Children’s Film in the Digital Age

Films of the past 15 years have been released in a number of formats and reflect a reconceptualization of film genres, audiences and the impact of technology on adaptation. Focusing on multiple audiences, film adaptation, nationalism, globalism and consumer culture, this collection of new essays explores how children’s film can be re-examined alongside recent developments in their production. These analyses consider the effect of multimedia strategies on the child audience, the opportunities for viewer participation and the pedagogical implications of films for children. The essays also address how childhood is embedded within films and linked to various consumer contexts.

Karin Beeler is the English department chair at the University of Northern British Columbia in Canada. She has published in various areas of film and television studies, including screen culture for children.
Stan Beeler is a professor in the English department at the University of Northern British Columbia in Canada. His publications include books and articles on television, film and popular culture.

Edited by Karin Beeler and Stan Beeler
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 212
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7596-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1840-1
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments vi

Introduction

Karin and Stan Beeler 1

Section One: Childhood, Adults and Films for Dual Audiences

No Place Like Home: Circumscribing Fantasy in Children’s Film (Julian Cornell) 9

Songs for the Older Set: Music and Multiple Demographics in Shrek, Madagascar and Happy Feet (Stan Beeler) 28

The Fantastic Childhood Imagination Through an Adult Lens: A Todorovian Approach to Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (Heather Rolufs) 37

Asterix & Obelix vs. Hollywood: A ­Pan-European Film Franchise for the “Family” Audience (Noel Brown) 49

Section Two: Film Adaptation and Transmedia Forms

Re-Mixing The Chronicles of Narnia: The ­Reimagining of Lucy Pevensie Through Film Franchise Texts and Digital Fan Cultures (Naomi Hamer) 63

An Evolutionary Journey: Pokémon, Mythic Quests and the Culture of Challenge (Lincoln Geraghty) 78

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Film Adaptation and Media Convergence for Children (Karin Beeler) 89

Nurturing Young Cinephiles: Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (Dan North) 98

Section Three: Cultural and Consumer Contexts for Children

Russian Animated Films and Nationalism of the New Millennium: The Phoenix Rising from the Ashes (Michel Bouchard and Tatiana Podyakova) 109

Cosmopolitan Endurance: Migrant Children and Film Spectatorship (Stephanie Hemelryk Donald) 133

Dubashi: Indian Film, ­Cross-Cultural Communication and Screenings for Children (Swarnavel Eswaran Pillai) 148

Branding Blackness: Disney’s Commodification of Black Culture in Song of the South and The Princess and the Frog (Lydia E. Ferguson) 160

The Commodification of Ms. Penny Proud: Consumer Culture in Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids and Disney’s The Proud Family (Debbie Olson) 172

About the Contributors 189

Index 191

“The editors bring together an eclectic mix of authors and subjects…will be of great interest to anyone studying film intended for younger audiences…this collection will be indispensable for specialists in children’s films and of interest to scholars of film, sociocultural studies, and media. Highly recommended”—Choice.