DISNEY AND PHILOSOPHY The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series Series editor: William Irwin A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, and a healthy helping of popular culture clears the cobwebs from Kant. Philosophy has had a public relations problem for a few centuries now. This series aims to change that, showing that philosophy is relevant to your life – and not just for answering the big questions like “To be or not to be?” but for answering the little questions: “To watch or not to watch South Park?” Thinking deeply about TV, movies, and music doesn’t make you a “complete idiot.” In fact it might make you a philosopher, someone who believes the unexamined life is not worth living and the unexamined cartoon is not worth watching. Already published in the series: 24 and Philosophy: The World According to Jack House and Philosophy: Everybody Lies Edited by Jennifer Hart Weed, Richard Brian Davis, and Edited by Henry Jacoby Ronald Weed House of Cards and Philosophy: Underwood’s Republic 30 Rock and Philosophy: We Want to Go to There Edited by J. Edward Hackett Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski The Hunger Games and Philosophy: A Critique of Pure Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy: Curiouser and Treason Curiouser Edited by George Dunn and Nicolas Michaud Edited by Richard Brian Davis Inception and Philosophy: Because It’s Never Just a Dream Alien and Philosophy: I Infest, Therefore I Am Edited by David Kyle Johnson Edited by Jeffery A. Ewing and Kevin S. Decker Iron Man and Philosophy: Facing the Stark Reality Arrested Development and Philosophy: They’ve Made a Edited by Mark D. White Huge Mistake LEGO and Philosophy: Constructing Reality Brick By Brick Edited by Kristopher G. Phillips and J. Jeremy Edited by Roy T. Cook and Sondra Bacharach Wisnewski The Ultimate Lost and Philosophy: Think Together, Avatar and Philosophy: Learning to See Die Alone Edited by George A. Dunn Edited by Sharon Kaye The Avengers and Philosophy: Earth’s Mightiest Thinkers Mad Men and Philosophy: Nothing Is as It Seems Edited by Mark D. White Edited by James South and Rod Carveth Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul Metallica and Philosophy: A Crash Course in Brain Surgery Edited by Mark D. White and Robert Arp Edited by William Irwin Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here The Office and Philosophy: Scenes from the Unfinished Life Begins Out There Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski Edited by Jason T. Eberl Sons of Anarchy and Philosophy: Brains Before Bullets The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy: Rock, Paper, Edited by George A. Dunn and Jason T. Eberl Scissors, Aristotle, Locke Edited by Dean Kowalski The Ultimate South Park and Philosophy: Respect My Philosophah! The Big Lebowski and Philosophy: Keeping Your Mind Edited by Robert Arp and Kevin S. Decker Limber with Abiding Wisdom Edited by Peter S. Fosl Spider‐Man and Philosophy: The Web of Inquiry Edited by Jonathan J. Sanford BioShock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational Book Edited by Luke Cuddy The Ultimate Star Trek and Philosophy: The Search for Socrates Black Sabbath and Philosophy: Mastering Reality Edited by Jason T. Eberl and Kevin S. Decker Edited by William Irwin The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy: You Must The Ultimate Daily Show and Philosophy: More Unlearn What You Have Learned Moments of Zen, More Indecision Theory Edited by Jason T. Eberl and Kevin S. Decker Edited by Jason Holt Superman and Philosophy: What Would the Man of Steel Do? Disney and Philosophy: Truth, Trust, and a Little Bit of Edited by Mark D. White Pixie Dust Edited by Richard B. Davis Supernatural and Philosophy: Metaphysics and Monsters…for Idjits Doctor Strange and Philosophy: The Other Book of Edited by Galen A. Foresman Forbidden Knowledge Edited by Mark D. White Terminator and Philosophy: I’ll Be Back, Therefore I Am Edited by Richard Brown and Kevin S. Decker Downton Abbey and Philosophy: The Truth Is Neither Here Nor There True Blood and Philosophy: We Wanna Think Bad Edited by Mark D. White Things with You Edited by George Dunn and Rebecca Housel Dungeons and Dragons and Philosophy: Read and Gain Advantage on All Wisdom Checks True Blood and Philosophy: We Wanna Think Bad Edited by Christopher Robichaud Things with You, Expanded Edition Edited by George Dunn and Rebecca Housel Ender’s Game and Philosophy: The Logic Gate is Down Edited by Kevin S. Decker True Detective and Philosophy: A Deeper Kind of Darkness Edited by Jacob Graham and Tom Sparrow Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure For The Petarded Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski Twilight and Philosophy: Vampires, Vegetarians, and the Pursuit of Immortality Final Fantasy and Philosophy: The Ultimate Walkthrough Edited by Jason P. Blahuta and Michel S. Beaulieu Edited by Rebecca Housel and J. Jeremy Wisnewski Game of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper Veronica Mars and Philosophy: Investigating the Than Swords Mysteries of Life (Which is a Bitch Until You Die) Edited by Henry Jacoby Edited by George A. Dunn The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Philosophy: The Walking Dead and Philosophy: Shotgun. Machete. Everything Is Fire Reason. Edited by Eric Bronson Edited by Christopher Robichaud Green Lantern and Philosophy: No Evil Shall Escape Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test this Book Edited by Mark D. White Edited by Jane Dryden and Mark D. White Westworld and Philosophy: If You Go Looking for the The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy: Hogwarts Truth, Get the Whole Thing for Muggles Edited by James B. South and Kimberly S. Engels Edited by Gregory Bassham Wonder Woman and Philosophy: The