DISNEYANITY: Of ‘Walt’ and Religion studies the manner in which popular entertainment can compete with conventional churches as a source of spirituality.

DISNEYANITY: Of ‘Walt’ and Religion combines various sorts of genres in an entirely original way. Here is a work of film history, focusing on the Walt Disney Company from its inception until the present day, analyzing individual projects as well as their relationship to one another forming a thematic and aesthetic ‘body of work’; also, a study of the manner in which popular culture, designed as mass entertainment, can emerge into not only a global entrepreneurial industry but also an alternative religion; finally, one of the post–‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ self-help books that aid the reader in rediscovering their often challenged sense of spiritual identity in the difficult modern world, achieving a healthier attitude through ancient wisdom re-presented for a New Age public.

What Others are Saying

“‘Disneyfication’ became and remains a dirty word, [but] as professor Douglas Brode has pointed out Disney’s values, especially as evinced in his films, are much more complex than his enemies admit.” — Neal Gabler, author of Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination

"The Bible of Walt Disney. . . With this book, Brode has done a lot of the heavy lifting for you, but as with any body of work as complex, chock-full, and varied as Disney's, there is - once you're looking - always something more to find, prize out, examine, and put back to consider again another day. Brode has given you the key to the Kingdom - explore!" -  Nancy Roberts, Writer of Table Hopping with Central New York magazine

“Written with his customary verve and eye for telling details, Douglas Brode’s Disneyanity is a useful compendium that guides its reader through both classic and lesser-known films. Brode’s argument that Disney ‘magic’ has represented a kind of liberal civil religion for generations of fans offers a compelling way of understanding the abiding appeal of Disney’s films with a fresh perspective.” —Cyrus R. K. Patell, New York University/NYU Abu Dhabi

“A book for both academics and Disney fans, Disneyanity offers readers a cogent and thought- provoking meditation on Disney Magic as Religious Belief. Through a comprehensive and insightful analysis of the studio’s films Brode demonstrates that the studio has honed its own brand of popular faith, one that now provides ‘nearly everyone with what specific religion once did: an optimistic vision of a world redeemed.” —Susan Aronstein; English Department, University of Wyoming

“Not since Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland has a master so universally entertained children and adults alike, with enchanting imagery and challenging philosophy, as Walt Disney ... For those who have forgotten the wonder, Douglas Brode in his brilliant study, Disneyanity, dons cape and wand and warmly invites readers to return to the castle, there to unveil and behold the magical mirror that made us all ‘believe.’" —Jerold Abrams, Ph.D.; Creighton University, Department of Philosophy

“As scholar and author Douglas Brode shows, the liberal, follow-your-dream messages within the films nourished the baby boomers who would form the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s. Disney films are a place where we discover not who we are, but who we could be.” —Jodi Eichler-Lehigh, Department of Religion/Lehigh University; NEWSWEEK

“The current wave of Disney studies tends to be deeply hostile to the art, politics, and architecture of Disney, man but media scholar Douglas Brode risk(s) ostracism from his peers by being a bona fide fan. —Thomas Doherty, CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

by Douglas Brode
Page Count: 342
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Publish Date: January 11, 2022
Imprint: Sunbury Press
Genre: Film History

PERFORMING ARTS / Film / History & Criticism
PERFORMING ARTS / Film / Genres / Animated
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture