A Cultural History of the Disney Fairy Tale by Tracey L. Mollet

Author:Tracey L. Mollet
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030501495
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Conclusion

Disney has always infused its productions with a nostalgic vision. However, what is of interest in this era is what happens to this nostalgic vision once Disney moves its fairy tale land into the real world. Firstly, there is an acknowledgement of the fantasy in their visions. In the post-Shrek era, these narratives are parodied and the moral binaries within their character creations are upturned and revised. Good characters can be bad, and bad characters can now be good, introducing a redemption arc for traditionally villainous characters, widening the promise of the American Dream. What is most important here, however, is the location of these fairy tales.

Arguably, the first time Disney attempted to achieve a ‘real world’ fairy tale vision was with the opening of Disneyland in 1955. Main Street USA is the central thoroughfare of every Disneyland park, although notably in Shanghai Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland, the same streets are named ‘Mickey Avenue’ and ‘World Bazaar’, respectively. As Halliwell notes, “Main Street was the symbol of wholesome middle America” (2007, 8) circa 1900. Between the stores and shops that line Main Street, there is certainly a small town 1950s vibe about their layout. Bigsby notes that “these are places that do exist in reality, but exist still more in the mind” (2006, 26). Main Street USA, then, is the fairy tale dream feared lost somewhere in the twentieth century. This nostalgia for small town America also resurfaces in the Disney town of ‘Celebration’ in Florida, with its whitewashed houses and picket fences. This is relevant to this discussion of live action revisionist fairy tales as small town America importantly resurfaces as the real world home of the fairy tale characters in Once Upon a Time . It is seemingly representative of ‘timeless’ small town values: a comfort to Americans in a time of lost national identity and crises. Disney places this nostalgic small town as the gateway to fairy tale land in its theme parks and in Once Upon a Time . It is a reminder of an idyllic past America, with no mobile phones, little technology, one shop, one police station and one American diner. But it is also a reminder of the power of intertextuality in postmodern American culture. It reminds viewers of 1955’s Hill Valley, California, in Back to the Future (1985) and 1958’s Rydell from Grease (1978).

In Enchanted , however, Times Square in New York is the location of the portal between the fairy tale world and the real world. This is a progressive and futuristic version of America, the site of prosperity and capitalism, once shattered by 9/11, but brought back to life as the setting for the fairy tale of Enchanted . Such positioning truly blends America’s past, present and future with the ‘ever after’ land of the fairy tale. Fjellman (1992) notes that Disney “juxtaposes the real and the fantastic” (254), though it could be argued that Disney juxtaposes the American Dream and the fantastic. It portrays a mythical nation with countless symbols and images of the United States, from New York and small town America.

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