![]() ![]() We’ve got nothing.Īesthetic: Swords and shields, balladeers and witches, princesses and demons just don’t cut it as authentically medieval in this film. ![]() ![]() The creature Gurgi sounds like Gollum, but wait, we’re in the history section. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, especially the far more entertaining 19 animated versions of those epic adventures. The movie is an adaptation of The Chronicles of Prydain, a series written in the 1960s by Lloyd Alexander, based on Welsh mythology. The Fair Folk protect the piglet from the devilish Horned King. Plot: A young boy who dreams of becoming a knight must hide an oracular pig… This visionary swine holds the secret to the location of a magic cooking pot that could unleash a terrible evil upon the legendary world of Prydain. Black Cauldron (1985)Įvery character is somehow the worst character in this extremely bizarre attempt at medieval worlding. We can’t say there were many poisoned apples and princesses in glass coffins hanging around waiting for princes during the Middle Ages, though. History: No medieval history here! The story is based on the 19th-century version by the Brothers Grimm.Īesthetic: Beyond the queen’s Gothic castle, the denizens of the magical forest don’t seem too interested in the arts.Ĭostumes: The visage of the queen is based on a real medieval person: Uta von Ballenstedt (about 1000‒1046), whose likeness can be seen in a 13th-century sculpture in Nuremberg Cathedral (shown above).įantasy: The evil queen is of course a witch, and she has “medieval” tomes in her library such as Disguises (convenient!) written in a style that evokes Gothic manuscripts. Plot: The story begins with the turning of book pages that look a little medieval, but the rest is pure Grimm. Mythical or fantasy elements, supernatural beings, and magic seen in medieval stories and mythologyĪ surprisingly dark (casual assassination attempt, anyone?) film that’s pretty true to the Brothers Grimm original, with misogyny straight out of 1937.Art, architecture, and music from the period.Evidence of source material for the plot and cues in the dialogue.We only looked at animated films (no sequels) and based our ranking on five categories: ![]() The 10 Most Medieval Disney Animated Films While Disney’s vision of the Middle Ages spans continents and features compelling characters including Mulan, Merida, Moana, and Jasmine, the company has rightly been called out for cultural stereotyping.Īs we plunged through Disney+, we wanted to look at a selection of films that present a global Middle Ages, a chronologically flexible period from 500–1500 that encompasses sites and stories from England to China and from an anachronistic “Arabia” to the temporally ambiguous world of the Pacific islands. However, as curators, we work to nuance and deepen audiences’ understanding and appreciation of the breadth of medieval art in a global context. If you happened to catch Onward earlier this year, you’ll notice the classic Disney combination of magic and fantasy with a touch of historical accuracy. These “Once upon a time” stories adopt “medieval” European characters, creatures, and the overall aesthetic: princesses wearing flowing gowns, knights in shining armor, castles that dominate idyllic landscapes, dragons and fairies, witches and wizards, forbidden forests, and all the rest. Disney’s Middle Ages takes on tales and events set roughly between 5, and remixes them for today’s audiences.ĭisney’s Middle Ages is also deeply tied to the tradition of 19th-century fairy tales, most notably those of the Brothers Grimm (first published in 1812). We recently went deep into Disney+ to revisit some childhood favorites, as well as a few others, to figure out which movies are the most “medieval.”īeginning in the 1920s with Silly Symphony and Mickey Mouse shorts, Disney has been deeply interested in exploring the European Middle Ages in all its permutations. These introductions included jeweled covers called treasure bindings, ornate calligraphy, and vibrant miniatures with lavish borders. In the opening credits of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty, we saw our first illuminated manuscripts (albeit imaginary and animated). ![]()
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