The Magic Kingdom: Exploring Disney’s Impact on Popular Culture

Disney occupies a special place in popular culture, both as a site of the imaginary and as one of the largest entertainment companies globally. Drawing on papers presented at the Popular Culture Research Network (PopCRN) international conference, The Magic Kingdom: Exploring Disney’s Impact on Popular Culture, held in July 2025, this Special Issue examines how Disney’s canon is shaped not only by its narratives, but also by their limits, silences and ambiguities. Disney presents itself as a site of family-friendly entertainment, avoiding areas of cultural contestation. This approach, however, has drawn criticism of ‘Disneyfication’: a process that seeks to maintain a conservative hegemony. This Special Issue brings together historians, sociologists, criminologists and media studies scholars to interrogate concepts of corporate power, fan engagement and representation across the Disney canon. The articles include discussions on racial erasures within the Haunted Mansion attraction, cautious depictions of queerness within the Marvel Multiverse, and fan negotiations of ambiguity in The Owl House. Conversely, analyses of moral certainty in the depictions of criminals and the narrative of rewarding specific dreams through the motif of flight reveal deliberate choices in character construction. Together, papers in this Special Issue demonstrate how Disney negotiates the pressures of popular engagement while striving to preserve its brand coherence.