What children learn from Disney cartoons

This research aims to understand what messages are conveyed to children by Disney cartoons in the light of theorists from the fields of Communication, Sociology and Education. As such, this study is interested in learning about the concepts of consumer society that exist in Disney animated films and are identified by children. As this is a qualitative study, two theories were used: discourse analysis and content analysis, to identify the content of the discourse in the images and words of the drawings and the childrens interpretations. It was characterised as field research, as the children were invited to take part in two sessions of two selected cartoons and then discuss and interpret what they had seen. It was observed that the cartoons are essentially about current affairs and are generally related to the world of children. And it was concluded that the children can clearly understand the messages that each cartoon conveys, but that they need an education to build a critical reading and awareness of the media.