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Deconstructing Disney

Rachel Casey, Erin Casey

Two life-long Disney fans take on the Disney film catalog, beginning with the animated features, and discuss with a critical lens. @DeconDisney on social media.

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29 episodes
Avg 1 hr 20 min
English

Episodes 29

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S2 · E8
October 31 · 45 min
8 - Why the Disney Renaissance Matters
This is the final episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn how the movies of the Disney Renaissance influenced them. Millennial women embraced inspirational messages about following one’s dreams of adventure in the great, wide somewhere and going the distance to find where one belongs. Disney Renaissance films also nurtured a love of art and music in many millennial girls, even leading some to career
S2 · E7
October 30 · 44 min
7 - Ambivalent Nostalgia
This is the seventh episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn how the movies of the Disney Renaissance influenced them. In this episode, millennial women reflect on their feelings about the Walt Disney Company as an agent of both wondrous joy and capitalist greed. Despite their ambivalence about the Walt Disney Company, many women continue to watch the beloved movies of their childhood and share them
S2 · E6
October 29 · 41 min
6 - Dead Moms and Dysfunctional Dads
This is the sixth episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn how the movies of the Disney Renaissance influenced them, including their beliefs about families. After recounting their family trips to Disney theme parks during childhood, millennial women share how Disney Renaissance films showcased a diverse array of family structures.
S2 · E5
October 28 · 32 min
5 - The Fairest of Them All Get Some Updates
This is the fifth episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn how the movies of the Disney Renaissance influenced them, including their beliefs around beauty standards. While the female protagonists of this era retained the unrealistic hour glass figures and oversized facial features of their predecessors in earlier Disney films, they also demonstrated more physical strength and a wider range of racial
S2 · E4
October 27 · 36 min
4 - Unrealistic Romances with Unimpressive Princes
This is the fourth episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn how the movies of the Disney Renaissance influenced them, including their beliefs around romance. Every single female protagonist in the Disney Renaissance movies experienced some sort of romantic entanglement, conveying to millennial girls that (heterosexual, monogamous) love is required to achieve a happy ending in real life.
S2 · E3
October 26 · 35 min
3 - Strong, Oppressed Princesses
This is the third episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn how the movies of the Disney Renaissance influenced them, including their beliefs around gender. Female characters like Belle (Beauty and the Beast, 1991), Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1996), and Mulan (Mulan, 1998) represented a new type of Disney princess character: one who was active, courageous, and strong. These characters sti
S2 · E2
October 25 · 39 min
2 - Consuming Disney in the 1990s
This is the second episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn about their childhood experiences watching Disney movies. In this episode, we learn how Disney Renaissance films provided comfort, connected girls with their family and friends, and promoted consumerism of Disney merchandise.
S2 · E1
October 24 · 1 hr 3 min
1 - Millennial Girlhood and the Disney Renaissance
This is the first episode in a special eight-part series about millennial women and the Disney Renaissance. Rachel interviewed 34 millennial women to learn about their childhood experiences watching Disney movies during the late 1980s and 1990s, a period during which advances in home video technology allowed children unprecedented access to their favorite films. This episode also provides an overview of the nine movies that comprise the Disney Renaissance canon, told using audio clips from the m
S1 · E69
October 14 · 1 hr 34 min
Brave
Erin and Rachel discuss Pixar’s first princess movie, Brave (2012), debating whether protagonist Merida is a feminist icon or just another subjugated female character. Of course, no trip to these fictional Scottish highlands would be complete without mentions of ableism and heterosexism.
S1 · E67
July 20 · 1 hr 2 min
Winnie the Pooh (2011)
Erin and Rachel return to the Hundred Acre Wood for Winnie the Pooh (2011), the sequel to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977). Although it’s stuffed with as much fluff as its protagonist, nostalgia and a 69-minute run time make this benign film pleasantly watchable.
S1 · E66
June 17 · 1 hr 26 min
Cars 2
Erin and Rachel follow Lightning McQueen and Mater around the globe in this discussion of Cars 2, a spy-themed sequel with a convoluted plot and disappointing politics.
S1 · E65
April 22 · 2 hr
Tangled
Erin and Rachel discuss Tangled (2010), the 50th animated film from Walt Disney Animation Studios and one of Rachel’s favorites. Based on the fairytale of Rapunzel, this coming-of-age tale features songs from Disney veteran Alan Menken and impressive computer animation. Although Erin and Rachel disagree about the viability of the romantic plot, they agree that Mother Gothel is an effective villain and Pascal is a delightful sidekick.
S1 · E64
February 10 · 1 hr 32 min
Toy Story 3
Erin and Rachel discuss Toy Story 3 (2010), the third and allegedly final installment in the Toy Story franchise. Despite some minor misogyny and heteronormativity, the film manages to delight (and emotionally devastate) the hosts.
S1 · E63
January 14 · 1 hr 11 min
Research Alert: Fat Characters in Disney Movies
In this very special episode, Erin talks to Rachel and her research assistant, Grace, about a study they recently published about the portrayal of fat characters in Disney animated films. Spoiler alert: the depictions of fat characters are rife with harmful stereotypes, and the hosts have something to say about it!
S1 · E62
Nov 24, 2025 · 2 hr 20 min
The Princess and the Frog
Erin and Rachel hop on down to 1920’s New Orleans, where Disney’s first Black princess spends most of her time as a frog in the Louisiana bayou. The Princess and the Frog (2010) provided much needed representation, but leaves a lot to be desired in terms of its race, class, and gender politics.
S1 · E61
Sep 4, 2025 · 1 hr 44 min
Up
Erin and Rachel wallow through an elderly man’s grief journey with Pixar’s critically acclaimed Up (2009). They argue the beautiful art and cute sidekicks aren’t enough to redeem this (admittedly beloved) film, especially since the (admittedly moving) love story invokes the classic “dead wife” trope. We’ll keep sailing our balloon house onto the next one, please and thank you.
S1 · E60
Jul 15, 2025 · 1 hr 8 min
Bolt
Erin and Rachel discuss Bolt (2008), a lesser known film about a dog who thinks he’s a super hero. Under new leadership, Disney Animation Studios starts to come out of their slump with this film that some people found boring (Erin) and others found heartwarming (Rachel).
S1 · E59
May 25, 2025 · 1 hr 57 min
WALL-E
Erin and Rachel travel 700 years into the future to discuss WALL-E (2008), Pixar’s robot romance with an unintentionally anti-capitalist message. Fatphobia and misogyny make this dystopian tale unwatchable despite its endearing protagonist, striking animation, and moments of nostalgia.
S1 · E58
Apr 2, 2025 · 1 hr 56 min
Ratatouille
Erin and Rachel discuss Ratatouille (2007), a Pixar film about a French rat who wants to be a chef. Their discussion includes a fine stew of food politics, meritocracy, and sexism with a garnish of fatphobia. Bon appetit!
S1 · E57
Mar 4, 2025 · 1 hr 22 min
Meet the Robinsons
Erin and Rachel travel to a frenetic future to discuss Meet the Robinsons (2007), a fever dream of a film that performed poorly at the box office despite intervention from John Lasseter, newly seated Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Sexist and fatphobic content are only minimally present, but that doesn’t mean Erin and Rachel enjoyed this chaotic whirlwind of characters and colors any more than the critics who panned it in 2007.

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