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Demonizing in Children’s Television Cartoons and

Disney Animated Films

Article  in  Child Psychiatry & Human Development · February 2006

DOI: 10.1007/s10578-006-0016-7 · Source: PubMed

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Child Psychiatry Hum Dev (2006) 37:15–23
DOI 10.1007/s10578-006-0016-7

ORIGINAL PAPER

Demonizing in Children’s Television Cartoons and

Disney Animated Films

Gregory Fouts Æ Mitchell Callan Æ Kelly Piasentin Æ

Andrea Lawson

Published online: 8 June 2006

Ó Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2006

Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of demonizing in the
two major media that young children use (television and movies). Two content analyses
were conducted using the animated feature films (n = 34) of the Walt Disney Company
and after-school cartoons (n = 41). Each was coded for the modeling of the use of ‘‘evil’’
words when referring to a person, e.g., monster, devil, demon, wicked. Seventy-four
percent of the Disney films contained ‘‘evil’’ references, with an average of 5.6 references
per film. Forty-four percent of the after-school cartoons contained ‘‘evil’’ references, with
an average of one per cartoon. The results are discussed within the context of children’s
repeated exposure to popular animated movies and cartoons and their learning to demonize
people who engage in perceived ‘‘bad’’ behaviors.

Keywords Demonizing Æ TV cartoons Æ Disney animated films

Introduction

Scholars from a variety of disciplines have become increasingly interested in the study and
analysis of evil [1–8]. The attribution of ‘‘ evil’’ onto a person engaging in harm doing or
‘‘bad’’ behavior is called demonizing [2] regardless of whether harm doers are, in fact,
truly ‘‘evil.’’ Ellard, Miller, Baumle, and Olson [2] propose that the tendency to demonize
results, in part, from the activation of evilness schema when exposed to particular cues
such as through observing stereotypes of evil persons and sadistic pleasure. However, there
is no systematic research that addresses how children may acquire evilness schema and

G. Fouts (&) Æ M. Callan Æ K. Piasentin

Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, T2N 1N4 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
e-mail: gfouts@ucalgary.ca

A. Lawson
University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
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16 Child Psychiatry Hum Dev (2006) 37:15–23

learn to label people as evil, although it is assumed that such learning occurs through
interacting with others, e.g., parents, peers. One additional source of learning may be the
cartoon media to which children are exposed on a daily basis, especially at a young age.
The purpose of this preliminary study was to conduct content analyses of the animated
feature films of the Walt Disney Company and popular television cartoons to assess the
prevalence of cartoon characters modeling demonizing.
Understanding demonizing in children’s cartoons is important for at least three reasons.
First, considerable research demonstrates that children’s exposure to modeled behavior on
television and in the movies influences a wide range of attitudes and behaviors, e.g.,
aggression [9, 10], victimization and perceptions of reality [11] and stereotypes [12–15].
Thus, it is likely that repeated exposure to cartoon characters that model the demonization
of others influences children’s (a) attitudes and stereotypes about individuals engaging in
harm doing and their motivations for doing so (e.g., irrational and bizarre motivations), (b)
learning demonizing labels (e.g., devil, wicked, evil) and (c) acquiring negative emotions
(e.g., fear, anxiety) and behaviors (e.g., retaliation, passivity) associated with such attri-
butions. Second, research has demonstrated the negative consequences associated with
stereotypical beliefs and the labeling of others, such as alienation and segregation [16, 17].
Being called names such as ‘‘monster,’’ ‘‘Nazi’’ or ‘‘devil’’ may attack the self-esteem
and self-concept of children and may have long-term consequences for their development
[18, 19]. Third, demonizing learned through media exposure may undermine children’s
ability to understand the more complex circumstances and reasons underlying ‘‘bad
behavior.’’ For example, observing demonizing and evil triumphing over good may lead
children to focus on the evilness rather than on the situational factors and motivations of
people, thus limiting behavioral options when encountering ‘‘bad’’ behaviors of others [2].

