I have recently viewed the documentary Mickey Mouse Monopoly and it was very compelling. The documentary evaluates popular Disney films throughout the years (though it was made in 2001 so it does not include the Disney movies of the past twenty years) and their impact on society. One of the first aspects of Disney that it evaluated was their corporate power. They like to have a portrayal of happiness and innocence; however, they will go to great lengths to make sure no one speaks negatively about them. All their content is heavily copyrighted to the point where many publishers are afraid of being sued or having to jump through multiple hoops to gain approval to use their content or even mention them in publications. This fear of speaking out against them is alarming, especially considering as Americans, we pride ourselves on being a free country. The documentary did a good job at exemplifying that fear with both facts and with the personal touch of those being interviewed.
The documentary also discussed themes of racism and sexism. Disney tends to portray characters of different ethnicities by making them look, sound, and act in antiquated stereotypes. The characters represented by minority groups tend to be the villains in the movies as well. Additionally, there is issue of sexism. Every princess is helplessly in need of the prince or male character to save them. They are also depicted with the same body types and demonstrate an importance and emphasis on sex appeal.
The main concern with these issues is this company’s target segment is children, who are very impressionable. They cannot perceive and analyze what they are viewing, and they begin to relate these movies to their life and values. It is hard to break down the innocence and teach children this harsh reality, especially when Disney movies and products are everywhere. This controlling of the media and the market make it difficult for this issue to be fixed.
However, many do not see the issue with these movies. I, along with many others, grew up with those movies as an impressionable child and I am fine. Part of me believes that too much is being evaluated. I understand that these are problems, but they are just fun movies for children to enjoy. Some reviews disagreed, believing that this corporate machine masked corporate greed and prejudice thoughts into the innocence of children’s movies. Other reviews had mixed feelings. While they agreed that children need to know the problems in these movies, the documentary left out ways to teach children solutions to those evils. Instead, the film just crammed the viewer with information and a moral lesson that they do not understand.
I think the documentary went too far with its criticisms toward the company. They explained how Disney’s mass production of T-shirts, dolls and other products is unfair. They claimed it encourages children to continue to feel the need to buy every aspect of a movie, forcefully immersing children in their products without them knowing. I however, disagree. Disney is a wildly massive corporation that owns many different brands and has absorbed and merged with big companies. They are increasing their sales by marketing all aspects of their movies into toys and fashion. This is a smart business tactic because when their movies are that well known and successful, they know children will want to buy the products.
As a film, there were not many eye-catching or heartfelt moments. This had to do with the awkward cutaways to Disney movies and the random pausing of the movie at an awkward time when returning to the interview. Some dramatic music or a black screen with several statistics popping up are common tactics that documentaries use that could have been more helpful. They could have made the editing more cohesive and made it flow as a film. The information was strong, and the people being interviewed were great assets to back up the point they were trying to make. However, there were many “jaw-dropping” moments that could have been more impactful if they were emphasized in a greater volume.
Overall, I am in support with a lot of this documentary. The fear that people and publishers have to speak out against Disney is frightening. No company, no matter how big or powerful, should have that hold over people. Many critics will easily tear apart Apple and Amazon, so the reason they are afraid to do the same with Disney involves more than corporate size. I also think that these prejudice characters are frightening, especially because many of the movies analyzed were only made 30 years ago. Children are subconsciously absorbing these characters and incorporating them into their thoughts on people, culture, and the world around them which is alarming. However, in the past two decades, Disney has made a greater effort to be more progressive. Moana had no love interest and Frozen focused on sisterly love. They also added an African American princess Tiana. Although, these are baby steps compared to how they will have to reevaluate their common movie themes if they want real change.
I think that documentaries like these are important to review. I really liked “Mickey Mouse Monopoly” and I think everyone should view it, especially parents so they know what discussions to have with their children. It was informative, and well organized. To conclude, I didn’t agree with everything in this documentary and I think it could have been better with improved production, but I enjoyed it.
Check out my other blog post on my analysis of a scene from this documentary. Also, for a sneak peek of the documentary itself, check out this clip!
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