Enviro-Toons: Green Themes in Animated Cinema and Television

by Deidre M. Pike

Overview

This book takes an ecrocritical approach to analytical readings of animated feature films, short subjects and television shows. Beginning with the "simply subversive" environmental messages in the Felix the Cat cartoons of the 1920s, the author examines "green" themes in such popular animated film efforts as Bambi (1942), The Simpsons Movie (2007), Wall-E (2008) and Happy Feet (2008), as well as James Cameron's live action/animation blockbuster Avatar (2009). The discussion extends beyond American films to include the works of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, including the Oscar-winning Spirited Away (2002). Also evaluated for their pro-ecological content are the television cartoon series South Park and Futurama. The appendix provides a list of film and television titles honored with the Environmental Media Award for Animation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786465927
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	05/25/2012
Pages:	203
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Deidre M. Pike is an assistant professor of convergent journalism in the School of Communications at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. As a writer and editor for the Reno News & Review and other publications, she has won several Nevada Press Association awards for news, business and entertainment reporting.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments v

Preface 1

Introduction: Ecocriticism and Animation 11

1 Simply Subversive - Felix the Cat 29

2 Fear and Loathing in Bambi 46

3 Hand-Drawn Homer, a Comic Hero in The Simpsons Movie 57

4 Futurama's Ecofeminist Reading Room 76

5 Farting Hybrids in South Park's Rainforest 86

6 Tap Dance of the Penguins 101

7 Hovering Humanity in Wall-E 111

8 Waking Up from Avatar 126

9 Deep Ecologies of Hayao Miyazaki 146

10 Animation Energy 164

Appendix: Environmental Media Awards for Animation 177

Chapter Notes 181

Bibliography 187

Index 197

Editorial Reviews

fascinating”—Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment; “offers an ‘ecocritical’ assessment of animated feature films and their environmental themes, from the Felix the Cat cartoons of the 1920s through the wildly popular Avatar released in 2009”—Reference & Research Book News.

From the Publisher

"offers an 'ecocritical' assessment of animated feature films and their environmental themes, from the Felix the Cat cartoons of the 1920s through the wildly popular Avatar released in 2009"

Reference & Research Book News

fascinating

Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment