Toy Story

Jack Gannon

Dr. Waggoner

Writing as Inquiry

7 November 2016

You’ve Got a Friend in Me

              Every young kid has their personal favorite movie. I think that we all can admit when we look back at our life, that nothing at times mattered more than going to see Mickey Mouse or Buzz Lightyear. As children, we look up to the characters in our favorite films as someone we strive to be to like later in life. The characters seem larger than life and do everything perfectly. However, what we sometimes do not pick up on as kids are the messages these characters actually send. I will discuss the Toy Story movie and the positive and negative messages it sends.

              Looking back now at what were some of my favorite movies, I cannot believe some of the hidden crude symbols that are shown in these films. I am also surprised at some of the much deeper positive messages there are in these films. Toy Story is a film that has both good and bad messages.

The most positive aspect of this film is the overarching theme of friendship and positivity. I cannot think of one movie that is more positive than this one and displays how to develop a positive relationship. Woody the Cowboy is the head of all the toys. He is the sheriff who always saves the day. In the beginning, he is a terrific leader when talking to the entire toy group. Since Andy is moving in a week, Woody has to arrange moving buddies because he wants no toys left behind. During Woody’s speech, he makes a comment about how there is nothing to worry about in this process, but some of the other toys don’t feel the same and start to panic. The Slinky Dog soon reminds them how there is nothing to worry about saying Woody has never steered them wrong. The group calms down and they peacefully then solve things together. However, not everything goes as smooth: such as when Buzz Lightyear shows up there’s a little bit of a controversy between him and Woody on who is the head guy. Buzz wows everyone at first with his wings and flashy lights. This makes Woody believe that he does not have the same show factor as Buzz. This leads to jealousy and arguments between the two. As their journey goes on together, they move past their differences and become friends. In the ending scenes when Andy and his family are moving, Buzz is stuck outside of the moving truck. Woody sees this and sends out an RC car to help retrieve him to Andy’s car so they can be together. In the end, the two become great friends. As a whole, there are many different toys, but they are all friends, everyone one is supportive of each other. An excellent example of this is Rex the dinosaur’s famous quote, “You just have to believe in yourself.”

              However, not all movies are perfect, and this one has some negative messages. Earlier I mentioned how Woody was jealous of Buzz at first, but they then became friends. However, I see no reason for this much jealousy to be in a children’s movie in the first place. It makes it seem like it’s okay to talk down about someone just because you like what they have. When Buzz arrives, everyone is looking at him and Woody says, “You think they’ve never seen a new toy before.” This clearly shows his envy over Buzz. When Woody calls Buzz a toy, Buzz corrects him by saying, “I think the word you are looking for is space ranger.” Woody replies by saying, “The word I’m searching for I cannot say because there’s preschool toys present.” This shows messages implies that just because someone has cool stuff, it is okay to call them crude names. In one scene Woody also pushes Buzz out of a window to get rid of him then lies by saying it wasn’t him. Lying and jealous are both terrible things and this movie makes them seem okay.

              In conclusion, this movie has good messages about being a positive friend, as well as negative messages on jealous and lying.

