In The Disneyfication of Animals Rebecca Rose Stanton explores how other animals are harmed and objectified in 56 Walt Disney Animation Studios films from 1937–2016, a canon that begins with Snow White and ends with Moana. Animals are of course everywhere in Disney films. Their depictions are stereotypical and speciesist: rats are villainous, dogs are loyal and friendly, cows are usually meat (though of course we never see the slaughterhouses—that wouldn't be fun).
I hadn't immediately realized what the animal presence was in Snow White. Stanton directs our attention toward the feather in Prince Charming's cap, the anthropomorphized doves who befriend the title character, the rabbits who help her clean and cook, and the prince's horse. The doves “are clearly associated with pro-social characters and safe situations, yet other species (such as bats, rats, and eagles) are clearly associated with anti-social characters and danger” (p. xvi). Point taken:...
