I always knew that my love for Disney movies would come in handy someday. Although, over the years as I have grown I have noticed more and more negative racial and ethnic comments hidden within the stories as well as blatant stabs against other cultures. Of course I still love these Disney movies all the same, but analyzing them gives me an inside on how ignorant these writers and producers were when it came to any other culture but their own. Although, those who voiced the characters were of all races, when it came to the actual characters, the color of your skin/fur really made a difference. It really shows how life was when these movies were created and gives the audience an understanding of what it felt like the be on the outside.
The Lion King. This movie still holds dear to my heart just as the first time I had seen it when I was only a little, impressionable, girl. Although, it has become clearer to me that this movie has many more stereotypes than most of the other films that disney has produced. It just so happens to hit any negative thoughts that could be possible in a children’s movie. The first thing that stuck out to me was the voicing. All of the “good” characters were voiced by American actors and everyone else was of other ethnicity, specifically the ones that were below the main characters in the circle of life. Right of the bat this is saying that Americans dominate and that they are better than any other comparable ethnicity; especially coming from a movie set in Africa. The bird, Zazu, was portrayed by a British voice. The bird was essentially the help or a butler to Mufasa, the lion king himself. This put across that thought that all British people were to be butlers if they were to live among Americans. This is not the only movie or show guilty of this.
Another thing that stuck out to me was that Scar was portrayed as dirty, disgusting, and also has much darker fur than his brother Mufasa. Although, the actors that voiced them do not have the same ethnicity as their characters. This gave me the vibe that other races were portrayed the same way during this time. Once again, it told the story as if the Americans were at the top of the food chain and everyone else must fall in the line below them. This is giving children the idea that those darker than them are the bad guys just like Scar is the bad guy in this movie. It gives them the wrong idea about “bad guys”, especially in societies like today’s. The hyenas are also voiced by many Mexicans and African Americans. Portraying again that they are below the Americans in the Pride Lands.
Since the movie is based in Africa it would have made sense for every character to be voiced by African Americans. But the only true African culture in this movie is portrayed by the monkey, Rafiki. This monkey seems as though he is crazy and not all there, proving how little was known or how little people cared to know about African culture at this time. Rafiki was a tribal native and was probably one of the only actual African reference that the movie ever made, regardless of the setting. Some of the hyenas were also African Americans but they were portrayed as more of a gang in today’s setting rather than just another part of the food chain. They seemed to be even below the gazelle that the lions in the Pride Lands consumed in the circle of life. Which once again shows how anyone of color was considered “bad”.
Another thing that stood out to me is that when the future king, Simba, left, no one could handle themselves on their own. They portrayed it to seem that if the rightful ruler were not there to have control over the Pride Lands, then the whole kingdom will fall apart. You could assume this to be a religious aspect of the movie, saying that if Simba is not king then the whole land will parish. Simba’s mother could not rule alone because she was a woman. Thus proving how helpless man thought woman to be even in the early 1990s. Once Simba returns everything is magically back to normal again with vast, green lands and food for everyone, as though Simba’s return is exactly what God was waiting for.
After thoroughly analyzing this one Disney movie, it makes me want to go through and watch every Disney movie just see what other nonsense they have been distilling into our minds. I never realized how ignorant or uncaring these producers or writers were when it involed cultures other than their own. It is possible that they think it is okay for them to let such nonsense happen; for it is only a children’s movie. Their minds could not possibly comprehend all the wrongfulness until they get older. Regardless of the reasoning, I wish people were more compassionate for others when producing a film; especially for young, impressionable viewers.
