Disney: The American Dream

The idea of a one man cult, it controlled artistic expression in order to increase commercial and economic possibilities. In 1928, Disney produced Steamboat Willie (1928), the first cartoon containing Mickey Mouse. Metamorphosis is used in order to carry the cartoon to the point of absurdity, for example a goat is turned into a phonograph after eating the music sheet to the folk song 'Turkey in the Straw' and also various other animals are used by Mickey as musical instruments to accompany the goat. It makes light of what is going on and provides a cathartic experience. It was important for cartoons, like Mickey Mouse, to contain catharsis in order to create a saleable commodity unique to animation to appeal to the general audience.

The character of Mickey Mouse was not important; his character had no personality, just an appearance and some basic qualities. This was the case for the majority of cartoon characters throughout the 1930s and 1940s, for example Popeye (1929) and Tom and Jerry (1939). However, metamorphosis provided an enthusiasm through a freedom of movement, which enlivened the drawings.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) marked the beginning of feature-length animation films in the USA. Adapted from the fairytale by the Grimm Brothers, the film follows the queen’s attempts to have her stepdaughter, Snow White, killed. Yet, she escapes, seeking shelter and guidance from the seven dwarfs. Metamorphosis seems to define the literary genre of the fairytale, thus leading to its inclusion in animated adaptations. This is because it can act in a story as the main tools of the imagination and contains abstract dimensions and qualities. Both animate and inanimate objects have the power to change from one state to another in order to progress the narrative, for example the queen transforms from a royal and aristocratic figure to a resentful witch. This is also the case for the fairytale Cinderella (1950), in which mice transform into horses, a dog turns into a footman, a horse into a coachman and a pumpkin into a coach, in order to progress the narrative. Metamorphosis is particularly useful in this case as it provides narrative continuity by linking seemingly unrelated images. These metamorphoses have been important for the film as symbolism. The film has achieved success through its creating of lasting symbols, which have even remained in today’s contemporary society.

Metamorphosis is also a key element in Disney’s second feature film Pinocchio (1940), in which a wooden puppet comes to life as a boy after a wish by his creator. It reinforces the fantasy of toys coming to life and the magical and dream-like qualities of the narrative, for example lies and their outcomes, leading to the extension of Pinocchio’s nose.

In an era in which western audiences were beginning to move away from realism, Fantasia (1940) was Disney’s attempt to move towards abstraction and to redefine Animation as a high art form. It was an attempt to popularise the genre by targeting a new audience, which contained the higher classes through the use of non-diegetic classical music. Abstraction highlighted spiritual importance from world cultures and portrayed images distilled from reality, which are most evident in the Toccata and Fugue segment. Rather than having an orthodox narrative, the film is built upon a series of magical and surreal events. Metamorphosis is used to reinforce the dream-like feel and to push the surreal ideas to a great extent. Yet, this idea of fantasy contains both dreams and nightmares. For example, in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice sequence, a broom is transformed into a manual worker and slave. The nightmare begins when the limitations of this fantasy are revealed. Although the broom has been transformed into a slave, it has not developed a mind, which shows the audience that metamorphosis can animate inanimate objects, but it cannot develop an inanimate object into a character.

Mickey Mouse

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