Walt Disney and the World

Article by Gregory Burleson. Edited by Ellie Veryard. Additional Research by Jack Barnes.

Throughout history, the world has stayed a very complex puzzle. With advances in technology and transportation, big business has been able to climb into view and influence world outcomes with the best of nations. One large example, the Walt Disney Company has a storied past of involving itself in world affairs, and therefore has been left open to scrutiny.  While many consider the Walt Disney Company to be a new world imperialist, most of the world overlooks Disney’s long standing traditions that make it one of the finest diplomats the world has seen. 

The Walt Disney Company was started by Walter Elias Disney and his brother Roy as an animation studio. During World War II the Disney Company began creating what can only be described as simply some of the most effective war time propaganda that has ever been created. After being asked by the United States government to continue this work in a cartoon series that would later be dubbed “On the Front Lines” several Disney characters join the armed forces to tackle serious problems in a manner that is both educational and entertaining to the viewer. The highlights of this series are two episodes that proved to be essential to the American war effort. 

In a time before the world fully understood Adolf Hitler, Walt Disney attempted to expose the world to his actions with an episode titled Der Fuehrer’s Face. In the short cartoon, the main character, Donald Duck, experiences what it is like to live in Nazi Germany. Upon waking in a dream sequence Donald is faced with many of the day to day challenges that plagued the German people during this period emphasizing very limited political and social freedoms. A prominent example being what happens when Donald goes to work in a munitions factory and is forced to salute Hitler an exaggerated and comedic number of times, as well as working mandatory overtime to “please the Furor.” The cartoon ends with Donald waking from his dream and remembering how fortunate he is to have such a wealth of privileges. 

The second critical episode is Victory Through Air Power. This film was based off of a popular book that describes the necessity of developing the air force to include the services of long range bombers. The success of this film spurned Winston Churchill to “force” President Roosevelt to order the film and watch it. Some short time later President Roosevelt approved the development and implementation of such long range bombers. This entire collection was such a resounding success Joseph Goebbels admitted he admired the quality of Disney’s animation and thereafter was inspired to use the same medium to create Nazi propaganda.

Continuing in 1942 viewers were taken on a tour of Central and South America in the full length feature films Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros. These films were put into production when the U.S. State Department personally requested Walt Disney to act as an ambassador towards Latin America in the new Good Neighbor Policy. This policy was created to improve relations with several Latin American governments who had ties to Nazi Germany in an attempt to weaken the Axis powers strength in the Americas. Disney was chosen to lead this project for the reason that several of his characters were already popular in Latin America, as well as Walt himself being a well known figure in this region.  These films were a resounding success and won a total of five Academy Awards; however, they more importantly won the hearts of Latin Americans whom were thrilled to see their culture accurately portrayed; in short these films increased Allied support among the Latin people. 

With Disney parks opening in all corners of the world it is important to look at these examples and some of their negative connotations individually. First example being the Imperial accusations lobbied against Disney’s arrival in Hong Kong and Tokyo. For these examples, consider the United States historic relations with both China and Japan.  Considering these it is difficult to believe Disney has successful parks in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and another on the way in Shanghai. However, Disney successfully avoided culture disputes in both Tokyo and Hong Kong by allowing local companies to build the park and Disney simply leased the Disney name. While China has historically condemned Disney as “a vehicle for U.S. cultural imperialism” it now celebrates the company’s ability to bring in money. With only limited opposition the Hong Kong Park opened as a resounding success and the Tokyo park is Disney’s most productive park in the world. Considering it is was not so long ago that travel between the U.S. and China was not possible, observing Disney and China in this symbiotic relationship to develop ties and work together to build a very successful park speaks volumes of the joint efforts to build connections between the two nations. 

Despite examples of success in both Tokyo and Hong Kong these results have not been guaranteed. Upon the announcement that Disney was planning to build a theme park just beyond the Parisian boarder, many French citizens erupted. Much of the outcry came from French Intellectuals who believing Disney was attempting a cultural takeover; insisting a Disney theme park would act as an American symbol in the heart of France and begin to slowly deteriorate French culture. With this in mind Disney relinquished control very much the same as it had previously with Tokyo.  There were however issues, with a serious charge being made against Disney by many employees. Some felt Disney’s strict appearance guidelines, mostly concentrating on limitations of facial hair and hair styles, were too restricting and alienated their rights in what amounted to a blatant attempt to push American culture on the French. Considering this, if the French truly believed their rights had been infringed they were right to hold such strong feelings, however, when looking at the situation little evidence can be found. Disney traditionally offers a universally used set of appearance guidelines to ensure a consistently high quality of product that people around the world expect, as well as to produce an employee that appears friendly and acceptable in as many cultural settings as possible. More so, when French officials lobbied for Disney to build their first European park in their nation the doors were opened to allowing Disney to use proven practices, especially those critical to the company’s previous successes. 

While many consider the Walt Disney Company to be a new world imperialist, most of the world overlooks Disney’s long standing traditions that make it the one of the finest diplomats the world has seen. Whether Disney is fighting the war effort as only an animation studio can, or bringing together different cultures to service the world’s needs, they have always done their part to change the world for the better. While most of these changes go unnoticed, it is impossible to doubt that Disney has more than played its part in increasing cultural understandings of its viewership. Through the use of mediums never before imagined The Walt Disney Company accomplished what most never thought possible and is truly one of the most accomplished ambassadors the world has ever known.

• Despite its success the Hong Kong resort was plagued by controversies before opening, including the death of large numbers of fish in the local area due to construction processes and debates over the suitability of serving shark fin soup at wedding banquets; a traditional Chinese delicacy, opposed by animal rights groups. After consultations and revisions to menus, followed by more consultations and revisions, the park removed the dish from its wedding banquet menu. 

• After opening the park was originally criticised by many residents for its unattractiveness. Confusion over tickets and overcrowding on public holidays tarnished the Park’s reputation for several years until new forms of tickets and admission offers were created in order to boost attendance. Since these measures have been taken, the park is reportedly increasingly successful in attendance numbers.

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