Fantasia: These vignette films are going to be harder, but there’s at least one skit in each combination film that this message fits.(Can you tell this one isn’t my favorite?!) Pinocchio: This little annoying puppet thinks he’s not where he belongs, finds he loved home after all, abandons comrades trapped as donkeys working in mines.Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Snow White isn’t where she belongs, saves herself, helps disenfranchised, finds happiness despite being naive (also don’t take food from strangers).But what about the rest of the Disney canon? I’m glad you asked. Okay, so this theory clearly works…in those three movies. Here’s the full song in case you haven’t heard it in awhile. The entire song Go the Distance is about this very message- I don’t belong, I’d give anything to know where I’m meant to be. We see this same theme play out in Hercules, once again in song form. It isn’t until Moana finds the truth and realizes her desire to be on the water isn’t a bad thing that she can accept herself and build a new kind of life. That seems awfully familiar, doesn’t it? I think that’s a message we all feel at some point in our lives. Once again, we learn our protagonists’ innermost thoughts via song when she sings, “I can lead with pride/ I can make us strong/ I’ll be satisfied if I play along/ but a voice inside sings a different song/ what is wrong with me?” In both the Frozen films and Moana, our heroines blame themselves for feeling out of place and different. Moana is also a great example of a protagonist feeling like they don’t belong and yearning for something more. Turns out the call was inside her all along- just like Moana! Elsa is loving life with Arendelle’s gates open, which we know from the song Some Things Never Change. She sings, “The winds are restless/Could that be why I’m feeling this call?/ There’s something coming/ But I’m not sure I want things to change at all.” Most of her is happy with her life, but part of her feels like she doesn’t belong…which we know from Into the Unknown: “Or are you someone out there/ who’s a little bit like me/ who knows deep down/ I’m not where I’m meant to be?” When Elsa finds the truth about their parents and grandparents, she finds inner peace and where she belongs. The examples that first come to mind are Frozen II, Moana, and Hercules. Finding where they belong, either emotionally, physically, or mentally solves their issue and roll credits. The protagonist isn’t where they belong, and that’s the source of their unhappiness/strife/struggle. So what’s this elusive message in every Disney movie? The same message I love from Frozen II can be found in every single Disney animated feature, and likely the Pixar ones too (though I haven’t put it to the test yet). So I was lying in bed the other night, staring at the ceiling in another bout of pandemic insomnia and thinking about Disney movies (you know, as you do), and I had an epic epiphany.
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