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.

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.

Deidre M. Pike

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 203
Bibliographic Info: appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6592-7
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9002-8
Imprint: McFarland

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

• “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