Abstract

What Disney version of morality is portrayed in the last three animated feature films, The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and what Disney world view is consequently revealed? is the guiding research question. As rhetorical criticism, the method of this study is a close textual analysis in the historical-critical tradition. The Lion King, using mythic narrative, archetypes, and rituals as communicative tools, acts as a moral educator of children. Moral structure is uncovered in Pocahontas through an examination of how Disney changed its story from historical record and how moral order is established through symbolic boundaries. In The Hunchback, Disney's decision to frame Victor Hugo's tragic story comically affected the reception of the film and its communication of morality requiring clear delineation of virtue and vice. Taken together, the moral messages reveal a postmodern world view and, because of their frequent contradictions, demonstrate a need for critical awareness