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Jasmine Moxley

Dr. Erin Dietel-Mclaughlin

Writing and Rhetoric 13300

27 November 2012

Disney Kid’s Amusement

What purpose do movie posters serve? The answer is simple: to attract the attention of a

specified audience to come pay for tickets, view the film industry’s movie and, at the end of the

film, digest whatever message the writers intended to convey to the public. The interesting part,

however, is the how these posters attract this desired audience. They achieve this by showing

pictures, used as symbols and defined by James A. Herrick in his book The History and Theory

of Rhetoric, as a reference “to any mark, sign, sound or gesture that communicates meaning

based on social agreement” (5). Classified as an “art of rhetoric”, this method is defined by

Herrick as “the systematic study and intentional practice of effective symbolic expression” (7).

These symbols convince the audience to come view the film industry’s movie. If all movie

posters use rhetoric to catch the interest of specific groups within the population, which industry

can we focus on that has been widely recognized for its large rhetorical usage?

Walt Disney Pictures, famous for its creation of a magical world filled with joy,

adventure, love and the guaranteed triumph of good over evil, has its reputation for sculpting a

perfect world for young children in its films. Children long to experience this perfection. Disney

fills its movie posters with what children see as perfect by addressing their desires. As a result,

this attracts their attention and convinces them to beg their parents to take them to go see the

movie advertised by the poster. This allows Disney to reach its ultimate goal in the cartoon film

industry: get parents and children to pay and watch their films. Disney movie posters serve as an

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invitation for children, encouraging them to come join in on the magic and fun. These posters are

comprised of a variety of rhetorical strategies including, but not limited, to colors, positioning

and facial expressions in an attempt to convey the stereotypical candies of Disney: magic,

adventure and delight, all aspects of a childhood any kid desires.

The best two Disney Movies exemplifying the use of these rhetorical strategies are The

Little Mermaid and Aladdin. Both are fantastical movies concerning characters who reach their

desired points in life by conquering many different types of adversity. Though the settings,

supporting characters and gender perspectives differ from one movie to another, The Little

Mermaid and Aladdin illustrate the exact same messages through almost identical methods in

their rhetorical discourse. Herrick states “rhetorical discourse” is characteristically “(1) planned,

(2) adapted to an audience, (3) shaped by human motives, (4) responsive to a situation and (5)

persuasion-seeking” (8). These two movies had artists carefully adapt each movie poster to be

oriented toward child-based audiences. Creation of each poster was shaped by the human motive

to gain revenue. Disney resides in the business of not only bringing joy to children but also

maintaining very deep pockets. The posters respond to what is expected to be of a child’s interest

and are tools used to persuade such a child to come and see the movie. By Herrick’s definition

the movie posters of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin are perfect models of rhetorical artifacts.

Before beginning the rhetorical analysis the story behind the movie posters must be

understood. The Little Mermaid is a story about Ariel, the youngest princess of the sea, and

daughter of the all-powerful King Triton who longs to live on land. Ariel falls in love with Prince

Eric, a human, and is seriously reprimanded by her father for associating herself with him, what

is seen in his kingdom as the most dangerous thing in the world. Upset, Ariel decides to go visit

the sea witch, Ursula. This villain offers Ariel a deal: in exchange for her beautiful singing voice,

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Ursula will provide Ariel with land legs. The catch is Ariel has three days to make Prince Eric

fall in love with her or she loses her legs and her voice forever. Numerous evil attempts are made

by Ursula and her eel helpers, Flotsam and Jetsam, during the three days to prevent the romance.

Ariel still manages, with the help of her friends Sebastian, Flounder and Scuttle to find true love,

marry her prince and live happily ever after. Aladdin follows a similar story line. The main

character here is a poor riffraff boy, by the name of Aladdin, living on the streets who dreams of

one day living in the Grand Royal Palace. He runs into a beautiful girl at the market one day and

immediately falls in love. He soon discovers the girl of his dreams is the Princess of Agrabah.

However, Princess Jasmine fell in love with Aladdin at the market place, too, despite his social

status. With the help of his pals Genie, Abu and his magic carpet, Aladdin avoids the evil

clutches of the Royal Advisor Jafar and his parrot Iago and becomes a prince after proving his

worth. Aladdin’s wildest dreams and more come true and, like Ariel, he lives happily ever after.

How does all this, along with other messages, fit on a single movie poster? Rhetoric, just like

Disney works its magic to make it all happen.

The most desired by children and most important message illustrated in both movie

posters is good over evil. To convey this idea, the movie posters first distinguish between the

good characters and the bad. Because these posters are geared toward kids the message must be

easy to understand. The artists use the simple argument of deductive logic, defined by

Wikibooks’ Rhetoric and Composition/ Rhetorical Analysis as an argument “that works from the

top to the bottom” (5) to ensure simplicity. Deductive logic allows an individual to take one idea

associated with one large group, apply it to a single person or object, and then deduce a simple

conclusion. Children almost always associate happiness with good people and anger with bad

people. From this kids can deduce in both posters that happy is good; Aladdin and Ariel are

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happy so they are both good characters. The same can with the evil characters. Jafar and Ursula

are angry; angry is bad, so Jafar and Ursula are the bad guys.

