Disney's Century-long Legacy of Animal Characters in Animation 

The success of classic Disney animated characters like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Dumbo, and Simba owes much to the clever and endearing portraits of animals.

Throughout Disney's century-long history, numerous works featuring anthropomorphic animals as protagonists have created a utopia of animal characters, a world that began with the iconic Mickey Mouse.

It was Disney's early success with Mickey Mouse that established the company's route of creating animal protagonists.

In terms of environmental settings and character relationships, Disney has three distinct animal worlds: the animal utopia, the world where animals coexist with humans, and the jungle animal world.

These three worlds present entirely different styles of expression, themes, and entertainment, showcasing Disney's dedicated efforts in their portrayal of animals.

The Almighty Mickey Mouse and the Animal Utopia

In 1928, Walt Disney created the animated character Mickey Mouse, who quickly appeared in a series of animated shorts like "Plane Crazy" and "Steamboat Willie."

Mickey Mouse became an instant sensation across America.

From then onward, Disney consciously developed animal characters. In the Mickey Mouse series alone, characters like Minnie, Donald Duck, and Goofy made their appearances.

The common trait among these animal characters is anthropomorphism; they dress and behave just like humans.

Most of Disney's animal characters possess personality traits of cuteness, mischief, and impulsiveness. Their on-screen antics often elicit laughter and joy from audiences in theaters.

Building upon Mickey Mouse and his friends, Disney created an animal utopia.

The animal utopia in these animations depicts animals evolving to a level of human civilization.

While belonging to different species, tigers, bears, and pigs live together harmoniously, creating a dreamy ideal habitat.

Mickey Mouse holds a versatile role in the animal utopia, portraying roles such as a musician, a firefighter, a magician, always at the center, bringing joy to the residents of the animal utopia and solving their problems.

Before television became widespread in the United States, Mickey Mouse starred in hundreds of animated short films between the 1920s and 1940s, shown as film shorts in theaters.

The United States was in the midst of the Great Depression in the early 1930s. Mickey Mouse cartoons brought joy to countless children and briefly relieved parents from life's worries.

In 1940, "Fantasia" was released, one of the rare feature films “starring” Mickey Mouse。 As it was not the protagonist throughout the entire film, Mickey leads only one of the segments.

"Fantasia" used classical music as its soundtrack, syncing the emotions and actions of the animated characters with the music's melodies, marking an exploratory creative endeavor.

Upon its initial release, the film's market response was average. However, over the years, fan love for "Fantasia" grew fervently, making it a unique artistic presence among Disney's animated feature films.

Another animal utopia-style animated film created by Disney was "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh," released in 1977.

The film follows the adventures of Winnie the Pooh and his friends, including Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, and so on in various situations in the Hundred Acre Wood.

Winnie the Pooh is characterized by his lovable, naive personality. He possesses both the recklessness of a bear and the innocence of a child, making him a beloved animated companion for many young viewers.

The worlds where Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh live lean toward a fairytale-like animal utopia.

As a result, audiences long perceived Disney animations as works solely meant to bring joy to children.

The 2016 release of "Zootopia" allowed both adults and children to experience the extraordinary charm of Disney animation together.

The film created a realistic animal utopia where animal characters retained various physical characteristics and habits.

For example, the leg shapes of Judy Hopps, a rabbit, and Nick Wilde, a fox, as well as their body sizes, were modified based on real animal features.

Even though animals in the film use smartphones and drive cars, all tools are microscopically adjusted to fit the animals' physical traits.

These animal-based designs broke away from the previous practice of strictly mirroring human actions in anthropomorphic animal characters.

In the film, Judy Hopps encounters growth pressures and workplace issues similar to those faced by humans. Her experiences in the city of Zootopia resonate emotionally with the audience.

"Zootopia" seamlessly combines real-life, fairytale dreams, and scientific technology. This animal utopia, built on a fairytale foundation, ultimately radiates the brilliance of realism.

In the Human World, animals lead

Another realm depicted by Disney is a world where humans and animals coexist. Animals express their unique emotions and experiences in their own realm.

"Dumbo" was released in the United States in October 1941, telling the story of Dumbo, an elephant calf, who feels insecure due to his enormous ears.

However, encouraged by his mother and friends, Dumbo uses his ears to fly and becomes a sensation in the circus.

In December of the same year, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. In an era when television was not yet widespread, films had a long run in theaters. The inspiring, touching, and joyful story of "Dumbo" greatly uplifted American audiences.

