DISNEY: APPLYING PROPP’S THEORIES Aladdin; Cinderella; The Lion King

VladimirPropp examined hundreds of folk myths and fairytales in Russia in 1928. Hiswork was generally unnoticed in the West until it was translated in the 1950s.The Russian formalist scholar identified 8 typical charactersand 31 functions which can be applied to almost any story, be it in literature,film, theatre and television. Propp's theory is a form of structuralism whichis a view that all media is inevitably in the form of certain fixed structures.

While Propp’s research is focussed on Russian folktales, I’ve chosen to focus on the more contemporary Disney and apply hisfunctions and character types to the same. Disney has always held greatfascination, being the staple diet every girl grows up on. From the beautifulprincess to Prince Charming, they were the stuff dreams were made off. 17 yearslater childhood stories are revisited and put under Vladimir Propp’smicroscope. Aladdin, Cinderella and The Lion King.

Aladdin (Hero) is the story of a young man whogrew up without any parents, and learned to survive on his own in the streets. PrincessJasmine (Princess) is the daughter ofthe Sultan. Trapped in the paradise that is her life, she jumps over the palacewall and explores the land she has only heard of. Walking through themarketplace, she meets Aladdin (Hero isintroduced). Meanwhile,the Sultan (Father), frustrated overhis daughter's stubbornness, is unaware of Jasmine's whereabouts, and turns tohis royal vizier, Jafar (the villain, the donor, the dispatcher and the false hero), for a solution.What the Sultan does not know is Jafar's evil plot to find a certain magic lampand take over as ruler. Jafar discoversthat Aladdin is the "Diamond in the Rough"(Villain receives information about the hero)and captures and imprisons him, telling Jasmine that he is dead. (Villain carries away hero)

Jafar tries to deceive Aladdin by telling himif he will help him obtain the lamp from the Cave of Wonders, that he will inreturn offer him the rest of the treasure. Jafar is attempting to deceiveAladdin by lying to him because Aladdin is the “diamond in the rough,” meaninghe is the only one who can retrieve the lamp. (Trickery) The magic carpethelps Aladdin to escape the cave, where Jafar tries to kill Aladdin and takethe lamp (Villainy/Hero is tested) However, Aladdin manages to survive and keep hold of thelamp. (Beginning of Counter Action)

Aladdinrubs the magic lamp and a genie (Helper/Dispatcher)comes out and reveals that he will grant Aladdin three wishes (Receipt Of A Magical Agent) Aladdin'sfirst wish is to become a prince so he can marry Jasmine, but is rejected byher until she realises his true identity (Hero given new appearance)

Jafar once again captures Aladdin, convincing theguards to chaining him and throwing him into the ocean, but Aladdin uses hissecond wish to escape. (Hero is pursued and rescued from pursuit) Aladdinthen returns to the palace and reveals Jafar's evil plot to Jasmine and theSultan. (Exposure)At the end ofthe story the Sultan changes the law so thatAladdin and Jasmine can be married and they celebrate their engagement (Heromarries)

With Cinderella, it is a tale of a youngwoman living with her step mother (The Villain)and two step sisters (The False Hero). She works as a servant for them andcaters to their every need. She does all the cooking and cleaning, and istreated like a servant. The Prince (TheHero) of the village sends out invitations (Hero is introduced) to a ball held in his honour to all the villagers,Cinderella begs to go but her step mother will not let her (Villainy).

The night of the ball arrives, and thesisters and mother leave. Cinderella cries her heart out, much to the despairof Gus and Jaq (The Donor) A FairyGod Mother (The Helper) appears anduses her magic so that Cinderella (Receivinga magic agent). Gus andJaq work together to make Cinderella a beautiful dress so she can go to theball and they also steal the key to the attic from Cinderella’s wickedstepmother, in an attempt to save her. The fairy Godmother turns a pumpkin into a carriage and tells Cinderella that the spell will only last untilmidnight.

Cinderella goes off onto the ball, and while sheis there she attracts quite a bit of attention especially from the Prince. Thetwo dance all night, till Cinderella hears the clock chime. She remembers whather god mother said, and dashes off, leaving only a slipper behind. The Princeis desperate to find this mystery woman. The Princes father, who encourages him in his new found mysterious love,demands that a search for the mysterious maiden is conducted, and sends hismost devout servant with the remaining glass slipper to find her. The servant goes to all the women of the village tofind its owner. Just when all hope is lost Cinderella’s step sisters try theshoe Cinderella then tries on the shoe and it fits perfectly shocking everyone,especially her step sisters and evil step mother.Cinderella marries her Prince Charming and lives happilyever after. (Hero marries)

The Father is a character who is missingfrom the fairytale but the story opens with his tragic death.

The Lion King has been aneternal favourite, a young lion prince;Simba (The Hero) is born, thus makinghis uncle Scar (Villain/False Hero)the second in line to the throne. Scar plots with the Hyenas to kill KingMufasa (Villain causes harm) andPrince Simba, thus making himself king. The king is killed and Simba is led tobelieve by Scar that it was his fault (Villainattempts to deceive hero with trickery), and so flees the kingdom in shame (Member of the family absents himself fromhome) leaving behind childhood sweetheart Nala (The Princess/The dispatcher). Timone and Pumba (The Helper) are Simba’s friends whodiscover and look after Simba. After years of exile he is persuaded to return home(counteraction/location shift) tooverthrow the usurper (Villain defeated)and claims the kingdom as his own (Truehero is recognised). Simba and Nala are married (Hero marries and ascends throne).

The other two characters are Rafiki, the all-knowingmonkey, who is the donor and Nala’s mother Sarafina. The princess’s father isleft out and Sarafina seems the closest.

AnalysingDisney is always fun, however applying a theory written in the 1920’s tocontemporary media is hard. While even the adaptations of the Disney tales havemaintained loyalty to the characters and functions, the original itselfcontains disparities with every character/function not necessarily beingclearly defined. These structures are often culturally derived and formexpectations in the mind of an audience from within that same culture.

WorksCited:

Walt Disney Studios. Aladdin. 1992.

Walt Disney Studios. Cinderella. 1950.

Walt Disney Studios. The Lion King. 1994

Vladimir,Propp. Morphology of theFolktale. Universityof Texas Press: Austin and London. 1968

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