Drawing Disney: Analyzing Artistic Reinterpretations of Disney Deaths.

This article examines how audiences reinterpret traumatic character deaths in Disney animated films through user-generated content (UGC) on DeviantArt, a large online art community. It finds that while most fan artworks closely mimic original death scenes in characters, gore, and settings, many deliberately alter compositional elements like brightness and contrast to convey heightened emotional tone. Qualitative analysis reveals that these reinterpretations often express childhood trauma, critique Disney's sanitized and unrealistic portrayals of death, and expand narratives to include mourning or sympathy for characters, including villains. The study highlights the active role of audiences in decoding and reshaping media meanings within participatory culture, suggesting that fan-produced images provide valuable insights into how animated death scenes are received and emotionally processed beyond the original films.