Disney Movies

The animated feature films of the Walt Disney Company (e.g., Dumbo, Alice in Won-
derland) were of interest for four reasons. First, this company is the major world producer
of full-length animated feature films that children watch in large numbers [20]. Second, the
greater length of feature films allows for the establishment of its characters, something that
is not always possible in shorter films or on television. Thus, feature-length movies likely
foster a greater sense of familiarity and identification with the characters, thereby creating
a situation in which the happenings, emotions, and potential lessons in a movie may have a
greater impact on children than any other medium. Third, a majority of parents take their
children to see Disney movies and/or rent or purchase the videos and DVDs. As a result,
movies such as Snow White and Cinderella have become films of choice for contemporary
children. Multiple exposures to these films (especially in the context of parental
involvement, approval, and enjoyment) likely increase their impact on children’s attitudes
and understanding of the world. Fourth, Disney films have many different heroes and
villains and prosocial and anti-social behaviors [20–24]. Thus, the presence of prosocial
and anti-social behaviors provides an excellent context for examining whether there is
modeling of demonizing ‘‘bad’’ behaviors as evil, demonic, or monstrous.

Television

Many studies have assessed particular contents in television programs and have docu-
mented the effect of modeling on young viewers. For example, content analyses of pro-
grams that children watch have revealed that many model, distort and stereotype mental
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Child Psychiatry Hum Dev (2006) 37:15–23 17

illness (e.g., portray as dangerous) [25], body image (e.g., promote the ‘‘thin’’ ideal) [26,
27] and aggressive contents (e.g., messages that ‘‘might makes right’’ and ‘‘good triumphs
over evil’’) [9, 28, 29]. The effects of exposure to these contents are also well-documented
[13, 30–32]. Researchers have not examined the modeling of demonizing on television nor
the possible effects of observing such modeling on young viewers. Therefore, the present
study asks the question whether children are exposed to television characters who model
demonizing of others, with the actual effects of such exposure being left for later research.
After-school cartoons were the focus of this study for two reasons. First, there is a
greater variety of contents in after-school cartoons, from cartoons appealing to young
children (e.g., Tiny Toons, Pokemon) to those appealing to older children and adolescents
(e.g., The Simpsons, Hey Arnold). Thus, after-school viewing involves greater potential for
exposure to demonizing for a larger age range (5–14 years). Second, a majority of after-
school cartoons present different episodes two to five times in a week (e.g., every day,
twice a week). Such repetition using different cartoons within a single week may have
implications for the learning of particular contents.

Present Study

No research has examined the modeling of demonizing in the media that children watch in
large numbers. Therefore, two content analyses were conducted––contents of (a) full-
length, animated Disney feature films that are very popular and available around the world
and (b) after-school television cartoons that are available in North America. Understanding
the content of television programs and movies is crucial before we can assess the effects of
such modeling on children’s learning of demonizing stereotypes and labeling others.
Disney movies were analyzed first for the incidence of modeling of demonizing by
examining characters’ use of demonizing words, e.g., evil, sadistic, demonic. As a pre-
liminary study, the gender of the character being demonized was also analyzed to deter-
mine any gender differences, since famous ‘‘evil’’ people in real-life are typically males
(e.g., Hitler, Charles Manson, Saddam Hussein) [1, 33].
The analysis of television cartoons involved an additional variable, the emotional
context of demonizing. That is, when a character was being demonized, what was the
emotional state of the demonizer––negative (e.g., angry, fearful), neutral, or positive (e.g.,
humorous, playful)? It was expected that demonizing would be associated with negative
emotions; thus, one of the consequences of exposure to demonizing may be the vicarious
emotional conditioning of young viewers. This may result in learning unconscious biases
and negative emotional reactions to people having particular characteristics associated with
evil and/or the tendency to demonize others when faced with negatively charged emotional
situations.

Method

Animated Feature Films

Movies

The Walt Disney Company (excluding subsidiaries such as Pixar) produced 40 full-length,
animated feature films between 1937 and 2001. Full-length, animated feature films
are defined as having a duration of at least 40–45 min and having been released into
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theaters [34]. All the films were included in the study except for those that (a) did not have
a single consistent story line from start to finish (Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, Make Mine
Music, Melody Time), (b) were primarily an educational film (Saludos Amigos) or (c) were
not available on video during the coding period (Atlantis). Thus, 34 films were analyzed for
their contents.

