Good Girls and Wicked Witches: Women in Disney's Feature Animation [Paperback]

Amy Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2007

In Good Girls and Wicked Witches, Amy M. Davis re-examines the notion that Disney heroines are rewarded for passivity. Davis proceeds from the assumption that, in their representations of femininity, Disney films both reflected and helped shape the attitudes of the wider society, both at the time of their first release and subsequently. Analyzing the construction of (mainly human) female characters in the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio between 1937 and 2001, she attempts to establish the extent to which these characterizations were shaped by wider popular stereotypes. Davis argues that it is within the most constructed of all moving images of the female form—the heroine of the animated film—that the most telling aspects of Woman as the subject of Hollywood iconography and cultural ideas of American womanhood are to be found.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

American womanhood as seen through the eyes of Disney.

About the Author

Amy M. Davis is a lecturer in the School of Media and Performing Arts and a course director for Film Studies at the University of Ulster, Coleraine. She is author of several articles on the subject of Disney feature animation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: John Libbey Publishing (February 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861966732
• ISBN-13: 978-0861966738
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #338,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Start, April 16, 2009

By 

ALHC - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Girls and Wicked Witches: Women in Disney's Feature Animation (Paperback)

It's very easy to criticize Disney's portrayals of women over the years. In fact, they do not fit with the current cultural idea of a motivated, active, and very maternal woman. Others believe that Disney is so ingrained into our popular culture it should be immune from criticism.

The tone of this book feels sympathetic to Disney more so than many essays about this topic. It considers many factors that contribute to the portrayals. But it is also not entirely apologetic for these images.

The book is all by one person. Her sources are cited well within the page in a way that academics can easily understand and casual readers can easily ignore. The chapters are divided by time period.

The worst thing I can say about the book is that there should have been more in some places and less in others. Chapter 2 is a brief history of animation. I'm not entirely sure that the actions of other studios, especially ones that weren't making movies, is relevant to the topic. In addition, the book only talks about human characters as they appeared as main characters in animated movies. There is no discussion about the portrayals of female animals in movies like "The Lion King" or "Robin Hood," which I feel has a great diversity of female characters. I also feel that the lack of women in movies like "The Jungle Book" and "Winnie the Pooh" is worthy of discussion.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling!, May 31, 2007

By 

BookManBookWoman TV REVIEWS "Saralee Terry Woods" (Nashville, Tn United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Girls and Wicked Witches: Women in Disney's Feature Animation (Paperback)

If you think the ideal of American womanhood was established by Doris Day and other goody two shoes, then think again and read this enthralling exploration of the women in the Walt Disney films from Sleeping Beauty to Alice in Wonderland to the Little Mermaid and Pocahontas.