I found it extremely difficult to find any articles about the movie I chose originally, Mary Poppins (everything that came up was about the books instead, which were quite different than the movie version). Then I tried searching for my all time favorite animated movie, Anastasia, with no luck at all. So eventually I turned to a movie that has been one of my and my family’s favorites since it came out, Finding Nemo.
Reading some reviews I found I came to a realization about Disney movies, as brought up in Laurie Frankel’s review, which is that Disney movies are extremely lacking in positive mother figures. Cinderella and Snow White have evil stepmothers, in the Little Mermaid you only hear about the King and the main female role is Ursula, and the Queen in the Lion King does nothing. That is not to say that there are not mother-like males to make up for this, for which I would like to point out Simon and Pumba in the Lion King, but no male-mothering relationship was quite like Marlin and Nemo’s in Finding Nemo. Marlin preaches for the strictesr safety measures and IS that mother that says, “Are you sure you want to go to school? You can always stay with me for another year.” Once Nemo is taken he has the extreme devotion of many single parents I personally know of being willing to do ANYTHING for their child, even if it seems to be a pointless, ocean-wide mission because without their children they no longer feel that their life is meaningful.
What makes Finding Nemo so special and enjoyable? I personally love the movie for Dory and her humor. I make my parents listen to the audio that plays before you start the movie because I think it’s really funny. One snippet of it has Dory talking about if she were ever to be in a movie and how she would act like a bossy celebrity: “Where’s my trailer? Where’s my water? Fill my trailer with water.” I think Finding Nemo is the perfect balance between adventure and humor, for kids and adults alike. In the USA Today’s article on Finding Nemo they collected some reactions from kids on what they thought made the movie so enjoyable. Some kids decided it was the way the characters looked, how funny they were, and the theme of a father loving his child so much he searches the ocean for him (all from kids age 6 to 9). My personal favorite reason why was that it had its scary moments with the sharks, but they always balanced it out with the sharks being at an AA-like meeting trying to quit eating fish. This balance of all sorts of genres makes all sorts of people capable of enjoying the movie.
Also, I like how Finding Nemo is about love but, unlike most Disney movies, puts the friendship variety in the spotlight rather than the true love variety of the princess movies. Laurie Frankel says that Finding Nemo teaches that “happily ever after lies is being and having a good friend.” Marlin would be lost and never would have found Nemo if it wasn’t for Dory and her reading skills, as well as her willingness to go to Sydney with him. The power of her friendship with Marlin even allowed her to be able to conquer her short term memory loss.
For me the movie is easily summarized by a quote from Laurie Frankel: “Home becomes friendship, people who will always be there, faith, trust, constancy.” This is very true of my own family and Finding Nemo just proves that this group of people doesn’t have to be biologically related. A family is much more meaningful than just genes.
Seiler, Andy. “’Nemo’ could float by ‘Lion King’ as top cartoon film”. USA Today, 07/08/2003
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=17&hid=9&sid=9285e831-c5b3-457c-b502-d33cefa5c0f8%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=J0E020199386103
Frankel, Laurie Finding Nemo (film). Film & History (03603695); May2004, Vol. 34 Issue 1, p75-76, 2p.
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=24&hid=9&sid=9285e831-c5b3-457c-b502-d33cefa5c0f8%40sessionmgr11
Amy Hendrick Said:
on November 8, 2009 at 9:12 pm
It seems like Disney has come a long way since the days of “Cinderella.” Thanks for your observations – I think it’s particularly interesting that Frankel calls Disney out on a lack of positive female role models. I’ve heard other accusations of historical misrepresentation and racism around Disney films, but this is a new one.
Hannah Hankins Said:
on November 10, 2009 at 5:29 pm
The point about missing positive female figures is very interesting. In my women and politics through film and tv we focused half the class on Disney’s portrayal of women — their desirable attributes and their love stories. These movies really do shape children’s understanding of the world, and it affects how they act toward others. It is hard to do substantive studies on the effects of movies on children because it would bring up ethical concerns about what could be shown to child participants.
Oh, and I absolutely love that this is about friendship rather than romance. It makes it lighthearted and fun for everyone!