Amazonian Heroes and Philosophy: Buy the Book, Save the World Mystique Edited by David Kyle Johnson Edited by Jacob M. Held The Hobbit and Philosophy: For When You’ve Lost Your X‐Men and Philosophy: Astonishing Insight and Dwarves, Your Wizard, and Your Way Uncanny Argument in the Mutant X‐Verse Edited by Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson Edited by Rebecca Housel and J. Jeremy Wisnewski DISNEY AND PHILOSOPHY TRUTH, TRUST, AND A LITTLE BIT OF PIXIE DUST Edited by Richard B. Davis This edition first published 2020 © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. The right of Richard B. Davis and William Irwin to be identified as the author(s) of the editorial material in this work has been asserted in accordance with law. Registered Office(s) John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK Editorial Office 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products visit us at www.wiley.com. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print‐on‐demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty While the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this work, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives, written sales materials or promotional statements for this work. The fact that an organization, website, or product is referred to in this work as a citation and/or potential source of further information does not mean that the publisher and authors endorse the information or services the organization, website, or product may provide or recommendations it may make. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a specialist where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Davis, Richard Brian, 1963– editor. | Irwin, William, 1970– editor. Title: Disney and philosophy : truth, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust / edited by Richard B Davis, William Irwin. Description: Hoboken, NJ : Wiley-Blackwell, 2020. | Series: The Blackwell philosophy and pop culture series | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019030287 (print) | LCCN 2019030288 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119538318 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119538288 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119538356 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Walt Disney Company. | Animated films–United States–History and criticism. | Disney characters–Philosophy. Classification: LCC PN1999.W27 D54 2020 (print) | LCC PN1999.W27 (ebook) | DDC 384/.80979494–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019030287 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019030288 Cover Design: Wiley Cover Images: © kostins/Shutterstock; © passion artist/Shutterstock Set in 10.5/13pt Sabon by SPi Global, Pondicherry, India Printed and bound in Singapore by Markono Print Media Pte Ltd 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Contributors: “It’s a Whole Family of Supers” ix Acknowledgments: It takes People to Make a Dream Reality xvii Introduction: Philosophy Begins in Wonder xix Part I “The Seaweed is Always Greener in Somebody Else’s Lake” 1 1 Unruly Ariel: Not Born but Made a Woman 3 Megan S. Lloyd 2 “True to Your Heart”: Honor and Authenticity in Mulan 11 George A. Dunn 3 Zen and the Art of Imagineering: Disney’s Escapism Versus Buddhism’s Liberation 25 Steve Bein 4 Hidden Mickeys and the Hiddenness of God 35 Robert K. Garcia and Timothy Pickavance Part II “I’ll be Shooting for My Own Hand” 45 5 “Everyone’s Special Dash”: Tolerance and Conformity in a World of Incredible Differences 47 Richard B. Davis v vi Contents 6 Accommodating Dory, but Disempowering Dopey?  Dilemmas of Disability from Snow White to Finding Dory 59 Kevin Mintz 7 From Snow White to Moana: Understanding Disney’s Feminist Transformation 71 Edwardo Pérez 8 “Always a Team, Always United”: Disney’s Philosophy of the Family 81 Kody Cooper Part III “Your Identity is your Most Valuable Possession” 93 9 How to Convince Sleeping Beauty She’s Not Dreaming 95 C. A. McIntosh 10 Knowing Who you Are: Existence Precedes Essence in Moana 107 William J. Devlin 11 Saving Mr. Banks: Reclaiming Our Childhood, Remembering Who We Are 119 Mark D. Linville and Shawn White 12 WALL·E and EVE: Disney’s Intelligent Machines 129 Timothy Brown 13 Inside Disney’s Inside Out 137 Ellen Miller Part IV “You Can Be Anyone You Want To Be” 145 14 To Be or Not to Be … the Lion King: Existentialism in Disney and Shakespeare 147 Megan S. Lloyd 15 True Freedom in Toy Story, or You Are a Child’s Plaything! 157 Armond Boudreaux Contents vii 16 “Our Fate Lives Within Us”: Character and Choice in Brave 167 Louis Colombo and Steve Jones 17 Breaking the Spell: Beauty and the Beast and Plato’s  Prisoner 177 Nathan Mueller and Leilani Mueller 18 True Love in Frozen 185 Jamey Heit Part V “Always Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide” 193 19 Mencius Spins The Emperor’s New Groove 195 Dean A. Kowalski 20 “Handed Down from Goof to Goof”: What Goofy Can Teach Us About Becoming Good 207 Robert M. Mentyka 21 “Let Slip the (Donald) Ducks of War!”: Ethical Considerations About Disney’s War Propaganda 217 Tuomas W. Manninen 22 WALL·E, the Environment, and Our Duties to Future Generations 227 J. Edward Hackett 23 Is There Any Utopia in Zootopia? 235 Frauke Albersmeier and Alexander Christian Part VI The Wonderful Worldview of Disney 245 24 How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Disney: Marx and Marcuse at Disney World 247 Elizabeth Butterfield 25 Colonizing the Geography of the Imagination: Media, Mind, and the Magic Kingdom 259 Read Mercer Schuchardt viii Contents 26 “We’re All Gonna Die”: Death and the Cycle of Life in Disney 271 Jessica Miller 27 Liberty Square in the Shadow of Cinderella’s Castle: Political Philosophy in Disney’s Theme Parks 283 Timothy Dale and Joseph Foy Index 293