Of Mice and Brides: Surrealism and the Uncanny in Walt Disney's Fairytale Cartoons
Figgis, Laurence (2009) Of Mice and Brides: Surrealism and the Uncanny in Walt Disney's Fairytale Cartoons. In: Arts to Enchant: Formations of Fantasy in Visual Culture, 29/05/2009-30/05/2009, University of Glasgow.
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Creators/Authors: | Figgis, Laurence | ||||
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Abstract: | This paper was delivered for the closing plenary of Arts to Enchant: Formations of Fantasy in Visual Cultur, a conference at the University of Glasgow in May 2009. It explored the following question: Was Walt Disney a Surrealist? And did his popular forms of fantasy actually possess a secret avant-garde affinity reaching out beyond Hollywood's model of the fantastic? This paper re-examines some of the famous full length animated feature films adapted from European literary fairy tales such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940) and Cinderella (1950) in relation to iconic works of 20th-century avant-garde fine-art practice (particularly those with a Surrealist connection) such as Marcel Duchamp's The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even (1915-23), Hans Bellmer's La Poupee (1936), and Meret Oppenheim's Ma Gouvernante- My Nurse - Mein Kindermadchen (1936). The paper will consider how the re-evaluation of Disney as a 'sentimental surrealist' sits with the prevailing academic notion of 'Uncle Walt' as the philistine promoter of petit-bourgeois conservative American pedagogy based around the suppression of sex, violence and political struggle. By teasing out the Surrealist and uncanny content of the films (which is often masked by their deceptively Heimlich surface aesthetic), the paper will seek to bring to light some of the ideological and aesthetic contradictions embodied in many of Disney's best-loved films. | ||||
Official URL: | http://www.laurencefiggis.co.uk/of-mice-and-brides-2/ | ||||
Output Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Keynote) | ||||
Uncontrolled Keywords: | Walt Disney, surrealism, Marcel Duchamp, Andre Breton, Walter Benjamin, sex appeal of the inorganic, animation, fairy tales, the uncanny, Hans Bellmer | ||||
Schools and Departments: | School of Fine Art > Painting & Printmaking | ||||
Dates: |
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Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Event Title: | Arts to Enchant: Formations of Fantasy in Visual Culture | ||||
Event Location: | University of Glasgow | ||||
Event Dates: | 29/05/2009-30/05/2009 | ||||
Output ID: | 2287 | ||||
Deposited By: | Laurence Figgis | ||||
Deposited On: | 05 Sep 2014 09:59 | ||||
Last Modified: | 05 Sep 2014 09:59 |