Description: In the second edition of The Idea of Nature in Disney Animation, Whitley updates his 2008 book to reflect recent developments in Disney and Disney-Pixar animation such as the apocalyptic tale of earth's failed ecosystem, WALL-E. Beginning with his examination of Snow White, Whitley compelling study complicates our understanding of the classic Disney canon and demonstrates the crucial role the films' depictions of the natural world play in shaping children's understanding of contested environmental issues.
Review Quotes: 'In this welcome new and expanded edition of his 2008 book, David Whitley makes a major contribution not only to Disney studies but to film/media studies and to studies of environmental representation. Packed with persuasive close readings, well-researched, and engagingly written, his book offers fresh perspectives on the Disney canon and its place in popular and academic culture.' Kenneth Kidd, University of Florida 'Whitley carefully and expertly preserves both the inherent wildness and the human sentiment in his attempt to demonstrate how Disney's animated features function to educate mostly young audiences on salient environmental issues... In looking at wilderness, [Whitley] locates the idea of conservation of the idyllic realm of nature, endangered by the human, in Bambi, and demonstrates how films like Pocahontas contest value systems of power and beauty... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.' Choice