Handsome Heroes & Vile Villains

Book excerpt: From dwarves to princes, heroes to heartbreakers, the Disney treatment of male characters in the studio’s animated features. One of PopSugar’s Best Books for Women (2013) From the iconic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) to Tangled, the 2010 retelling of Rapunzel, Handsome Heroes and Vile Villains looks at the portrayal of male characters in Disney films from the perspective of masculinity studies and feminist film theory. This companion volume to Good Girls and Wicked Witches places these depictions within the context of Hollywood and American popular culture at the time of each film’s release. “Within her idealism and love for the House of the Mouse, it seems Davis is on to something. Whether idealistic or delusional, the Disney she talks about seems to be a thing that’s waiting just around the corner.” —PopMatters