How Enchanted Objects in Disney Films Offer Hope, Limit Evil and Reveal Truths That Cannot Be Seen

Debra Minoff and Susannah McCullough of the television and film analysis site ScreenPrism take an animated look at how the enchantment of banal, everyday, natural and deified objects in Disney films reflect the human condition in the real world. As they explain, these objects can offer hope, limit authoritarian tendencies and even act as a symbol of love, but more than that, these objects reflect what cannot be seen.

Disney movie plots so often revolve around an iconic enchanted object at first glance this magic object might just seem like a plot device or gimmick, but if we look closer, we start to spot some very interesting patterns. Among these Disney objects – the very first magic object in a Disney feature was the magic mirror from Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs. Magic when that mirror declared Snow White to be the fairest Dame in the kingdom. It wasn’t just talking about her looks, but also about Snow White’s inner beauty. So this tells us a magic mirror reflects that which is most important but which can’t be seen by the human eye

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.