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136109

Screening Nature in Walt Disney's Bambi (1942) and Dr. Seuss's The Lorax (1972): An Ecocritical Approach to Enviro-toons

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Last updated: 04 Jan 2025

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Abstract

The present study is an attempt to fill in a gap in Ecocriticism which until recently has focused on literature defined as Nature Writing; poetry, fiction and drama. Yet, with the move toward ecocritical Film Studies, there is a place for work on animated feature films. The premise of the study is the ethical and environmental implications as exemplified in the two selected enviro-toons: Disney's Bambi (1942) and Dr. Seuss's The Lorax (1972). The depiction of wilderness and the representation of nonhuman animals provide a rich context to investigate ideology and power to explore oppressive practices of contemporary societies. The selected enviro-toons strongly articulate ecological crisis; hunting, species loss, pollution, deforestation and overproduction. The Lorax exposes overconsumption that is driven by the capitalism's profit motive and the pro-industrial character the Once-ler's "jobs –jobs –jobs" rhetoric. On the other hand, Bambi stands for a romanticized environment with the perspective that marks nature as an ecological sublime since the wilderness trope is worthy of awe and wonder. The peculiar language of animation is deliberately defined by multiple distinctions. Animation is an aesthetically determined lexis, interpreted by different animators, hence, animation bears a distinct authorial signature and a unique studio style. Disney's 'realist' style fits into orthodox animation while that of Dr. Seuss is 'abstract' and 'experimental'. The focus is on the poetics of enviro-toons, that is, not only what cartoons show but how they illustrate ecocritical sensibility and how it affects the way of 'seeing' and understanding the human/nonhuman world. Not only does Dr. Seuss tell fantastical tales of far-away places but he also illustrates a unique visual language that carries his stories to new heights of artistic expression. Surrealism provides the foundation from which he builds the structure of The Lorax. The structure is analogous to a dream-like state to underlie hidden sentiments beyond the orthodoxies of language. In contrast, Bambi is a monologic biography in photographic realism. Disney's mimesis and linear structure do not require deep interpretation and since it is only a warning with no handy action plan, there is no path to human redemption to exist in a world that upholds 'strong anthropocentrism' as a discourse of human dominion over nature. Finally, Ecomedia Studies is a promising pop culture field not only geared to adolescents and children, but also to human community to be aesthetically interpreted against a monolithic approach.  

DOI

10.21608/jwadi.2020.136109

Keywords

Animation Aesthetics, Orthodox animation, Experimental animation, Enviro, toons, ecocriticism, Disneyeque, Seussology

Authors

First Name

Marwa Essam Eldin Fahmy

Last Name

Alkhayat

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Affiliation

Associate Professor of Comparative Literature & Criticism, Faculty of Languages & Translation, English Department, Ahram Canadian University, Egypt.

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Volume

28

Article Issue

28 - الجزء الأول

Related Issue

20268

Issue Date

2020-10-01

Receive Date

2021-01-06

Publish Date

2020-10-01

Page Start

31

Page End

70

Print ISSN

2536-9555

Online ISSN

2682-4582

Link

https://jwadi.journals.ekb.eg/article_136109.html

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https://jwadi.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=136109

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2

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المقالة الأصلية

Type Code

1,243

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

مجلة وادي النيل للدراسات والبحوث الإنسانية والاجتماعية والتربويه

Publication Link

https://jwadi.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Screening Nature in Walt Disney's Bambi (1942) and Dr. Seuss's The Lorax (1972): An Ecocritical Approach to Enviro-toons

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Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023