 Spongebob Squarepants Movie

The spongebob Squarepants Movie is an adventure film, that features many inspiring scenes, that would most  convey positive messages to a young viewer. Although I am now eighteen, I still enjoyed the movie and could see many examples of fortitude, problem solving and courage. As there were many positive messages displayed in the movie there were also a few scenes that may have set a bad example or prematurely introduced the young viewers to more mature content. First I will dive into the good that I was in this film. As I stated earlier, this was a true adventure film. The plot of this movie revolves around spongebob going on a mission to retrieve King Neptune's crown. The crown was stolen by Plankton, a rival restaurant owner to the Krusty Krab, where spongebob serves as the loyal frycook at. Plankton meticulously frames the owner of the Krusty Krab, Eugene Krabs, for the theft of King Neptune's beloved crown. King Neptune then freezes Eugene Krabs and gives Spongebob six days to retrieve the crown from the forbidden Shell City. Spongebob in an effort to show Mr. Crabs that he is a man, sets on a mission to retrieve the crown and save Mr. Crab’s life. On this mission, is where we see the examples of fortitude and the power of love that sets a good example for the young viewers. A specific scene that vividly depicts such strong power of love is when spongebob was on his deathbed in Shell City. They were placed here by the “Shell City monster” who was actually a scuba diver, who sells mounted sea creatures. As Spongebob and his friend Patrick Star were under the hot lamp, drying there sea bound bodies to their death, they both shed a tear. As they both dried into their earthlike forms, the tears they shed dripped to the bottom of their fiery death bed and formed into a heart. This tear heart then slid down onto the cable that was powering the hot lamp. This tear slid all the way down to the power outlet, knocking out the power of the lamp. The smoke from the power outage then fills the room and makes its way up to the smoke detector, setting off the sprinklers. The water from the sprinklers then brings Spongebob, Patrick and the rest of the sea novelties in the shop back to life. The sea creatures all then team up to take down the Shell City Monster, giving Spongebob and Patrick the opportunity to take King Neptune’s crown. This display of love (the tear heart) shows how the power of love can overcome and situation, no matter how bad the situation may be. This most definitely is a good example for young viewers. As this was such an inspiring message from the film, there are also scenes from the film that do not set a good example for young viewers. The most questionable scene from this film is Spongebob’s “drunken night at the Goofy Goober”. Spongebob was very let down and hurt when he was not awarded the manager position at the new Krusty Krab 2, and goes down a spiraling path that night when he went to the Goofy Goober restaurant. To deal with his ill emotions, Spongebob goes to the Goofy Goober ice cream bar where he orders countless amounts of ice cream sundaes to cope with his pain. The ridiculous amounts of ice cream that SpongeBob eats leaves him in a disturbingly drunk state of mind. There are two very questionable aspects of this scene, in regards to young viewers. First is the display of Spongebob’s unhealthy coping mechanism for his previous let down. Going to a “bar” and ordering mass amounts of ice cream (beer) is no way to cope with a let down, especially when shown in a children's film. The next questionable aspect of this scene is the fact that Spongebob obviously seemed drunk, after eating ice cream. This does not only make sense but also makes you question what the director was trying to imply to young viewers while directing this scene. In the end, I most definitely believe that the positive messages in this film outweighed the negative ones. This movie revolved around fortitude and the power of love. Though there were a few questionable scenes, the positive takeaways are much more powerful.

The Meaning of Cars

Cars is one of Pixar's most famous movies, and most certainly one of the most successful in the box office. The movie is about Lightning McQueen, a famous rookie race car who has taken the racing league by storm, but lets his ego get in the way while trying to pursue a championship. He ends up in a town called Radiator Springs, where he is arrested for essentially destroying the town, and is required to fix it. While performing this seemingly daunting task, McQueen comes to love the town and the people in it, and these citizens prove to have a pivotal role in helping McQueen winning the championship at the end of the movie. As a child, I only watched the movie for the entertainment and because I always loved racing, but as I rewatch it years later, I pay attention to the lessons trying to be taught by Pixar.

Throughout the movie, all McQueen cares about is himself. He only wants to win the championship and become sponsored by Dinoco, the leading team in the race car world. In the beginning of the movie, he fires his pit crew because they called him stupid, and everyone else then sees that McQueen's ego goes completely unchecked. Everyone believes that McQueen is a great racer, but not the most social and friendly person. When traveling to the tie-breaker race, McQueen's agent asks who he wants to attend the race, and McQueen can't name a single person that he would call a friend. Shortly after this, McQueen's reality check begins. He falls out of his trailer and finds himself in Radiator Springs, where he tears up the town and is mandated to fix it. Doc, the city judge, says the repairs should take five days, which is the day McQueen's tiebreaker race is scheduled. McQueen hates his situation, and initially, refuses to befriend anyone and try to leave Radiator Springs as quickly as possible. However, as the five days progresses, he befriends a tow truck named Mater, who is responsible for keeping McQueen from escaping. McQueen tries to escape on numerous occasions, but is inevitably caught. McQueen also befriends the de-facto mayor, Doc, an old car whom McQueen originally despises. However, as time progresses, McQueen realizes that Doc was formerly known as the Hudson Hornet, a legendary race car who won three championships. McQueen begins to be taught by Doc, and ironically enough, by Mater, and by the time the fourth day comes around, the media come to Radiator Springs, find McQueen and take him away for him to race in the championship. The people of Radiator Springs are devastated, but not angry at McQueen. At the end of the movie, the Radiator Springs crew shows up at the championship to support McQueen and even act as his pit crew. McQueen ends up losing the race, only because he helps King, another legendary race car, finish the race because of a terrible wreck. McQueen ends up heading back to Radiator Springs, and makes it his racing headquarters in order to be with the people he became best friends with. In the beginning, everyone views McQueen as a self-centered car who only cares about winning. During the first race, McQueen refuses to change his tires against the wishes of his pit crew, and ends up blowing the back two tires, nearly losing him the race. The decision to not change tires makes McQueen look incredibly stupid. Pixar is essentially trying to prove a rather negative message during this part of the movie, saying that you really don't need anyone's help to be successful. As the movie progresses, Pixar begins to incorporate their positive message, essentially saying that everything you achieve is far greater with the help of friends. Pixar also teaches the audience that being first isn't everything. In fact, it's simply a number, and if one has to sacrifice being first to help someone out, the reward is far greater than a trophy.

