 2011. Web. 14 March

2011.

Sword in the Stone, The. IMDb.com. IMDb.com., Inc, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011.

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Not Just for a Princess