Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
School
School of Arts and Humanities
First Supervisor
Christopher Kueh
Second Supervisor
Stuart Medley
Third Supervisor
Hanadi Haddad
Abstract
The Disney Renaissance Era, a term which defines the ten-year period from 1989 to 1999, of feature-length animated filmmaking at the Walt Disney Animation Studios, is considered one of the Disney company’s biggest triumphs to date. The Disney Renaissance Era is celebrated by fans worldwide for the successful and influential films released during this time. The Disney company boasts a loyal and widespread following of global fans. For a particular group of Disney fans, they celebrate Disney and the Disney Renaissance Era through fan art making. Yet, research examining the relationship between the Disney Renaissance Era, Disney fan artists, and social media is lacking.
This thesis is a response to the lack of scholarship in understanding Disney fan art production, and highlights the influence of the Disney Renaissance Era on young creative adults, and describes how and why they are motivated to create Disney fan art. My research commenced with an autoethnographic study of my own practice as a Disney fan artist. The insights were then compared with broader research into other Disney fan artists. 67 Disney fan artists worldwide have partaken in this study, with data sources including interviews, surveys, fan artwork analysis, and social media analysis. The findings from this study show: 1. A strong engagement with Disney media in the childhood of 90s children has created steadfast relationships with Disney in adulthood and that this nostalgic attachment motivates adults to create Disney fan art; and 2. Social media plays an important role in cultivating the production and monetisation of Disney fan art in the 21st Century. The findings from this study contribute new and important information to the fields of Disney, social media, and fandom studies.
DOI
10.25958/nk79-mp17
Access Note
Access to this thesis is embargoed until 10th January 2028
Recommended Citation
Mucciarone, L. J. (2024). The Disney Renaissance Era and young adults: The influence of a decade of Disney on artists. Edith Cowan University. https://doi.org/10.25958/nk79-mp17