When comparing each point made in the movie, the one children come to realize much quicker is the positive one. Pixar wasn't necessarily trying to prove that you should do everything alone and tune everyone else out, but that friends make your successes far better, and that first place isn't always the best award. When children watch this movie, all they see in the beginning is a cocky race car who doesn't have the word "lose" in his vocabulary. However, as the movie progresses, children come to understand that McQueen isn't perfect, and in fact, he's far from it. They realize that McQueen doesn't have any friends at first and that he is rather lonely. At the end of the movie, he has some of the best friends one could ask for, and that they've influenced him to become a better person.

Up: Adventure found in an Hour and Half 

Up is a film that has critically acclaimed as a Pixar Masterpiece. The film, motivated by a genuine and beautiful love story,  inspires an audience of all ages and has remained relevant in the movie industry through both the marketing aspect and in reverence to slogans regarding fulfilling one’s dream. The story line aligns itself directly with the expression “anything is possible if you set your mind to it” if done with a courageous mind and a brave heart. With a background of a love story that is carried as a theme, there is strong sense of pathos throughout. The film Up promotes inner curiosity and the fulfillment in adventure that can be found at any age by using the dimensions of the seemingly ornery of the protagonist, Mr. Fredricksen tied to his wife Ellie, and young supporting character, Russell. 

Charles Muntz, the character who coined the expression “adventure is out there”, becomes the inspiration for Carl Fredricksen and wife Ellie. Muntz promises to capture the beast that is unknown to North America, even after his failure and embarrassment of tampering with the dimensions of a prior finding. His perseverance to prove his beliefs creates the thought that children too should be willing to drive towards their aspirations, regardless of set backs that happen along the way. The beginning of the film shows a young Carl imitating conquest like the ones Charles Muntz performs, such as conquering the grand canyon; he mimics this in a small way by jumping over a crack in the side walk. This small victory shows a passion finding confidence in accomplishing your own goals, though they only may start as a vision. There is a power in imagination. 

The couple together gets married and still have a shared want to go on their adventure. The concept of class levels is brought up at this point in the film, as Ellie’s side of the family is loud, loosely dressed and cheering where as the Carl’s side of the family put together and proper.  

There is an implied concept that the bride’s is a group of hillbillies opposed to the alternate  groom’s side of conservatives. Regardless of the separation, the two are still in love and in love with the possibilities of their future. This reminds the audience that no matter where you come from, the mold you are born to does not have to define the life you decide to live; common interest and love can be a greater force. 

The accept of adventure reoccurs again when the Adventure Book is brought to focus. Again showing the thing they both they want the most is feasible. A reoccurring aspect of the film, it again reiterates a solid and reachable accomplishment. Their dreams are a part of their daily life. The couple use the jar of coins, contributing to the jar every day. Though they have bad luck along the way, bringing about set backs, they continue to persevere. This continual commitment is yet another reminder of how to succeed. 

There is then a shift in the film after Ellie passes. Now called only Mr. Fredrickson, he cannot walk down the stairs and needs to be assisted with a device.He goes through a routine and refuses to move from his home and conform to modern society showing that the elderly are set in their ways and unwilling to change. When forced to live in Shady Oaks, a retirement home, they make comments such as, “thats typical, he’s probably going to the bathroom for the 80th time”. The comment makes light of the elderly losing their faculties and their ability to perform to the full capacity that someone of youth would be able to. 

Russell, a Wilderness explorer, again demonstrates the difference between the two elderly and young. Talking loudly and quickly, his hearing aid rings as a result. The use of the hearing aid adds to looking down upon the older community. 

Mr. Fredrickson is shown as being easily annoyed and frustrated, especially by Russell:two opposing characters. Russell seeking adventure as the now grown Mr. Fredricksen once did, asks many questions and fights against common thought. He is want to see new life and be a part of new experiences. Mr. Fredricksen, oppositely, is unable to be unattached from his house, as he talks to it and offers advice, once again showing that the elderly cannot let go. 

