Cultural Legacy of Disney

This book critically engages with the Walt Disney Company as a global media conglomerate as they mark their 100th year of business. It reflects on and looks forward to the past, present and future of the company and the scholarly engagement surrounding it through three key areas: Disney as a Company, Disney’s Representations, and Relating to Disney. ‘Disney as a Company’ identifies the corporate and management cultural changes over Disney’s 100-year history, with contributors examining Disney’s transnational media influence, changes in management strategy, and Disney’s recent transmedia venture: Disney+. ‘Disney’s Representations’ features chapters critically engaging with gender, disability, and iconic characters that imply cultural change. ‘Relating to Disney’ embodies the crucial work examining how audiences engage with Disney, with contributors exploring fashion, Disney Fandom and identity, and how people engage with the space of the Parks. This edited collection explores the newer additions to the company, but also reflects on the company’s past over its 100 years. The chapters provide a diverse examination of the many facets of one of the most successful global media conglomerates, providing scholars, students, and interested audiences a global and interdisciplinary snapshot of the Walt Disney Company at 100 years.

Emily Aguiló-Pérez is assistant professor of English at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Hannah Helm is lecturer in English literature at the University of Salford. Robyn Muir is lecturer in media and communication at the University of Surrey. Rebecca Rowe is assistant professor of children's literature at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Introduction The Wonderful(?) World of Disney Robyn Muir, Rebecca Rowe, Hannah Helm, and Emily Aguiló-Pérez Chapter 1 Mickey Mouse's Trip to Republican China: Pictorial Culture and Transnational Media-Mix Muyang Zhuang Chapter 2 Brandcasting Pixar: Corporate Allegory as Corporate Strategy in the War for the Disney Succession Jamie Clarke Chapter 3 Disney+ as a Platform for Franchise Expansion Jason Scott Chapter 4 No-body Like U: Disney Boy Bands from The Jim Crows to 4*TOWN Jennessa Hester Chapter 5 Representations of Dwarfism: How to Laugh with Us, Not at Us Erin Pritchard Chapter 6 From Los Caballeros to La Familia: Ideology and the Construction of Latin America in Disney's Animated Feature Films Abigail Fine Chapter 7 "You Must be Bold and Daring!": How Fashion is Interpreted and Presented Through the Lens of Costuming in Disney's Animated Films Marley Healy Chapter 8 Geotransmedia: Space, Memory and Branding in Magic Kingdom Ana Carolina Almeida Souza Chapter 9 Inheriting my Ears: Disney Fandom and Identity Formation in Infancy Cariad Martin Conclusion The Power of a Mickey Mouse Topic Rebecca Rowe and Hannah Helm