Coding and Coder Training

A coding manual was developed to systematize the content analysis. It contained the
operational definitions, criteria for coding, and examples using non-Disney television
cartoons. Prior to coding, the principal characters were identified in terms of (a) around
whom the film’s action primarily revolved, (b) whose actions significantly influenced the
plot, and (c) who were present on-screen for a significant portion of the film; there were
136 principal characters in the 34 films. Each film was then coded for the following
information: Modeling of demonizing (principal characters)––All the verbalizations (made
by others or by the principal character about him/herself) that could be construed as
demonizing a principal character. A list of 13 words referring to evil was generated (e.g.,
diabolical, depraved, wicked, evil, satanic, sinister, devil, Nazi, sadistic); these were
obtained from a thesaurus and past research [1, 33]. The coder recorded each demonizing
word and how often it occurred in the film. For example, ‘‘She was a wicked queen’’ and
‘‘He’s from Hell’’ are each instances of demonizing. If a word occurred that was not on the
list but that the coder believed reflected evil, the word and its frequency were also
recorded. The gender of the character being demonized (if identifiable) was also recorded.
Modeling of demonizing (minor characters)––In order to obtain a complete coding of all
instances of demonizing, all other characters (including inanimate objects and groups)
were coded using a procedure identical to that used for principal characters except that the
minor characters were coded as a total rather than coding each one individually. For
example, if a snake character was referred to as ‘‘diabolical’’ and another minor character
as ‘‘wicked,’’ two instances of demonizing were coded. To ensure accuracy and inter-
pretability of the data, excluded from coding were (a) comments about a particular situ-
ation (e.g., as ‘‘hellish’’) rather than a character, and (b) negations of a word/phrase (e.g.,
‘‘You’re not evil’’).
One researcher was the primary coder and coded all 34 films. To determine inter-coder
reliability, a second coder was trained. Training consisted of the reliability coder studying
the manual, practicing with the researcher, and finally receiving practice in independent
coding using a sample of non-Disney television cartoons. Once training was completed, the
reliability coder independently coded 10 (29%) of the 34 films without further discussion.

Television Cartoons

Television Cartoons

Nineteen different after-school cartoons were identified as occurring on a regular basis (2–
5 times/week) between 3:30 and 6:30 PM, Monday–Friday, in the Calgary area. Some
examples are The Simpsons, Tiny Toons, Hey Arnold, Butt Ugly Martians, Sabrina, Legend
of Tarzan, and Pokemon. All programs were available on either broadcast or cable tele-
vision during the week of February 4–8, 2002. To ensure the representativeness of the
sampling of these programs, two or three episodes of each program was randomly selected
and recorded depending upon its availability (e.g., pre-emption by other programs); one
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program (Martin the Warrior) had only one episode recorded. In total, 41 cartoon episodes
were recorded and subsequently coded.

Coding and Coder Training

The coding of television cartoons was identical to that of the movies except for the
following differences. First, the list of demonizing words was expanded as a result of
analyzing the movies. It contained 22 words; examples of new words are fiend, monster,
heinous, and twisted. This allowed for a more complete analysis of demonizing in chil-
dren’s cartoons. Second, the differentiation between principal and minor characters was
eliminated because (a) television cartoons are typically 20% the length of full-length
movies, thus diminishing the opportunity for character development and intricacies of plot;
and (b) the focus was on the incidence of modeling of demonizing rather than the type of
character being demonized. Third, the emotional state of the demonizer was coded. Four
categories were used––negative (e.g., angry, humiliated, annoyed, fearful), neutral (no
facial expression and/or context not involving emotional content), positive (e.g., happy,
excited, humorous, playful) and ‘‘unknown’’ (unable to make a judgment).
Several coders were well trained. They were given exemplars for each variable and
practiced coding a cartoon not employed in the present study. During training, any dis-
crepancies were resolved and coding criteria refined; after training, each episode was coded
(often in slow motion and using the pause setting) without further discussion. Forty (97%)
of the episodes were then independently coded by a second coder.

