While Disney heroes come from a range of ethnicities and historical periods, they consistently adhere to a common body type that promotes an ideal of unrealistic physical prowess. The most noticeable feature of the heroes’ appearance is their bodybuilder-like physiques, prominently displayed by amount of nudity allowed by the men’s apparel. Aladdin’s tiny vest highlights his large, square pectorals – anatomically incorrect with their conspicuous lack of nipples.
Tarzan’s entire body ripples with muscles given added definition by the jungle shadows that continuously play off of him; his arms and thighs rival the trees around him in size. Hercules’ body is the most exaggerated of the three. The son of the divine Greek patriarch Zeus, Hercules boasts the gift of superhuman strength, as demonstrated by extraordinary arms, legs, and abs. Indeed, Hercules’ strength and body are admired as his principle assets, as “folks lined up just to watch him flex...this perfect package packed a pair of pretty pecs” (Clements and Musker, 1997). It can be argued that Hercules’ divine parentage should prevent human boys from aspiring to Herculean physiques, but in this version of the myth, Hercules is rendered mortal, making him a very human character to whom boys still can and will relate
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| "This is where your nipples should be!" |
Tarzan’s entire body ripples with muscles given added definition by the jungle shadows that continuously play off of him; his arms and thighs rival the trees around him in size. Hercules’ body is the most exaggerated of the three. The son of the divine Greek patriarch Zeus, Hercules boasts the gift of superhuman strength, as demonstrated by extraordinary arms, legs, and abs. Indeed, Hercules’ strength and body are admired as his principle assets, as “folks lined up just to watch him flex...this perfect package packed a pair of pretty pecs” (Clements and Musker, 1997). It can be argued that Hercules’ divine parentage should prevent human boys from aspiring to Herculean physiques, but in this version of the myth, Hercules is rendered mortal, making him a very human character to whom boys still can and will relate
The Disney universe is one in which the tall, heavily muscled body type is idealized by the virtuous hero, while all other shapes and sizes are “othered.” The supporting, human, male cast of Tarzan consists of an aging old man and a barrel-chested hunter whose muscular shape does not rival Tarzan’s in grace. The townsmen populating Hercules’ villages are all either lanky and skinny or lumpy and fat. They are portrayed as cynical, bad-tempered, and physically weak. The supporting men in Aladdin are the sultan, a miniscule, tubby, old man, and the antagonist Jafar, who is tall, dark, and extremely thin. Rotund characters tend to be jovial, dim-witted, and are not taken seriously. Skinny characters are portrayed as weak, both of body and of integrity.
The trend in which oversized muscle-men are associated with success and goodness while all other body types are associated with inferiority is a dangerous one in this age when muscle dysmorphia is becoming apparent in younger and younger men (Nelson, 2010: 145). This is a psychological distortion that generates unwarranted fear in individuals, usually boys, that their body is unacceptably weak and small, and can lead to harmful abuse of steroids, food supplements, and compulsive exercise in an effort to reach an unhealthy and unrealistic size. Popular concern for the “drive for muscularity” (Nelson, 2010: 195) has criticized fitness magazines for exposing adolescents to hypermasculine images that create body dissatisfaction, but the unfortunate reality is that boys are exposed to these unrealistic ideals as early as childhood and infancy in the form of cartoon heroes.
Jafar’s henchmen who chase Aladdin are also muscular, but they differ from Aladdin’s trim figure with pot bellies, top heaviness, beards, bulbous noses , and slack jowls. These characteristics, coupled with heavy Arab accents, create a distinctly negative image of Middle Eastern men that contrasts sharply with Aladdin’s curiously Western European face and Americanized speech (Giroux, 1999: 105). The physical traits shared and advertised by the male Disney characters impart a clear message that successful and attractive men are exclusively muscular and Western in appearance, regardless of ethnicity – an ideal with potentially disastrous psychological, emotional, and physical effects on young boys of all backgrounds and body types as they inevitably fail to achieve it or harm themselves trying.
Sources
Tarzan. Dir. Chris Buck and Kevin Lima. Perf. Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver, and Brian Blessed. 1999. Walt Disney. DVD.
Aladdin. Dir. Ron Clements and John Musker. Perf. Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, and Linda Larkin. 1992. Walt Disney. DVD.
Hercules. Dir. Ron Clements and John Musker. Perf. Tate Donovan, Susan Egan, and James Woods. 1997. Walt Disney. DVD.
Giroux, Henry A. The Mouse That Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1999. Print.
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