While a theme of good versus evil is established, Disney also ensures that, like most

children look forward to good conquers evil. Children associate winning with feeling joy and

losing with feeling sad, angry and/or depressed. The facial expressions found on Ariel, her

friends and Aladdin and his friends all show expressions of happiness while Ursula, her eels and

Jafar and his parrot look absolutely infuriated. This explained in the way children use simple

deductive logic goes; Ariel is smiling, she is happy; happy is winning, so Ariel is winning. For

the bad guys like Jafar it goes the exact same way, Jafar is furious; furious is losing, so Jafar is

losing. Good wins!

Position is used to place emphasis on distinguishing the victorious side. In the posters

Ursula and Jafar are above and below Ariel and Aladdin, respectively, and seen as far away. If

one looks carefully, it appears that both Ariel and Aladdin are completely out of reach from their

evil opponents. A joyful Ariel is positioned on top of one sole rock in the middle of the ocean far

from Ursula, who seems to be clawing out toward Ariel. Aladdin is on a magic carpet high in the

sky clearly out of Jafar’s reach. Jafar has both hands thrown up in the air with his fists balled in

fury; his body is clearly oriented toward Aladdin. Jafar appears to also be stuck on a rock while

an elated Aladdin, much like the joyful Ariel, rides his magic carpet safe from his nemesis’

clutches. Both main characters are positioned in what can be called their own “bubbles of space”

and are conveyed as untouchable. This separation positioning also plays a large part rhetorically

speaking in the emphasis placed on the importance of romance in both posters.

Colors also play a huge role in the portrayal of the good guys versus the bad guys. If you

look closely at the villains in each poster, you recognize both are dressed in what can be

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interpreted as menacing colors; colors that encourage negative sentiments. Dark and depressing

hues are associated with unhappiness and anger; anything opposite of happy and good is

associated with such drab colors. The exception to this is red, which can symbolize anger, blood

and hatred but also symbolize love and excitement. The context in which this color is used is

essential to its interpretation. Ursula is colored in hues of black and purple. What do the colors

black and purple remind and individual of, bruising, a negative physical commonality. This

association subtly suggests that Ursula is an unfavorable. The puke green color in which her eels

Flotsam and Jetsam, are drawn suggests similar ideas. Jafar and his parrot are colored in black

and red. These colors cast a negative emphasis on each villain. The red can be considered bright

but is not meant to convey anything positive for the villains. The bright red found inside Jafar’s

cape and the bright red lipstick Ursula uses symbolizes fury and animosity towards the main

characters, Aladdin and Ariel. It is interesting to also point out that the bright red found in

Ariel’s hair symbolically represents her rebellious nature. In the movie, she defies her father, her

home and her species to become part of the human world all in the name of love.

Through the rhetorical use of color, position and deductive logic from facial

expressions, the idea that good conquers evil is clearly demonstrated. This “change made in a

message (good over evil) to tailor it to particular audience” (Herrick 10) is called an audience

adaptation - exactly how Disney intends to reel in children. Kids want to see the honorable

prevail over the dishonorable and, here, that is exactly what they get.

When the crucial theme of good triumphing over evil is established, Disney addresses the

next child-based desire in their posters. Children enjoy seeing others happy they do not want to

see people fighting, yelling and definitely do not want to see nor experience unhappy endings.

That negative setting is a recipe for an unhappy child. Disney ensures that kids avoid this in their

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movie posters with the portrayal of love and security. This depiction is called a logical fallacy

and is defined by Wikibooks as the arguer’s, in (Disney’s) indirect “appeal to the [viewer’s]

(children’s) desire for security, love, respect, etc.” (6).

Position, once again, rhetorically plays its part by illustrating a picture full of these

desires. This can be found in both posters when you look at the positioning of other characters

around the main characters. Their friends surround both Aladdin and Ariel. Her friends; Scuttle,

the seagull, Sebastian, the hermit crab, Flounder, the fish and Prince Eric encircle Ariel. They are

all smiling up at her, symbolizing a circle of positive support, ensuring security. Though Ariel’s

father, King Triton, is not smiling, he still hovers above his daughter with an outstretched hand.

His position above her symbolizes the protection he offers and his outstretched hand symbolizes

his care. Children find security in fatherly figures. This is fictionally provided through King

Triton, his position and his actions. Much of the same can be seen in Aladdin’s poster. His

friends Abu, the monkey, Genie and Princess Jasmine, surround him and his magic carpet is

literally supporting him. Genie provides the fatherly security children want to see and have in

their lives as he hovers above Aladdin and smiles down on him. All of these strategies fall under

ways to portray a sense of security. Kids crave security, thus this draws them even deeper into

the poster.

Next, there is the romantic aspect of the poster. Both Aladdin and Ariel sit with the ones

they love, Princess Jasmine and Prince Eric, respectively. Jasmine and Eric are both looking at

Aladdin and Ariel with affection. The closeness of their relationship is enhanced by the way they

are positioned in an area somewhat secluded from the rest of the characters in the poster. Ariel

and Eric, as pointed out before, are sitting on top of a rock in the middle of the ocean while

Aladdin and Jasmine are riding on a flying carpet in the sky. The sparkles trailing behind

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Aladdin and Jasmine’s carpet and the large splash of water surrounding Eric and Ariel create a

sense of magic along with the love. Magic is another aspect of child interest included in these

posters.