The most common animal companions seen in the real world alongside humans are dogs. The majority of animal-centric films developed by Disney after "Dumbo" starred dogs as main characters.

"The Lady and the Tramp" (1955) and "101 Dalmatians" (1961) are among the timeless classics of Disney animation.

"The Lady and the Tramp" tells the love story between a pet dog and a stray dog. While the film primarily revolves around dogs, the creators infused human emotions into the characters.

The film concludes with the pet dog marrying the stray dog, and both start a happy family life. Disney's message in this animation emphasizes the importance of family.

"101 Dalmatians" and "The Lady and the Tramp" share a similar theme; the former also emphasizes the notion of family first.

In the opening scene, the Dalmatian Pongo actively plays a role in getting his owner married, eventually winning the heart of a beautiful female dog. Later, Pongo, along with his wife and pups, escape, with their ultimate goal being a reunion with their family.

After World War II, various ideologies emerged in the United States, and people became increasingly distrustful of marriage and family.

During this period, Disney animations focused on spreading the concept of family, depicting humans and animals tirelessly striving for the happiness and integrity of their families.

Disney animations aimed to provide audiences with meaningful life lessons alongside entertainment.

This coexisting world of animals and humans in animation reached its pinnacle in Disney's creations in the 1960s.

Subsequently, Disney's 2D animations struggled to break new ground until the emergence of Pixar animations.

Initially, Pixar and Disney had a cooperative relationship, with Disney handling the distribution of Pixar animations. In 2006, Pixar was officially acquired by Disney.

Pixar is a tech-savvy company that produces entirely computer-generated animated movies. Their works excel in both technology and storytelling.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Pixar animations made an explosive impact.

"Ratatouille" premiered in 2007. The film tells the story of Remy, a talented rat cook, who collaborates with a human, Linguini, to create exquisite cuisine.

This film vividly demonstrates Pixar's bold innovation in both creativity and technology. Positioned between reality and fantasy, the film emphasizes the harmonious coexistence of animals and humans.

The Animal world, and the Jungle Law

Beyond the animal utopia and the coexisting world of humans and animals, Disney animations also explore the jungle animal world.

This category of animated works portrays stories set in forests and plains, where animals fight against nature, other creatures, and avoid humans for survival.

" Bambi" premiered in 1942, chronicling Bambi's journey from a vulnerable fawn to a leader in the forest.

While injecting human emotions and anthropomorphic traits into animal characters, the film still maintains a strong sense of the jungle.

"Bambi" extensively portrays the changing seasons in the forest and various animal behaviors, physical features, and habits.

For instance, Bambi gradually grows antlers, skunks need to hibernate on time, and rabbits enjoy eating clover.

The film not only depicts romantic and heartwarming relationships but also portrays the cruel reality of humans hunting animals.

"Bambi" strikes a balance between realism and fairytales, not only evoking tears from viewers but also providing young audiences with a glimpse into an unfamiliar jungle world, serving both educational and entertaining purposes.

Another Disney animated film set in the forest is "The Jungle Book," released in 1967.

What sets this animation apart is a human protagonist, Mowgli, surrounded by a group of animal characters. Raised by a wolf pack since childhood, Mowgli can communicate with all animals.

"The Jungle Book" does not create a purely idyllic forest world. Instead, it’s also full of danger and threats.

However, around Mowgli, there are still kind animals like wolves, panthers, and a lazy bear. The film emphasizes adventure and encounters, with a relatively weaker educational aspect.

One of Disney's pinnacles in animal-centric animations is undoubtedly "The Lion King," released in 1994.

Adapted from Shakespeare's play "Hamlet," the film depicts Simba's journey from a young lion to becoming the king of the Pride Lands.

"The Lion King" gained widespread love from audiences of all ages due to its exquisite animation and epic quality.

Subsequently, Disney/Pixar animated films catered to both young and old audiences, gradually shedding the label of being exclusively for children.

Pixar's "Finding Nemo" premiered in 2003.

This film revolves around the themes of family and growth, showcasing a stunningly vivid underwater world through superb computer animation. Humans appear incidentally in the film, such as fishing boats casting nets in the sea.

"Finding Nemo" is a fish tale created in a real-life setting, showcasing Pixar's exceptional animation technology, bringing to life the vibrant underwater world.

In its 100 years of existence, Disney has created a rich and diverse animal world on the big screen. These works impart values of caring for animals and preserving nature, providing children with fascinating fairytale images as they grow.