The aftermath of Simba disobeying his father, before Mufasa's death.
Disney story lines are known for characters following their heart and aspirations. Protagonists are often adventurous and daring and will undergo any means necessary to achieve their dreams. Though this boldness of character is valuable for children to observe, Disney characters often act out against their parents throughout their attempts to pursue their dreams and be brave. Disney's rhetoric on disobedience encourages children to follow their heart, no matter what their parents advise, and despite any possible consequences or negative impacts of their actions.
Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist and philosopher, conducted extensive research on children. He theorized that in their second stage development, the preoperational stage from ages 2 to 8, children overgeneralize everything. They reach conclusions in very contrasting manners from how adults reach conclusions. For example, children may associate men in uniform with police officers, and thus conclude that all men wearing uniforms must be police officers ("Explaining Children: Three Theories of Development"). Young children’s cognitive and intellectual development has not reached the point where they are able to make more complex connections, such as consequences. A child views something as good or bad - he does not think about how it may affect others around him or what the future outcome may be. When viewing Disney movies in which characters disobey their parents, children will most likely be unable to connect the act disobedience with the impact it has on the family, or any other negative aspect; instead, a child will view the disobedience very unrealistically, in the manner Disney presents it - adventurous and fun, always with positive outcomes.
Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist and philosopher, conducted extensive research on children. He theorized that in their second stage development, the preoperational stage from ages 2 to 8, children overgeneralize everything. They reach conclusions in very contrasting manners from how adults reach conclusions. For example, children may associate men in uniform with police officers, and thus conclude that all men wearing uniforms must be police officers ("Explaining Children: Three Theories of Development"). Young children’s cognitive and intellectual development has not reached the point where they are able to make more complex connections, such as consequences. A child views something as good or bad - he does not think about how it may affect others around him or what the future outcome may be. When viewing Disney movies in which characters disobey their parents, children will most likely be unable to connect the act disobedience with the impact it has on the family, or any other negative aspect; instead, a child will view the disobedience very unrealistically, in the manner Disney presents it - adventurous and fun, always with positive outcomes.
Princess Ariel, who many young girls admire, disobeys her father repeatedly throughout the film, The Little Mermaid. Ariel's father, King Triton, teaches Ariel and often reminds her of an important aspect to their culture: merpeople are forbidden to interact with humans. Ariel, however, continuously longs to be a part of the human world and she proceeds to save a human prince's life on land despite her father's warnings. Not only is she disobeying a rule of her father, but she is disregarding a tradition of the merpeople's culture. King Triton discovers Ariel's disobedient actions, and confronts her, but she goes on to take extreme actions to become human in order to come in contact the prince again. She disobeys her father's regulations to get her way and achieve all she desires. In the conclusion of the film, Ariel wishes to marry the human prince, Eric. King Triton realizes that Ariel "truly loves" Eric, and he not only forgives her, but also blesses the marriage and turns her into a human. Ariel's father essentially gives her everything she ever wanted even though she acted out against everything the king taught and asked of her. Disney presents Ariel's story as a young girl following her heart to live the life she dreamed of with a man she loves. Yet, the manner in which she acts promotes a disobedience of parents in children viewing the film. Ariel disobeys her father and ends up living "happily ever after." This rhetoric on disobedience may lead children to think that acting against their parents can lead to positive benefits and that all will be forgiven in the end.
In Disney's production Mulan, the princess Mulan acts as a strong, positive image of the female gender for children, but her disobedience of her father is a negative influence on young audiences. Mulan's father, Fa Zhou, is commanded by the government to enlist in the war and support his country. He is old, frail, and probably incapable of fighting in battle, but he tells Mulan that he is proud of his duty for China and he longs to support his country and honor his family. Despite his opposition, Mulan flees and enlists in the military, disguised as a man, in place of her father. Disney presents her actions as incredibly noble and brave, but ignores the fact that she breaks the law of the nation, puts herself in grave danger, and leaves her family behind shocked and worried. Though her actions prove to be heroic and worthwhile, they still arose from her disobedience. Children observing Mulan's actions would most likely view her decision to disobey her father as selfless and full of integrity. Due to Disney’s rhetoric on disobedience, of presenting only the positive outcomes, children may acquire the idea that disobedience is reasonable and effective.
Nemo, from the animation Finding Nemo, acts as another example of Disney's rhetoric on disobedience. On Nemo's first day of school, he follows his new friends to an area secluded from the rest of the class; they arrive at "the drop off" - the space where the coral reef meets the deep, open ocean. Nemo and his friends have a competition of sorts to see who can swim the farthest into the open water. Nemo's father, Marlin, finds the kids and tells Nemo to return to the reef and not swim any farther. Let alone disobeying his class teacher, and giving in to peer pressure, Nemo takes out his anger at his father for embarrassing him by ignoring his demands for safety and swimming further anyways. Nemo is then captured out in the open water, and the remainder of the movie focuses on Marlin exploring the ocean searching for his son. The experience of being captured is traumatic for Nemo, and losing his son is horrifying for Marlin. Yet, Disney focuses on the agony of the moment for a brief amount of time, and quickly advances to the fun, adventurous portion of the movie. Marlin searching for Nemo is portrayed as a humorous, wild chase, while Nemo makes great new friends when is taken away from his father. Though there is clearly an unfavorable, frightening aspect to the storyline and the entire film, Disney does not highlight it. Rather, the new friendships made and the fun, exciting times are the feature moments of the film. Children may observe Nemo's disobedience of his father as something that incites a grand adventure. Disney's rhetoric on the positive side of the story could cause children to believe that the worry and danger associated with Nemo's actions are overweighed by the fun and excitement associated with the incident.
As an adolescent or an adult, Disney's commentary on disobedience is easily dissected and looked past - viewing the films, we understand that though the character was following his/her dreams, or trying to be independent, disobeying a parent may have not been the best way to achieve that goal. Adults are aware of consequences, impacts on others, and the reality of deliberate disobedience. Children, however, particularly at their intellectual stage of development, interpret Disney's rhetoric very differently. Since Disney focuses on the positive outcomes of characters' daring actions, children regard their disobedient actions as successful routes to success. The ingrained concept of consequences and poor effects dispersed throughout the movies are overlooked by children, as they are often unable to make complex connections in a plot line; a child would simply notice that a character disobeyed his or her parent and was later rewarded. Chelsea Fagan, a writer for "Thought Catalog" explained the possible effects of Disney's rhetoric on disobedience on children, "Though my goal [as a child\ wasn’t necessarily to walk down the street past my bedtime and go get engaged to the neighbor boy, it certainly planted this idea in my head that if Belle can ditch her father and get a castle library out of it, I could at least probably stretch my TV-watching privileges past 7:30. Little did we know, though, that running away dramatically from your parents and doing the exact opposite of what they have decreed for you usually ends in crucial childhood privileges being taken away, including the right to watch the very movies we were getting our bad habits from." (Fagan 2012). Disney's rhetoric on disobedience has the potential to severely impact young audiences, and encourage more disobedience in their own lives.