Disney films reflect the current values and beliefs of society and have the power to influence
their audiences in the perception of what is beautiful and whether appearance does or does not
matter. This book gives an overview of beauty ideals body images and appearances in Disney's
feature films. Seven main films are chosen for this analysis to allow for a comparison across
time: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) Cinderella (1950) The Little Mermaid (1989)
Beauty and the Beast (1991) Aladdin (1992) The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) and Frozen
(2013). The survey determines to what extent Disney films make use of the beauty-goodness
stereotype - the equation of appearance and personality. The characters are analyzed as to
which bodily features they exhibit and how these features are in tune with dominant beauty
discourses during the times the films were made. Furthermore the narratives are examined to
find out how they topics 'beauty' and 'appearance' are rendered within them demonstrating that
earlier films frequently rely on traditional and stereotypical depictions and notions of beauty
whereas more recent productions represent more ambiguity and diversity.Lisa Buchegger is a PhD
student (English and American Studies) at the University of Graz. Her research focuses are
(American) film studies children's entertainment (for example animation fairy tales) as
well as gender and minority studies.
