THE DISNEYFICATION OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
THE DISNEYFICATION OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Summary/Abstract: The names of the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault, Carlo Collodi and of Lewis Carroll have become synonymous with the term of fairy tales or of children’s books. But our contemporary image of the fairy tales or of other children’s texts has been shaped or standardized by Walt Disney who succeeded in transforming his cartoons into a global culture industry. “Disneyfication” refers to the transformation of children’s books into a journey to a magic kingdom; the term also reveals negative aspects due to its tendency to consumption, homogenization and merchandising. We cannot say that Disney’s animated films have totally twisted our view of reality or of classical fairy tales, but children’s notions of happiness, beauty, kindness and utopia are filtered through Disney’s blurred perspective. Our paper analyses how these narratives are altered according to ‘global’ norms and standards and what the effects of this process of globalization are on the children’s mentality.

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