The main theme of adventure is well conveyed and offers many to believe that they too are willing and able to do fulfill what they hope to do one day, as the house does eventually end up in Paradise Falls as wanted. Though there is the presence of making fun of the elderly, the movie overall has a positive message that can be used as example for children in the years to come.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nviA72Lfio8

What We See and Don't See

What We See and Don't See

         The Lion King, a childhood favorite presented by Walt Disney Pictures, is filled with symbolism that might be hard for children to detect, but is far more evident to an older crowd. This movie includes examples of messages that could be considered positive and negative to children. The negative message I am going to focus on that I believe children would definitely not pick up on, but would be considered a undesirable message to teach children. The song in the movie “The Madness of Scar” is all about Scar’s attraction to Nala and how he’ll mate with her whether she agrees or not. The song begins with Scar singing about how he is disliked by most in the community, and he decides that what will determine his happiness is a girl. Scar believes he is dead without a queen, and that is when Nala enters. He comments on how perfect her timing is and then precedes to say one way or another that she will be his. He disregards her opinion for he believes she belongs all to him. Instead of Scar approaching the situation with the mindset of I want her to be mine, he instead claims that she has to be his. Although this is reading deeply into the situation, it is not something that should be taught to children. Just because Scar might want Nala, does not mean he deserves her or will be able to have her. He supposes that since she is the only thing he wants that is solely what matters and she will in fact be his. Nala even asks if Scar is listening to her because he seems to be completely ignoring what she is saying. He continues to talk about how she will be his even with her disapproval. This message could be degrading to women and sends the message that our opinion is useless to men. This is far from something we want to teach children, for we should be empowering children to have power to say no if they are in an undesirable situation. Contrary to this message, The Lion King is also filled with positive messages that are beneficial to children. “Hakuna Matata” is one of the most important life lessons one could endure during their lifetime. Timon and Pumba teach Simba to stay away from worries and replace them with optimism, joy, and love. Timon and Pumba instill in Simba that worries empty our strength and place a barrier on the face of happiness. This is such a vital life lesson because often people let their worries determine their happiness and rule their life. Hakuna Matata is a famous lesson sourced from The Lion King that is known by many. Overall, I believe the positive messages in The Lion King far outweigh the bad messages. Overall, I had trouble thinking of negative messages within the movie, but could immediately think of all the things it taught me as a child. I think the positive messages within this movie are far more powerful than the negative messages, and should continue to stay a childhood favorite.

"The Madness of Scar" Song

Lyrics

Zazu, why am I not loved?

I am that rare and awesome thing
I'm every inch a king
Yet I feel a twinge of doubt
As I go walk about
Is this talk of love or regicide?
Please tell me I'm adored
stinkin' entres!
Day after day it gnaws at the very core of my being
down and scoot
buzzards for your next bite!
But how about some lunch?
It doesn't matter if it's fresh
I need a fix of flesh
My bones have moved to where they've never been
They are on the outside looking in
Oh, you are so adored
Of wildebeest kielbasa
Or maybe hornbill on the spit...
There he is!
No! There he is!
And there!
headaches!
I'm better than Mufasa was
I'm revered
I am reviled
I'm idolized
I am despised
I'm keeping calm
I'm going wild!
Yes I am, no you're not
Yes I am, no you're not
I tell myself I'm fine
Yes I am
No you're not
Yes, no, yes, no, who am I talking to...?
What did my brother have that I don't have?
descendants, no future. With a queen, I'll have cubs... Immortality will
be mine! Immortality will be mine!
grown
It's written in the stars
Oh, Nala... you know how I loathe violence... One way or another, you will
be mine
You all belong to me

Hey, boss!

When my name is whispered through the pride

Reggie who?

Tell me I'm adored

Hey, boss!

Oh, what is it?

We got a bone to pick with you

There's no food, no water--

Yeah. It's dinnertime, and there ain't no

Oh, you and your petty complaints. You don't know what real hunger is.

I had that once. It was worms

No, no, no... it's like an itch... deep, persistent, profound...

That's it-- worms! When they get really bad all you gotta do is... hunker

Thanks for the tip. Ingrates! If it weren't for me you'd be beating off

Yeah, you're our savior, thanks a bunch

Are you blaming me?

Oh no, it's the lionesses

You are so adored

That's more like it

But what I'd give for one more hit

Oh, how I miss Mufasa

Mufasa?! Mufasa?! How dare you! I told you never to mention that name!

Note taken. I shall never mention "M-m-m" again

Even in death, his shadow looms over me

Calm yourself, Sire, or you'll get another one of your splitting

I am perfectly fine!