Results

Coder reliability for movies was determined by separately correlating the frequencies of
demonizing words for the principal characters (n = 38) and the minor characters coded by
the two coders. These calculations included the words that both coders perceived as
referring to ‘‘evil’’ but were not in the initial list. The correlations were r = 0.96 and 0.94
(each p < 0.001), respectively. The reliability for gender of character was 100% agree-
ment between the two coders. Coder reliability for television cartoons was determined by
correlating the total frequencies of demonizing words in a program coded by the two
coders, regardless of whether the demonizing was about a principal or minor character; the
reliability was r = 0.88 (p < 0.001). The reliabilities for coding gender and emotional
states of demonizers used inter-observer agreement since they involved categorical data;
they were 100% and 83%, respectively. Thus, the reliability of coding the two media was
very good.

Movies

Seventy-four percent of the Disney films contained verbal references or the modeling of
demonizing, with an average of 5.6 references per film. Of the 136 principal characters
coded, 18% were demonized. The most prevalent demonizing words were ‘‘evil,’’
‘‘wicked,’’ ‘‘devil’’ and ‘‘demon.’’ The three movies having the most demonizing were
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (28 demonizing references), The Great Mouse Detective
(26), and Cinderella (22); the two most demonized principal characters were the Horned
King (Black Cauldren) and Beast (Beauty and the Beast). There was no significant dif-
ference (p > 0.05) in the genders of the characters being demonized.
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Television Programs

Forty-four percent of the after-school television cartoons contained the modeling of

demonizing, with the average being one demonizing reference per one-half hour program.
The most prevalent demonizing words were ‘‘monster,’’ ‘‘evil,’’ ‘‘devil,’’ fiend,’’ and
‘‘wicked.’’ The four cartoons having the most demonizing were The Simpsons (5
demonizing references), Megababies (2), Digimon (2), and Butt Ugly Martians (2). There
was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the genders of the characters being demonized.
Of the 24 instances that coders were able to code emotional states of the demonizers, 63%
were in negative states, with 24% and 13% being neutral and positive, respectively.

Discussion

The findings for Disney animated movies indicate that a majority (74%) had instances of
demonizing. Thus, not only was demonizing modeled, it was repeatedly modeled by
various characters within most of the movies and across the different Disney movies. It is
unknown, however, whether the frequency of modeling in the movies is salient enough to
have an impact on young viewers. On the other hand, due to the popularity of these movies,
children likely repeatedly view the movies in their homes on videocassette or DVD in a
setting that is both fun and approved by parents. The potency of repetition on children’s
learning is well documented [35, 36]. This suggests that watching Disney animated movies
may influence children’s acquisition of demonizing labels and stereotypes as well as
subsequent imitation of the use of such labeling behavior when observing people engaging
in inappropriate or ‘‘bad’’ behavior.
There are three implications for young viewers. First, children (and later as adults) may
learn to use labels and epithets against others when observing behaviors they perceive as
inappropriate. Such labeling is commonly employed to distance, segregate and alienate
one’s self from others [16, 17]. This may result in dehumanizing and not attempting to
understand perceived ‘‘evil’’ doers and/or having one’s attention drawn away from situ-
ational antecedents that produced the ‘‘bad’’ behavior. This may make it easier to inflict
violence upon them and inhibit focusing on remedying the ‘‘bad’’ behavior [2, 37]. Sec-
ond, using labels such as ‘‘twisted,’’ ‘‘monster’’ and ‘‘evil’’ may attack the self-esteem
and self-concept of the victims of the labeling and may have long-term consequences for
their development [18, 19]. This may be exacerbated by the merchandizing of many of the
films (e.g., Hercules, The Lion King) which likely results in children rehearsing some of
the observed demonizing behaviors using the purchased characters. Third, across all the
movies, 18% of the principal characters were labeled as evil, wicked, demonic or some
other similar attribution. This may result in fear induction, e.g., nightmares, belief that the
world is an evil, scary, and dangerous place to live [38]. For example, Fouts [39] reports
that 57% of children between 6–15 years have nightmares directly associated with movies
and television programs; even movies such as Dumbo and Snow White produce nightmares.
Such fear induction is likely exacerbated by young children failing to distinguish between
fiction and reality in movies [40].
The analysis of television cartoons also indicated the modeling of demonizing for young
viewers (44% of cartoons). A majority of the instances of demonizing were associated with
negative emotional states in the demonizer. This may result in the vicarious conditioning of
negative emotional states in young viewers that may have important long-term conse-
quences [35, 41]. For example, anger associated with viewing others’ behavior may
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Child Psychiatry Hum Dev (2006) 37:15–23 21

