Appropriated Tales

An excavation of how Disney films shape culture—and misrepresent it.

In Appropriated Tales, scholar Michelle Anya Anjirbag examines Disney’s method of fairy-tale storytelling to determine how the corporation has shaped public understanding of what fairy tales are and who belongs within them. Covering a span of years “from mermaid to mermaid”—from the 1989 animated The Little Mermaid to the 2023 live-action remake starring Halle Bailey—she deconstructs and interrogates Disney’s corporate commodification of multiculturalism and diversity, centering its impact on misrepresented people and cultures over the stated intentions of the producers. Further, Anjirbag demonstrates that Disney shapes childhood experiences and imagination in a way that strategically promotes American cultural imperialism. Through close film analysis, applied critical theory, and social analysis of the Disney corporation, Anjirbag unearths a new framework for studies of Disney fairy tales and how they shape popular culture.

Author Biography

Michelle Anya Anjirbag is an affiliated researcher in the department of literature at the University of Antwerp and coauthor of Age in David Almond’s Oeuvre: A Multi-Method Approach to Studying Age and the Life Course in Children’s Literature. Her research focuses broadly on fairy-tale studies and folklore, Disney, race, gender, age, adaptation, and the intersection of literature, media, and culture. She has published numerous articles in journals such as Fabula, The Journal of American Culture, Marvels & Tales, and Humanities.