• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.10 no.7
• /
• pp.142-148
• /
• 2010

In the society where contradiction of modernism in 20th century was vividly exposed and paradigm was being changed from text culture into visual culture according to the development of technology, Benjamin tried to practically suggest solutions for socio-historical problems he was facing. In contrast with Adorno who criticized cultural industry, Benjamin found out the possibility to overturn existing value order and innovate reality in mass art media having emerged according to the development of new technology. And such Utopian possibility appears in his thought on the early Disney animation even if it is fragmentary. This thesis reviews how Utopian possibility was realized in the early Disney animation, which had been thought by Benjamin.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
• /
• s.9
• /
• pp.220-234
• /
• 2005

The article deals with the reality subject of animations. Animations are created on the basis of fantasy. Disney's introduction of the narratives and styles of live action film into the field of animation, which laid a foundation for the hyper-reality animation, has produced an unintended consequence of marginalizing other animation genres which have emphasized fantasy through free experimentations of various images. A combination of Disney's world view of hyper-reality with later-developed 3D computer animation technology has made fantastic figures and spaces much more real than the real ones, and succeeded in creating a matrix of simulacre, a world of mere copies without the original.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
• /
• s.33
• /
• pp.31-53
• /
• 2013

In the early twentieth century, history of animation began by modern artists, they produced various experimental images with the newly invented film and cameras. Artists in the field of movie, photography, paintings and others manipulated images in motion. But as some animated movies won industrial success and popularity, they became the trend but experimental style of early animation preserved by so-called non-mainstreamers or experimental animators, counteracting commercialism. Disney animation also followed the trend by applying realistic Hollywood film style, the worse critics placed a low value on the animation and it tarnished the image, although it was profitable investment from a business standpoint. To make images realistic, they opened a drawing class that animators developed skills to imitate motions and forms from subjects in real life. Also some techniques and gizmos were used to mimic and simulate three dimensional objects and spaces, multiplane camera and compositing 3D CG images with 2D drawings. Moreover, they brought animation stories from fairly tales or folk tales, and Walt's personal interest in live-action movies, they applied Hollywood-film-like narratives and realistic visual, and harsh criticism ensued. On the surface early disney animations' potential seems to be weakened, but in reality it still exists by simplifying and exaggerating forms and color as modern arts. Disney animation employs concepts of the modernism paintings such as simplified shapes and colors to a character design, when their characters are placed together in a scene, that visual elements cause mental reaction. This modification gives a new internal experience to audiences. As conceptual colors in abstract paintings make images appeared to be flat, coloring characters with no shading make them look flat and comparing to them, background images are also appeared to be flat. On top of that, multi-perspective at background images recalls modernist paintings. This essay goes in details with the animation pioneers' works and how Disney animation developed its techniques to emulate real life and analyses color schemes, forms, and spaces in Disney animation compared with modern artists' works, in that the visual language of Disney animation reminds of impression from abstract paintings in the beginning of the twentieth centuries.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
• /
• s.38
• /
• pp.1-28
• /
• 2015

The work appeared a featured female character in the Disney animation film begins with 'Snow White' released in 1937. After then, the 11 female characters appeared included 'Tangled' in 2010. Female characters reveal their identity due to obedient, family-oriented and marriage with prince and then gradually develop to heroine who leads to man, and is independent, pioneering, and sometimes saves the nation. Nevertheless, the ending of the Disney animation was still not escape the institutional, traditional discourse. Female characters are followed to meet the featured actor kissing and marriage, or was to show the virtues of sacrifice for the actor. However, Elsa in 'Frozen' is the character with an independent identity compared with the patriarchy, male chauvinism and heterosexual dichotomous discourse given so far in Disney. In this study, it is to explain the change of gender identity in the character of Elsa through Queer theory that deconstructs the distinction between sex and gender, and is constituted by the actions typed and performed the gender concept, and is dismantling the dichotomy itself such as male/female, heterosexual/homosexual. The performative of Queer make the boundaries between lesbian-gay, sexuality and heterosexual ambiguous. It can be said that the performative has political nature resisted to the dominant discourse through these parodiable strategy. The performative showed of Elsa is in the boundaries between the sisterhood and the heterosexual. When analyzed in a heterosexual perspective Elsa's identity is to be understood as simply just love the intimacy of a sister and a sister. On the other hand, if you focused on the relationship between women and the relationship between Elsa and Anna is recognized as the point of view of homosexuality. Because if you look at the concept of lesbian continuum, the homosexual love in the female characters of Disney seems like a bond between women, easier than heterosexual love can be hidden sexual desires. Elsa has developed into a performative identity through the expression of performative and the inhibitory of queer identity. And then the her sorcery that was initially contraindicated and the presence of a fear became to the 'lesbian phallus'. The sorcery that can be seen the signifying phallus against to the privileges of heterosexual patriarchy is recognized in the world of Arendal. Elsa is a new women featuring Disney characters. as this character is analysised by Queer theory, this study seeks to expand the area of the various character analysis methods.

• Cartoon and Animation Studies
• /
• s.40
• /
• pp.315-336
• /
• 2015

Since it is imperative to share the values with the spectators to convince the public of the era, the main characters of a story that underwent numerous adaptation through time would change gradually. This paper examined changes of the main characters in various versions of Cinderella. Until the mid-20th century, Cinderella would be portrayed as a meek, passive and obedient girl as in the original fairy tale version of Perrault. As moving to 70s, a heroine who acts with her own feelings and thoughts began to appear. In the 90s, spectators could meet a protagonist who fought fiercely to be the owner of her own fate, and in the recent Disney movie, Cinderella stood up for herself while accepting herself as she was. The prince character also underwent similar transition. In the early versions of Cinderella, the prince would be a vague figure with a title who was desired by all maids in the country. It is in the 70s that the prince began to be portrayed as a person who has his own problems. In the recent years, the spectators could see the process that the prince transformed from a naive aristocrat to a man with responsibilities. In modern society, women have more social opportunities compared to the past, and women's social statuses do not need to be secured by relationship with men any longer. Thus Cinderella story is not as popular nowadays, moreover somebody whose dream is becoming Cinderella would subject to social reproach. However, beside the gender, the story could be the only hope for people who feel a sense of helplessness that there is no chance in their lives. As result variations of Cinderella story will go on as long as people of social deprivation exist.