I tell myself I'm fine

No you're not, yes I am, no you're not

Oh, pull yourself together, Sire!

Oh, very well. Zazu? Zazu, Zazu, Zazu...?

Yes, Sire?

Nobody loved me, there's the rub, not even as a cub

Do you want the short list or the long?

Whatever!

Well, he had adoring subjects... a loving family... a devoted queen...

That's it! I need a queen!

A what?

A queen, man! A queen! Without a queen, what am I? A dead end, no line, no

Scar

Ah, Nala... Your timing couldn't have been more perfect. My how you've

Scar, you have got to do something. We're being forced to overhunt

She's got those assets feminine

You're the king. Control the hyenas

I have to make her mine

You're destroying the Pridelands

Nobility in every gene

If we don't stop now.. Don't you see...

She has to be my queen

...there's still a chance for things to be all right again...

Come, sweet Nala

What are you doing? Are you listening to me?

We'll create a host of little Scars

What are you talking about?

Tell me I'm adored

Get away from me

Tell me I'm adored

Never, Scar. Never!

You belong to me

You all belong to me

Blog 4-Shrek

Ariana Delgado

Mrs. Waggoner

Writing as Inquiry 10803

29 October 2016

Shrek Movie

Children movies are meant to present a moral message for children in a fun and easy way to understand. In some cases, a negative message can unintentionally be discovered throughout the movies as well. Specifically, the movie Shrek explores the importance how things are more than they appear on the surface. This message is conveyed throughout Shrek’s quest to rescue the princess Fiona from a castle. Lord Farquaad believes that he cannot be king without a princess, which leads him to demand for her rescue. In exchange for Shrek’s swamp Lord Farquaad requests that Shrek is the one who will rescue Fiona from the dragon-infested castle. Shrek is portrayed as an ugly, violent, grumpy and aggressive Oger who refuses to let anyone in his life. He prefers to be alone because he is use to scaring everyone in his path away. When Shrek meets donkey, a funny, caring and loving friend, he starts to allow his true colors to be shown. He cannot fathom the fact that someone would actually chose to be his friend. No matter how much Shrek pushes donkey away, donkey never leaves Shrek’s side and stands by him through every obstacle. Although the positive message is portrayed throughout the movie there is also a negative message that judging people by their appearance is acceptable. There are multiple jokes toward the characters regarding their appearance that might convince the younger crowd that they can judge people by their looks.

The positive message being conveyed in Shrek is that sometimes things do not always appear they way they are. Shrek is convinced that he is too ugly for anyone to want to be his friend. He lives alone on his swamp and wishes no one bother him. In multiple scenes, Shrek uses his intimidating demeanor to scare off people when in reality he knows he is a friendly Oger. In one scene, Shrek even admits to donkey, “Sometimes things are more than they appear.” This is the moment that the positive message is truly shown. Shrek is beginning to realize that he deserves to be treated for his personality rather than his appearance. Another example includes the dragon that is holding Fiona hostage in the castle. At first the dragon is portrayed to be violent, aggressive and even out to kill Shrek and donkey. Once donkey treats the dragon with respect it was obvious that the dragon would never hurt them and even helped Shrek reach Fiona in time. Lastly, Fiona is first shown as a beautiful princess but throughout their journey her true self comes out. For example when they come across a man in the woods and Fiona is the one to fight them and Shrek and donkey stand there in awe. Eventually at the end of the movie Fiona is expressed as her real self, an Oger. Fiona was frightened to show her real side because she thought she would not find love. When Shrek ignores how Fiona looks like she realizes that choosing her real side is more important and will not hold her back. This is a good message for young children because they might believe that putting out this fake persona is better because it can make them more friends but Shrek shows them that being themselves is always a better idea.

Although the positive message in Shrek is very distinct the negative message is still present. The negative message that children can receive from watching Shrek includes that judging people by their appearance is an acceptable thing to do. Throughout the whole movie there were unlimited inappropriate jokes about the character’s appearance. The most obvious one were the comments toward Shrek about his unfortunate appearance as an Oger. Lord Farquaad, Fiona and even donkey all refer to Shrek as hideous, ugly, and even violent. Even when Shrek rescues Fiona from the castle she is disappointed to see who her prince charming is. Several inappropriate jokes were made about Lord Farquaad size. The most noticeable joke includes the time that Shrek and donkey reach Lord Farquaad castle and see how big it is, wondering if he is compensating for something. There are multiple referrals Shrek would be poking fun to that children would notice. In the wedding scene, Lord Farquaad is about to marry Fiona when it become dark outside and she transforms to an oger. He immediately refuses to marry her and even threatens to put her back into the castle. This tells young children especially young girls that appearance is everything when trying to find love.