Adventure and magic go hand in hand in the world of Disney. These two aspects found in

the Disney posters also play crucial parts in attracting kids attention. Children love adventure and

magic because, in a world filled with such wonder, limitations do not exist instead, anything and

everything is possible. In The Little Mermaid, the magnificence of King Triton’s golden castle,

his powerful triton, the chest full of treasure in the bottom right hand corner, talking animals and

the presence of a Princess, Prince and King all create a sense of magic and adventure. The same,

once again, is found in Aladdin’s poster; the all powerful genie, his magic lamp, the magic flying

carpet, talking animals and a large powerful roaring tiger with glowing eyes and a golden mouth

also create a sense of adventure and magic.

These pictures create not only the impression of an amazing journey but also a sense of

excitement, another factor that attracts kids because they enjoy experiencing it. This sense of

excitement is emphasized with the use of effulgent colors found all over both posters; the

yellows, greens, brilliant purples and luminous blues offers a bright and uplifting mood no child

can resist.

It is easy to say that all Disney is creating is a fantastical world filled with all kinds of

positive aspects to attract the children who in turn will provide them with the revenue to keep

their industry successful. However, a somewhat large percentage of the parent community has

challenged this statement. Many adults claim Disney is not the high-spirited and delightful

company most views it as but instead it is a manipulative, brain washing company that stuffs

ideas into the heads of children so they grow up into adults with an ideology that was pre-

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meditated by Disney. They claim Disney does not only seek money for their business but also

seeks control of the adult population to maintain their source of revenue after their child-based

audience becomes adults. Disney will get to maintain the attraction of a new generation of

children and the hold the control they had over the last one, maintaining a repetitive, never-

ending cycle. In this light, Disney is portrayed as a viciously clever and malevolent institution.

An example of one perception of adulthood Disney forces upon its child-audience would

include the expectation of growing up to marry the one you love, teaching young girls in

particular to depend on a male dominant figure. They could easily use The Little Mermaid as an

example. However there are movies like Aladdin, where the main character is a young boy who

is searching for love, not a young girl searching for love. Another worrisome claim made by

those parents is that Disney encourages young girls to feel comfortable dressing promiscuously.

This can be justified by what could be interpreted as skimpy clothing worn by Disney princesses.

In the case of the posters for The Little Mermaid and Aladdin those parents can construe the

exposure of Jasmine and Ariel’s bare midriffs as too revealing. This wardrobe mishap can be

considered an exigence defined by Lloyd F. Bitzer in his paper The Rhetorical Situation as “an

imperfection marked by urgency” (6). Exigence meaning a purposeful or unintentional problem

found within the rhetorical situation indicated clearly by “ the presence of rhetorical discourse”

(Bitzer 2). Some parents can see the revealing clothing as an “imperfection”, defect or problem

within the poster that can easily be fixed by Disney. However, no modifications need to happen,

because, like Bitzer says, these “exigencies and the complex persons, events and relation… are

located in reality” (11). This is crucial. Disney is a fantasy world not reality. These adults are

imposing the negative aspects of reality on these fictional, gleeful posters.

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Disney’s goal is to captivate the attention of children by addressing their interests in its

(Disney’s) movie posters to ultimately achieve its main goal of persuading children to go pay to

watch the company’s films. Children desire adventure, love, security and children want to see

altruistic characters triumph over the corrupt ones. Kids hunger for the cheerful and perfect

world. Disney does understand that the kids want the entire hullabaloo: affection, security and

positive messages. They simply give the children what they want through rhetorical means of

bright colors, happy faces and carefully planned spacing and size assignment. Though Disney

does it for its own motives, they aim to please the child community. All children go ballistic

when they get what they want, so Disney remains effective in creating not only revenue but also

happiness.

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Works cited

Herrick, James. The History and Theory of Rhetoric. 2nd. Allyn & Bacon, 2001. 1-30. Print.

“Rhetoric and Composition/Rhetorical Analysis”. Wikibooks. N.p., 26/01/2012. Web. 03 Oct

2012. <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Rhetoric_and_Composition/Rhetorical_Analysis>.

Bitzer, Lloyd. "The Rhetorical Situation." Penn State University Press. 1.1 (1968): 1-14. Print.

<http://www.jstor.org/stable/40236733>.

The Walt Disney Company. "The Little Mermaid." Cartoon. Walt Disney's 110th Birthday.

Socialphy, n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2012. <http://www.socialphy.com/posts/off-topic/6761/Walt-

Disney_s-110th-Birthday.html>

The Walt Disney Company. "Aladdin." Cartoon. Aladdin (1992). World's No.1 Blog, 8 Sept.

2012. Web. 01 Oct. 2012. <http://javedalimemon.blogspot.com/2012/09/aladdin-1992-hin-

eng-350mb.html>.

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