The Disney Middle Ages: A Fairy-tale And Fantasy Past (the New Middle Ages)

For many, the middle ages depicted in Walt Disney movies have come to figure as the middle ages, forming the earliest visions of the medieval past for much of the contemporary Western (and increasingly Eastern) imagination. The essayists of The Disney Middle Ages explore Disney's mediation and re-creation of a fairy-tale and fantasy past, not to lament its exploitation of the middle ages for corporate ends, but to examine how and why these medieval visions prove so readily adaptable to themed entertainments many centuries after their creation. What results is a scrupulous and comprehensive examination of the intersection between the products of the Disney Corporation and popular culture's fascination with the middle ages. Cover 1 Title 9 Copyright 10 Contents 11 List of Figures 13 Acknowledgments and Note to Readers 14 1. Introduction: Disney’s Retroprogressive Medievalisms: Where Yesterday Is Tomorrow Today 15 Part I Building a Better Middle Ages: Medievalism in the Parks 33 2. Mapping the Happiest Place on Earth: Disney’s Medieval Cartography 34 3. Disney’s Castles and the Work of the Medieval in the Magic Kingdom 52 4. Pilgrimage and Medieval Narrative Structures in Disney’s Parks 70 Part II The Distorical Middle Ages 88 5. “You don’t learn it deliberately, but you just know it from what you’ve seen”: British Understandings of the Medieval Past Gleaned from Disney’s Fairy Tales 89 6. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Animation and Alchemy in Disney’s Medievalism 109 7. The Sword in the Stone: American Translatio and Disney’s Antimedievalism 126 8. Walt in Sherwood, or the Sheriff of Disneyland: Disney and the Film Legend of Robin Hood 143 9. Futuristic Medievalisms and the U.S. Space Program in Disney’s Man in Space Trilogy and Unidentified Flying Oddball 163 Part III Disney Princess Fantasy Faire 178 10. “Where happily ever after happens every day”: The Medievalisms of Disney’s Princesses 179 11. Disney’s Medievalized Ecologies in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty 197 12. The United Princesses of America: Ethnic Diversity and Cultural Purity in Disney’s Medieval Past 216 13. Esmeralda of Notre-Dame: The Gypsy in Medieval View from Hugo to Disney 232 14. Reality Remixed: Neomedieval Princess Culture in Disney’s Enchanted 250 A Select Filmography of Disney’s Medievalisms 267 Select Bibliography 269 Biographical Notes on Contributors 280 Index 282 Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introduction Disney’s Retroprogressive Medievalisms: Where Yesterday is Tomorrow Today....Pages 1-18 Front Matter....Pages 19-19 Mapping the Happiest Place on Earth: Disney’s Medieval Cartography....Pages 21-38 Disney’s Castles and the Work of the Medieval in the Magic Kingdom....Pages 39-56 Pilgrimage and Medieval Narrative Structures in Disney’s Parks....Pages 57-74 Front Matter....Pages 75-75 “You don’t Learn It Deliberately, But You Just Know It from What You’ve Seen”: British Understandings of the Medieval Past Gleaned from Disney’s Fairy Tales....Pages 77-96 The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Animation and Alchemy in Disney’s Medievalism....Pages 97-113 The Sword in the Stone: American Translatio and Disney’s Antimedievalism....Pages 115-131 Walt in Sherwood, or the Sheriff of Disneyland: Disney and the Film Legend of Robin Hood....Pages 133-152 Futuristic Medievalisms and The U.S. Space Program in Disney’s Man in Space Trilogy And Unidentified Flying Oddball....Pages 153-167 Front Matter....Pages 169-169 “Where Happily Ever After Happens Every Day”: The Medievalisms of Disney’s Princesses....Pages 171-188 Disney’s Medievalized Ecologies in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty....Pages 189-207 The United Princesses of America: Ethnic Diversity and Cultural Purity in Disney’s Medieval Past....Pages 209-224 Esmeralda of Notre-Dame: The Gypsy in Medieval View from Hugo to Disney....Pages 225-242 Reality Remixed: Neomedieval Princess Culture in Disney’s Enchanted....Pages 243-259 Back Matter....Pages 261-283 "The Disney Middle Ages: A Fairy-Tale and Fantasy Past examines the intersection between the products of the Walt Disney Company and popular culture's fascination with the Middle Ages. The Disney Middle Ages have come, for many, to figure as the Middle Ages, forming the earliest visions of the medieval past for much of the contemporary western (and increasingly eastern) imaginary. The Disney Middle Ages explores Disney's accounts of the Middle Ages and their political and cultural ramifications, analyzing how these re-creations of a fairy-tale history function in modern society"-- Provided by publisher This collection examines the intersection between the products of the Disney Corporation and popular culture's fascination with the Middle Ages. The contributors explores Disney's accounts of the Middle Ages and their political and cultural ramifications, analyzing how these re-creations of a fairy-tale past function in modern society.