increase the tendency to imitate the demonizing and wishing to retaliate; anxiety associated
with demonizing may lead to fear and passivity. Negative emotional states may also be
associated with particular characteristics (e.g., roles, manner of dress, body shapes) that
may lead to learning unconscious biases and negative reactions toward people having these
characteristics.
In both television cartoons and Disney movies, male and female characters were equally
demonized. This suggests that children’s cartoon world does not reflect adult perceptions
that males constitute the majority of perpetrators of evil, e.g., serial killers, dictators known
for their butchery [42, 43].
The results of this study have implications for parents and professionals in the field.
First, parents need to be aware of the demonizing images found in movies made for
children. They not only should become critical consumers of children’s media themselves,
but also teach their children to analyze and evaluate the media so that they may be less
vulnerable to the impact of media’s messages about demonizing others. Professionals (e.g.,
teachers in special education, mental health workers) also need to be aware of the ste-
reotypes promoted in the media that children watch. Finally, both parents and professionals
need to be aware that children’s behavioral reactions to perceived wrong-doing may be
influenced by observing demonizing in the media. For example, they may learn to retaliate
for the sake of punishment without considering the antecedents of the ‘‘evil’’ behavior and
possible constructive, behavioral alternatives. Understanding the social and media sources
of demonizing is necessary for challenging their impact and optimizing the social and
emotional health of young media consumers.
We have several suggestions for future research. First, researchers may wish to expand
the types of television programs and movies assessed for the modeling of demonizing (e.g.,
television Saturday morning cartoons and situation comedies; action movies). Such an
analysis would present a more complete picture of the modeling that children may sub-
sequently imitate and use in their every day lives. Second, future research should examine
the images of evil associated with verbal references to evil. For example, are particular
characteristics (e.g., dark complexion, hero vs. villain) and situations (e.g., hell, dark
caves) associated with evil? Such associations may influence the acquisition of evilness
schema and lead to demonizing processes in children. Third, the emotional reactions of the
characters being demonized needs to be addressed. This would provide additional infor-
mation regarding the possible vicarious conditioning of emotional responses in young
viewers that may influence their susceptibility to the modeling of demonizing. Fourth, the
present study only examined the emotional state of the demonizers in television cartoons.
This should be expanded to movies since viewers’ emotional involvement with movie
characters may be greater than with television characters. Fifth, the relationship between
exposure to cartoon modeling of demonizing and children’s demonizing attitudes and
behaviors needs to be assessed, i.e., the actual effects of watching such contents. Sixth, the
relative contributions of the various media (e.g., movies, television, video games) and
social environments (e.g., home, school) to children’s attitudes and behaviors regarding
people who engage in ‘‘bad’’ behavior need to be addressed.

Summary

No research has examined the modeling of demonizing in the media that children watch in
large numbers. Therefore, two content analyses were conducted––contents of the (a) full-
length, animated Disney feature films (n = 34) that are very popular and available around
123
22 Child Psychiatry Hum Dev (2006) 37:15–23

the world and (b) after-school television cartoons (n = 41) that are available in North
America. Each was coded for the frequency of modeling of characters’ use of ‘‘evil’’
words (e.g., monster, devil, demon, wicked). Seventy-four percent of the Disney movies
contained ‘‘evil’’ references, with an average of 5.6 references per movie. Forty-four
percent of the after-school cartoons contained ‘‘evil’’ references, with an average of one
per half-hour cartoon. These results indicate that children watching Disney animated
movies and television cartoons are exposed to models who demonize others. This may
influence young viewers’ acquisition of demonizing labels as well as their subsequent
imitation of the use of such labeling behavior when observing people who are engaged in
inappropriate or ‘‘bad’’ behavior. Implications for parents and professionals and sugges-
tions for future research are discussed.

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