Examining the Motivations of Walt Disney Heroes and Villains and Their Association with Audience Appeal and Future Film Production

ABSTRACT

Guided by the model of intuitive-motivation and exemplars, we content analyzed the population of N = 734 Walt Disney Studio film synopses to determine whether Disney’s heroes and villains were motivated by altruistic or egoistic values, and if these values were associated with films’ audience ratings, box-office performance, or the future production of similar value-laden films. Results revealed that heroes were most likely to be motivated by altruism, villains were most likely to be motivated by egoism, and films’ emphasis on altruism was associated with more positive audience ratings and greater box-office earnings. No clear relationship between motivations and future film production emerged. We discuss how the present results can inform future work investigating the relationship between audiences and Disney content.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2022.2120879

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lindsay Hahn

Dr. Lindsay Hahn (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Her research investigates the cognitive processes surrounding media use and effects in audiences across the lifespan.

Melinda Aley

Dr. Melinda Aley (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Montana State University Billings. Her research interests include examining the effect of socializing messages on children's identity development. She has published studies focusing on socialization sources influencing moral, gender, and career development.

Alexandra Frank

Alexandra Frank (M.A., The University of Georgia) is a Ph.D. student at The University of Georgia. Her research interests include the use of virtual reality and emotion in science communication.

Candice Lawrence

Candice Lawrence (M.A., The University of Georgia) is a research associate with the Media Psychology and Morality Lab at the University at Buffalo.

Tahleen A. Lattimer

Tahleen A. Lattimer (M.A., University at Buffalo) is a Ph.D. student at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Her research focuses on the relationship between health and media as it relates to minority populations, specifically within public health and entertainment contexts.