In the 2016 live-action remake of the film, King Louie is not an orangutan, but a gigantopithecus (a now-extinct primate native to the Indian jungle where "The Jungle Book" is set). "Brother Bear" is only the beginning of a soon-to-be growing revival of our interest in American Indians. Brother Bear is a 2003 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Moana takes inspiration from Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and Tahiti. To track the "king" idea, the hero would naturally be a bear, the king of the forest. As the concept of cultural appropriation is used in this essay, it does not necessarily carry with it any moral baggage. King and Ray . Cultural appropriation is starting to become more . (This is a linguistic score for Disney--the Kenai people belong to the Tanaina tribe, and her name symbolizes that Tahana is the essence of her people.) In a famous . A Beautiful Girl I Knew Became a High-Class Escort And Paid a Terrible Price. at the start of 2020, nearly two years after teaching herself to sew a pair . What Chuck Berry Taught Us About Cultural Appropriation. However, instead of opening on Halloween, the film would be released on Saturday, November 1, 2003. "Sleeping Beauty" is actually derived from a darker Italian fairytale by Giambattista Basile called "Sun, Moon, and Talia," which is based on a folk tale dating back to the 14th century. Some even argue that Belle is showing signs of Stockholm Syndrome, in which hostage victims develop feelings of trust or affection toward their captors. One of the great American myths about native shamans is that they were rare. Ollie Millington / Getty Images. [22], On October 20, 2003, Brother Bear premiered at the New Amsterdam Theatre where fellow attendees included New York Governor George Pataki and cast members Michael Clarke Duncan and Estelle Harris. For instance, there are racist caricatures in "Dumbo" and "Lady and the Tramp," and non-consensual kisses in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Sleeping Beauty.". Cultural appropriation is the "adoption or taking of specific elements of one culture by another without substantive reciprocity, permission, compensation, understanding, or appreciation" (Chepp, 2012). "Brother Bear" reflects this reality of real-life American Indian shamanism. 6 min read. . The do's, don'ts, maybes, and I-don't-knows of cultural appropriation. Disney made its name adapting famous European stories. I play a Native American transformed into a bear. So Kenai is given a great power. In order to wake Princess Aurora from the eternal sleeping curse that the villainous Maleficent's spinning wheel has placed her under, Prince Phillip gives Princess Aurora "true love's kiss.". Cultural appropriation definition, the adoption, usually without acknowledgment, of cultural identity markers from subcultures or minority communities into mainstream culture by people with a relatively privileged status. In nearly every American Indian culture, the bear is right up there with the eagle, the buffalo and other creatures as the most powerful of animal spirit helpers. Many parents (including celebrities) have voiced their concerns over sharing the scene with their children. Brother Bear: Directed by Aaron Blaise, Robert Walker. 19. However, by this time next year they will be well on the way to becoming a main attraction for visitors to Washington, D.C.. Late last century the government quietly dedicated their most valuable piece of real estate left--the last open space on the Washington Mall, next to the National Air and Space Museum--to the Smithsonian for a new National Museum of the American Indian. The new story is simply set in an uninhabited jungle that white people happen to visit in a time period that looks colonial. The depiction of Native American culture is homogenous and stereotypical: The characters speak in gibberish instead of an actual indigenous language, smoke excessive amounts of pipe tobacco (which they even offer to the children), and sing an offensive song called "What Made the Red Man Red.". Meanwhile, Rutt and Tuke, having had a falling-out, reconcile in front of Koda, prompting him to forgive Kenai. Mulan takes a famous Chinese legend and turns it into the most awesome Disney movie ever. Brother Vellies . Moana's music is subject to appropriation, an echo of how colonial resources were exploited in ways that prioritize benefits to cultural outsiders. Theres a song performed by a Bulgarian choir using Yupik lyrics written by an Alaskan professor. The concept of ohana (family in Hawaiian) is central to the movie. There's a big difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. With their bucked teeth, slanted eyes, and stereotypical East Asian accents, they're racist caricatures. Too often, however, this film's lack of a fresh dramatic approach and not its technique makes it difficult to embrace as much as we'd like to". Many replies to Stenberg's response of the original poster demeaned Amandla for making an argument about race as many bystanders were . Following the critical and commercial success of The Lion King, Disney chairman and CEO Michael Eisner urged for more animal-centric animated features, and suggested a North American backdrop, taking particular inspiration from an original landscape painting by Albert Bierstadt that he bought. . One major criticism Keziah received was that she profaned the dress by wearing it to a party. In the novel, there is a tribe of black people, but they are Tarzans enemies. The score builds at just the right times and knows when to lead the audience to a more somber feeling. "Noticeably marked by their ethnically coded 'street' accents, the hyenas blatantly symbolize racist and anti-Semitic stereotypes of 'verminous' groups that form a threat to society.". When a person has come of age and the spirits are ready, Tahana calls for a ceremony in which she reveals the totem to the recipient, who in turn must "catch" the spirit power of it, as most natives now say. India has a ton of filmmakers already and a huge demographic. Disney's Brother Bear games were released in