Updated: Reading List (Animated Films) – Forms and Contexts of Literary Studies

Secondary Sources & Theoretical Works

Cox, Carole. “Children’s Films: The Literature Connection.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, vol. 7, no. 3, 1982, pp. 10–13, doi:10.1353/chq.0.0663.

Dens, Nathalie, et al. “DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU RECOGNIZE? The Effects of Brand Placement Prominence and Movie Plot Connection on Brand Attitude as Mediated by Recognition.” Journal of Advertising, vol. 41, no. 3, M. E. Sharpe, Inc, 2012, pp. 35–53, doi:10.2753/JOA0091-3367410303.

Hudson, Simon, et al. “Meet the Parents: A Parents’ Perspective on Product Placement in Children’s Films.” Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 80, no. 2, Springer, 2008, pp. 289–304, doi:10.1007/s10551-007-9421-5.

Goldstein, Adam O., et al. “Tobacco and Alcohol Use in G-Rated Children’s Animated Films.” JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 281, no. 12, American Medical Association, 1999, pp. 1131–36, doi:10.1001/jama.281.12.1131.

González, María Pilar León, et al. “Associations Between Media Representations of Physical, Personality, and Social Attributes by Gender: A Content Analysis of Children’s Animated Film Characters.” International Journal of Communication, vol. 14, University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, Annenberg Press, 2020, pp. 6026–48.

Smith, Susan, et al. Toy Story : How Pixar Reinvented the Animated Feature. Bloomsbury Academic, 2017, doi:10.5040/9781501324949.

Zurcher, Jessica D., et al. “The Portrayal of Families Across Generations in Disney Animated Films.” Social Sciences (Basel), vol. 7, no. 3, MDPI AG, 2018, p. 47–, doi:10.3390/socsci7030047.

Neupert, Richard. John Lasseter. University of Illinois Press, 2016.

Gillam, Ken, and Shannon R. Wooden. “Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Man in Disney/Pixar.” Journal of Popular Film and Television, vol. 36, no. 1, 2008, pp. 2–8. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3200/JPFT.36.1.2-8.

Ackerman, Alan. “The Spirit of Toys: Resurrection and Redemption in Toy Story and Toy Story 2.” University of Toronto Quarterly, vol. 74, no. 4, 2005, pp. 895–912. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1353/utq.2005.0266.

Towbin, Mia Adessa, et al. “Images of Gender, Race, Age, and Sexual Orientation in Disney Feature-Length Animated Films.” Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, vol. 15, no. 4, 2003, pp. 19–44. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1300/J086v15n04-02.

Garlen, Julie C., and Jennifer A. Sandlin. “Happily (N)Ever After: The Cruel Optimism of Disney’s Romantic Ideal.” Feminist Media Studies, vol. 17, no. 6, Dec. 2017, pp. 957–971. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/14680777.2017.1338305.

Fraustino, Lisa Rowe. “‘Nearly Everybody Gets Twitterpated’: The Disney Version of Mothering.” Children’s Literature in Education: An International Quarterly, vol. 46, no. 2, June 2015, pp. 127–144. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10583-015-9250-6.

Lugo-Lugo, Carmen R., and Mary K. Bloodsworth-Lugo. “‘Look Out New World, Here We Come’?: Race, Racialization, and Sexuality in Four Children’s Animated Films by Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks.” Cultural Studies, Critical Methodologies, vol. 9, no. 2, SAGE Publications, 2009, pp. 166–78, doi:10.1177/1532708608325937.

Tenzek, Kelly E., and Bonnie M. Nickels. “End-of-Life in Disney and Pixar Films: An Opportunity for Engaging in Difficult Conversation.” Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, vol. 80, no. 1, SAGE Publications, 2019, pp. 49–68, doi:10.1177/0030222817726258.

Camodeca, Gina. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin: The Politics of Ownership in Disney’s Toy Story.” Studies in Popular Culture, vol. 25, no. 2, 2002, p. 51–.

Smith, Becky L. “What Disney Teaches Our Children about Leadership.” Popular Culture Review, vol. 10, no. 2, Aug. 1999, pp. 79–87. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mlf&AN=1999074868&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Academic Journal

~~Zurcher, Jessica D., et al. “The Portrayal of Families Across Generations in Disney Animated Films.” Social Sciences (Basel), vol. 7, no. 3, MDPI AG, 2018, p. 47–, doi:10.3390/socsci7030047.~~

Primary Texts

Docter, Pete, and Del Carmen, Ronnie. “Inside Out Original Story.” Script Slug, Walt Disney Studios, 19 June 2015, https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/scripts/inside-out-2015.pdf.

Bird, Brad. “Ratatouille.” Script Slug, Walt Disney Studios, 2007, https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/scripts/ratatouille-2007.pdf.

Keywords & Key Terms

Product Placement
Screenwriting/Screenplays
Children’s Animated Films
Pixar, Disney, DreamWorks
Animated Film Characters
Subliminal Messaging
Family, class, sexuality

I knew that I was interested in writing my thesis about a topic related to American cinema, but I didn’t know anything more specific than that. I am interested in screenwriting, cinematography, and film adaptations. I also kept in mind my favorite genres which are horror, trillers, and documentaries. The first question I looked into was the “connection between film and literature”. From here, there were some sources about film adaptations and I saw some about the representation of trauma in film which piqued my interest. When I searched trauma in film, most of the sources mentioned the films people are first introduced to—animated children’s films. Naturally, production companies like Pixar, Disney, and DreamWorks were also mentioned. I focused on Pixar the most, out of personal interest. I have a handful of sources that I did not include in my secondary sources section, but I think could be useful to me. I am still not entirely sure if I want to stick to a topic within animated children’s films, just because I love documentaries and I feel like I want to research more about their production before I commit to this film genre. What I like about children’s animated films is that I would explore how they influence young audiences: how the films represent family, class, and sexuality. Also, how the young viewers are taken advantage of with things like product placement and subliminal messaging. What interests me about these movies are things adults notice but kids cannot see, and possibly vice versa.

10/25/21: With introducing primary texts to this list, I knew I had to make a decision about which movies to write about. My biggest issue here was that I planned to focus on the early 2000s movies I grew up with, but in more recent years those movies released may have more content pertaining to my topic. However, I haven’t seen those movies (yet): Inside Out, Soul, Coco, Moana. The first thing I did was make a list of my favorite animated movies and/or movies I think I should look into more: Trolls (DreamWorks), Madagascar (DreamWorks), Spirit (DreamWorks), Brother Bear (Disney), Monsters Inc. (Pixar), Finding Nemo (Pixar), Soul (Pixar), Inside Out (Pixar), Coco (Pixar), Ratatouille (Pixar), Moana (Disney), and Ice Age (DreamWorks). After I thought of my favorite movies, I looked into who made them, I did this informally on Google and noted their names. Two names seemed most prominent (Ken Miyamoto and John Lasseter—who is a familiar name to me). From here, I searched for the screenplays online. Most are tricky to find, especially for free, but I found some. I also searched screenwriting themes and rules that those who work for Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks follow. I am still unsure if my primary sources will be the films themselves or their screenplays, though I will most likely end up utilizing both. I also thought of the question: how are animals used to present human stereotypes? I didn’t end up grabbing any sources from here, but I did look around on the Film Literature Index from JumpStart.