The animated bestiary : animals, cartoons, and culture / Paul Wells.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wells, Paul, 1961-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Animals in motion pictures.

Animated films--History and criticism.

Animated films.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (236 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Cartoonists and animators have given animals human characteristics for so long that audiences are now accustomed to seeing Bugs Bunny singing opera and Mickey Mouse walking his dog Pluto. The Animated Bestiary critically evaluates the depiction of animals in cartoons and animation more generally. Paul Wells argues that artists use animals to engage with issues that would be more difficult to address directly because of political, religious, or social taboos. Consequently, and principally through anthropomorphism, animation uses animals to play out a performance of gender, sex and sexuality, racial and national traits, and shifting identity, often challenging how we think about ourselves. Wells draws on a wide range of examples, from the original King Kongto Nick Park's Chicken Run to Disney cartoonsùsuch as Tarzan, The Jungle Book, and Brother Bearùto reflect on people by looking at the ways in which they respond to animals in cartoons and films.

Contents:

The bear who wasn't : bestial ambivalence

Of mice and men : what do animals mean?

"I don't care what you say, I'm cold" : anthropomorphism, practice, narrative

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? : performance, philosophy, tradition

Creature comforted : animal politics, animated memory.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-206) and index.

Includes filmography: p. 207-209.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 21. Dez 2019)

ISBN:

1-282-03348-4

0-8135-4643-5

OCLC:

476239158