In 1937, Walt Disney released the first fully animated feature film in history. What was seen as a massive risk paid off, with Snow White and The Seven Dwarves being such a success that 80 years later, the film still holds a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was revered by audiences and critics alike, as it was thought to capture a beautiful childlike innocence that was previously considered too silly for a full motion picture. A critic by the name of John C. Flinn Sr. would write “So perfect is the illusion [of the film], so tender the romance and fantasy,” predicting the success of Seven Dwarves and the entire career of Walt Disney. The entire world was in love with Walt Disney’s smart yet wonderful world, until suddenly, not everybody was.

The same people who were calling praising Disney’s work would turn against him in the years to follow. The praise of Seven Dwarves and Fantasia would slowly turn into bitter remarks of how Disney had lost his magic, murdering the classics like Peter Pan with his all too innocent take on them.  While the masses were still flocking to Walt Disney Pictures, critics and “intellectuals” began to criticize Disney’s films. They would begin to believe that “Walt Disney had the innate bad taste of the American public”. This criticism of Disney’s films would continue from the 1940’s all the way until the 1990’s, with some critics still believing that Disney is entirely too innocent.

But what does that mean? Does innocence really harm out society as much as the critics like to think it does? I asked some of my friends what they thought about Disney movies being too innocent,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwrHO6lW51g&t=0s

although I figured that I should probably look beyond the people I sit lunch with.

In, Lord of The Flies, a novel that my class read this term, (and you probably read in high school, too), there is a very signifigant quote near the end of the book on this topic. The quote states that “Ralph wept for the end of innocence”. To me, this quote means that innocence is something that benefits society. Although I could directly say that if Ralph was still innocent, he would not be crying, there is more than that to the quote. This quote proves that humanity relies on innocence to be reminded of the good in the world.

This exact concept is also explored in the Shakespeare play Macbeth. Macbeth, at the beginning of the play, is a medieval lord version of innocent.  Although the man was a war hero, meaning he sliced off the heads of a lot of people, he was doing so out of what he believed was a true belief in the good. At this point, Macbeth was innocent to the corruption and thoughts of power that would overtake him once he was exposed to them. Once evil ideas were put into his head by the 3 Witches and his wife Lady Macbeth, he loses himself and becomes a completely different person, showing once again that without innocence, goodness is lost.

We can mirror this concept a third time in the novel Three Day Road. Before heading off to war,  both Xavier and Elijah are innocent to the horrors of war. Being exposed to these horrors is what turns Elijah into a ruthless and insane killer, while Xavier, who removes himself from the other men as much as possible, stays somewhat innocent and therefore does not go crazy like his friend.

All of these examples point to one thing: Innocence is beneficial. Perhaps not on a global, political, or community scale. However, innocence is important when it comes to personal well-being. Without innocence, we become shells of who we once were, as we are exposed to evils and lose the faith and hope we once had. This is why it is important for there to be innocent movies for our children, so that they may grow up believing there is good in the world. Without that belief, it is likely that nobody would strive towards goodness, and humanity would have been gone a long time ago.