November 2003 for Game Boy Advance, PC and mobile phones. "[17] While Collins composed six songs for the film, he shared vocal performance duties with Tina Turner, who sang the opening song;[18] the Blind Boys Of Alabama and the Bulgarian Women's Choir, who performed the song, "Transformation". The voice actors are white. He has been criticized for cultural appropriation, stirring up controversy to drum up publicity, and, perhaps most frequently, for his former rap moniker, "Rich Chigga," "chigga" being a . Mehgan Gallagher. Once Pinocchio escapes, he's almost immediately carted off to Pleasure Island, where badly behaved boys drink, smoke, and generally wreak havoc. On the positive side, Disney can shine their spotlight on various countries and cultures, depict diverse people and ideas, and promote openness and understanding. ", Disney replaced the first half of those lyrics in all future versions of the movie after facing backlash from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, but refused to cut, "It's barbaric, but hey, it's home.". Words: 2401 Pages: 8 5490. It incorporates a few elements of African culture, like the Zulu chorus at the start of The Circle of Life and the Swahili catchphrase Hakuna Matata. I also read that the story was inspired by a supposed gap in the navigation history of the Polynesian peoples. The film was the third and final Disney animated feature produced primarily by the Feature Animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida; the studio was shut down in March 2004, not long after the release of this film in favor of computer animated features. Additional vocals by Patrick Pinney, Bob Bergen, Rodger Bumpass, Roger Rose, Debi Derryberry, Randy Crenshaw, Phil Proctor, John Schwab, Bill Farmer, Pamela Adlon, Hope Levy, and Sherry Lynn. One recurring theme in early Disney princess films is the power of "true love's kiss." As for the talent involved, one of the music producers was South African. August 26, 2015 11:10 AM EDT. Some of these movies have a vague setting while others are more specific. It inspired me to take a look at the history of cultural representation in Disney movies. Along the way the two eventually form a brother-like relationship. In our remote-control cultural context, that figure tops out at 15 seconds, max. It is set approximately 2000 years ago. However, since Snow White is unconscious and essentially dead during the scene, this kiss could be viewed as non-consensual and an act of assault. bow", "Brother Bear / Brother Bear 2 (3-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray / DVD] (2013)", "FILM REVIEW; To a Grizzly, Humans Are the Hairy Monsters", "Nothing Scary About Brother Bear's Roaring Start", "An Elf and a Bear Trip Up the Final 'Matrix', "O Brother Bear, Where Art Thou? [5], As is typical for animation voice acting, Suarez and Phoenix voiced their roles separately, although they both did a recording session together at least two times. On the mountain, Kenai is cornered by Denahi, but their battle is interrupted by Koda, who steals Denahi's spear. Think black people being called thugs, assumed to be gang members and refused job opportunities when we wear cornrows, or even our own natural hair. Next fall their doors will open to the public, and since the Air and Space Museum is the Smithsonian's most-visited museum, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what will instantly become the second most visited site on the mall. Disney added the idea of the sky lanterns released on the princess birthday, which led to some of the most beautiful visuals in the film. The story is an original folktale, but Maui is a famous character in Polynesian mythology. Authenticity comes from being original, which can include everyone, as no one individual shares the same unique experiences as another. And of course theres the pitfall of veering into hurtful stereotypes. Denahi arrives and, falsely believing that Kenai was killed by the bear from earlier, vows to avenge Kenai by hunting it down. Unlike Sitka, who gained the eagle of guidance, and Denahi, who gained the wolf of wisdom, Kenai receives the bear of love. The killing of George Floyd also forced many sport teams that utilize Native American heritage to review that . It defends the present day colonial mindset that believes it . [24][25] By January 2005, the film had earned $169 million in home video sales and rentals. The Japanese influences are reflected in the architecture mostly, but also in the design of the robot and tech. So when I see people dressed as Indians on Halloween, I can't just have a good time. The Evolution of Anthropomorphism in Animated Movies. I would love to see Disney make a movie set in India with human characters. "Song of the South" is set on a 19th-century southern plantation and follows Uncle Remus (James Baskett), a black former slave who lives happily on his former white master's plantation. The spirits call upon Tahana to reveal to each member of her tribe their totem spirit power. Disney chose to cut them out entirely, probably to avoid having to deal with the racist themes of the original story. The Emperors New Groove does for pre-Colombian Peru what Hercules did for Ancient Greece. "The Emperor's New Groove's" Kuzco, and "Brother Bear's" Kenai all have one thing in common they're main characters of color in Disney movies who spend almost all of their respective stories . Every other character speaks in British English, implying that the "Jungle Book" apes embody historically dehumanizing, racist comparisons between black people and apes. When it comes to cultural portrayal, Disney has to walk the line between representation and appropriation. Since they cancelled Gigantic, everything they have planned is a sequel. Most people had at least one small power. An ongoing question in the cultural appropriation versus appreciation conversation is, how do white people who love black, Asian, Latinx, Indigenous, and other cultures and its creations express . The voice actors, however, were still white on this film. 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