What should I do for my research paper?

You might research how the Disney version of the Cinderella story differs from the multitude of other versions, and offer your opinions/insights as to how their (Disney’s) particular version fit into their corporate culture, image, goals, purpose and vision.

Walt Disney’s Antisemitism.

You could discuss all the little mascot-like animal friends and familiars. In some cases, and Cinderella is one, their actions are crucial to the plot. There were no key-carrying little mice or singing rabbbits and squirrels in the traditional tales that Disney appropriated for his animated films.

You could talk about how they foster in children the impression that wild animals are safe to touch and cuddle. Or how the main characters depend on them for rescue. Or how they stretch a small story into something that’s long enough for a feature film.

You could discuss how the Disney Cinderella came to look the way she does in the feature film, starting with the original story, the concept artists who worked for Disney (hint: there were a lot of them, some specifically worked on Cinderella) and how and why they used live models to do the renderings.

I love Disney artists, especially the concept artists, and I collect all sorts of images relating to that

Here’s a big fat boost: if you want to find the concept artists for Cinderella, look on Pinterest, in addition to a general Google search.

Maybe something related to the lack of a strong female role model in the main character’s life?

Snow White….......DM, ES-M
Cinderella…..........DM, ES-M
Aurora…...............AM
Ariel…...................DM
Belle…..................PDM
Jasmine….............PDM
Pocahontas….......DM
Mulan…................only wants to marry her off to a good family
Tiana….................tells her stories about finding a prince man
Rapunzel…...........AM, ES-M

Merida is probably their first princess with a strong female role model. And a very grateful one at that.~

DM: Dead Mother
PDM: Presumed Dead Mother
ES-M: Evil Step-Mother
AM: Absent Mother

^^ I love your abbreviations!

Contrast Walt DIsney’s personal ethnic biases such as his well documented anti-Jewish attitudes and practices with the values represented in Disney films, characters and parks. Hint: inclusiveness at DIsney Parks vs, exclusionary hiring practices at Walt DIsney while Walt ran things.

@fluthernutter, that’s a characteristic motif in the folktales and fairy tales that most of those stories derive from. It’s not something that Disney introduced.

@kardamom Heehee…thanks. :)

@Jeruba That’s true. But even their projects that aren’t based on traditional fairy tales seem to favor this erm…parental disadvantage.

Bambi…...............DM
Lili & Stitch….......DM
Finding Nemo…...DM

Maybe they’re just extending this traditional motif. It just seems a interesting choice for a company that seems to target so many young girls.

Bambi is a children’s novel by Felix Salten that was published in Austria in 1923. It wasn’t Disney’s creation. Traditional folktales and fairy tales were very much a part of Western culture until relatively recent years. They’ve influenced a lot of other stories, at least in part because their themes are so engaging and enduring.

There are many sources of analysis of these old tales, in their many variants, that give reasons for the familiar structure: youngest of three going out into the world alone, young girl with absent father and cruel stepmother overcoming obstacles, young girl of humble origins attracting a prince, quest aided by magical beings, etc. Those themes are an interesting study in themselves.