Animation and Fantasy Film in the Allegorical Tradition

Abstract

nFar from dying with the Enlightenment period, allegory continues to pervade contemporary culture. This is especially true for fantasy and animated films, which frequently use nonmimetic narratives to craft advanced and sometimes even biting allegories about modern culture. This chapter explores how a range of animated and fantasy films can be read as allegories in the cinematic medium that mirror and reconfigure in new ways elements from older allegorical traditions. It features a particular case study focusing on the Disney-Pixar animation Inside Out (2015) and the coauthors’ experience of teaching this film in British and American higher education settings as a contemporary instance of personification allegory in dialogue with the wider allegorical tradition, including classical, medieval, and early modern texts.