In conclusion, the negative message is more powerful because the judgment of characters started from the beginning of the movie all the way to the wedding at the end. Even in the last scenes, rude jokes were being made about Shrek and even Fiona’s appearance. The positive message is still distinct but young children would have to put the pieces together regarding the message. It might be difficult for them to realize how the characters change throughout the movie. The children might not catch the positive message because the inappropriate jokes were still being made to the very end. Young kids would have to make the conclusion that Shrek, the dragon and Fiona all appeared different from who they really are. The negative message of judging people is easier for children to see because it is present throughout the whole movie and is easy to catch on to. 

The Little Mermaid: Movie Analysis

                 Disney Cartoons were in almost everyone’s memory about childhood, with gorgeous princesses and princes who always ended up together. However, as when we re-watch the movie as an adult, we can have a more critical insight into the children movies, and we realize they have a lot of negative messages. In this case, ‘The Little Mermaid’ will be discussed.

                  The amount of positive messages in ‘The Little Mermaid’ as well as other Disney movies are prevalent. The movies of this type often try to convey very simple lessons, the most popular ones are: true love, good people always win, etc. However, in the little mermaid, the  message that impressed me the most is the true meaning of friendship. This is not as obvious as the true love message, but to me, it’s the most beautiful. The crab, Sebastian (can be called as the advisor of the Triton King) was portrayed at first as a strict man, then he finally went with Ariel (The Mermaid) to the price’s castle to support her in achieving her goal as making the price fall in love with Ariel and kiss her. We can see in the movie that Sebastian has gone through tons of troubles when he was there with the mermaid. However, he still stayed and help her with extra effort, such as building up the romantic environment for their love, persuade the king to help Ariel enjoying her happiness beside the prince. The fish, Flounder and the sea gull, Scuttle help Ariel in stalling the wedding between the sea witch - Ursula and the prince. They cooperate and work with each other perfectly, and I find that scene spectacularly entertaining. Basically, Ariel’s friends have done nearly 60% of the work that make the prince fall in love with the mermaid. With this detail, the movie provide the crucial but implied message: Friends are very important in difficult situations.

             However, there are some negative messages in the film that can be observed by more experienced viewers. There are some details like the overt sexuality of Ariel or the detail Ariel giving up her voice, the factor that made the prince fall in love with her in the first place, but what I want to discuss here is the over-emphasis of appearance. The sea witch actually said this ‘You’ll have your look, your pretty face’. This misleading opinion could be troublesome if it enters a young mind, because children may think appearance is the only thing that matters to get a boyfriend or girlfriend. Another example is when Ariel was at the ship when the prince was having a party, and she fell crazily in love with him because of ‘He is very handsome’. This viewpoint somewhat reflects some real life situation called ‘Love at first sight’. However, the scene could be looked at a different angle and convey a different meaning: Handsome is the first criterion to make some on fall in love with you. The over-emphasis of appearance in the movie is not only portrayed by love story, but also by the depict of villain and the main character (Ariel) in this movie as well as any other Disney cartoons involving princesses and princes. The villain is portrayed as being extremely ugly, and it can be easily seen as the villain, just through the look, and the main character is very beautiful and can be also judged as kind-hearted by her pretty look. This could lead to a misleading perception of children with the world full of disguised people, as they may ‘judge a book by its cover.

              Although the negative messages in ‘The Little Mermaid’ in particular and Disney children movies in general could be seen as troublesome, the positive impacts are stronger, in my opinion. There are two reasons: First, the film is filled with positive messages, and it has a happy ending, so it is safe to say it’s overwhelming with positive message. Second, the targeted viewers of the movie is children, mostly under 12 (or even under 10 nowadays), who are not able to have critical insight to realize some details like sexuality of Ariel or the fact that appearance is important. We adults can spot it easily, but children don’t often focus on minimal details like that, instead they focus on the big picture, which helps them overlook the negative messages and just enjoy the movie.

                To summarize, the movie ‘The Little Mermaid’ as well as other Disney films with the same type does have some negative messages along with an overwhelming amount of positive messages. Therefore, it is a huge chance that children cannot see the negative details, and the films still have educational and entertaining values. Personally, I remember when I was a kid, I never realized those bad messages, but now when I re-watched I can see it pretty easily.