Disney's Greek Chorus

Google defines the Greek chorus as a "non-individualised group of performers in the plays of classical Greece, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action." That definition is a mouthful so let's break it down. An individual is defined by Merriam-Webster as a single human being as distinct from a group, class, or family. The Greek chorus is non-individual so we know that the performers in the Greek chorus have little-to-no importance as individual performers in the Greek plays.

1. collective
2.          adjective col·lec·tive \kə-ˈlek-tiv\ 

          : shared or done by a group of people : involving all members of a group

1. The second half of the definition states that the Greek chorus comments with a collective voice. Many people giving a strong, singular voice towards the narration and interpretation of the play. There is a certain strength in numbers; however, as this blog post continues, let's not get too hung up on the idea that the role of the Greek chorus needs to involve multiple persons. 
2. The Greek chorus fills the role of being a part of the play without actually being part of the play. Imagine a group of performers who don't hold roles as characters in a particular dramatization, yet they know they know the story inside and out. As you watch the play, this group gives you commentary where they explain to you what is happening. Their commentary not only helps in explaining the story, but it also guides your emotions as you experience the play. 
3. Practicing the use of a Greek chorus has persisted through the years. While the presentation and appearance of the Greek chorus may have evolved in many of our modern examples, the role and finished product becomes one and the same. Our classic meaning of the Greek chorus leaves us looking for a group; however, in modern examples we sometimes need to look for the Greek chorus in the form of a single performer.
4. The Greek drama Oedipus Rex was first performed around 429 BC. Fast forward 2, 365 years to when Walt Disney released his first animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. During the following 78 years the Walt Disney company would release 91 animated films. Within these animated films traces of the Greek chorus can be found and for the rest of this post I will take a closer look at some of the Disney films that put the Greek chorus into play. 

One of my favorite animated films from the Walt Disney company is Disney's Robin Hood. The film tells the classic tale of Robin Hood: the man who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. The characters within this version of the story are played by animated animals. We see the poverty-stricken villager's who are made up of rabbits, turtles, and mice. The royal family who is made up of lions. Robin Hood and his sidekick Little John, played by a Fox and a Bear.

Disney's Robin Hood was released in 1973 during the time in which a long series of credits could       be found at the beginning of any given film. Thus, our film opens with an instrumental song and         movie credits. At the end of these credits the audience is introduced to Allan-a-Dale, a rooster who     explains that he is the minstrel and that his job is to "tell it like it is... or was... or whatever." 

Allan-a-Dale

At this point, Allan-a-Dale breaks into song as the screen fades away from him and into a scene of     Robin Hood and Little John taking a walk through a forest. As his song begins, we recognize that       he is telling us a story and explaining through song what Robin Hood and Little John are doing. As     the story and song continue, Allan-a-Dale goes on to tell us about the carefree manner of the two         chums as they enjoy their time and don't realize that the Sheriff of Nottingham is sneaking up on         them. The song ends as Robin Hood and Little John make their escape from the Sheriff.

Allan-a-Dale makes appearances throughout the film as he sings and explains what is happening to the characters. Midway through the film, when Prince John raises the taxes in a selfish act and times get more difficult for the villagers, Allan-a-Dale is there with a woeful song to tell us about the miserable situation.





As the film draws to a close, Allan-a-Dale is there not to sing to us, but to explain to us through words how everything comes to an end. He tells us what happens to Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham. And as we see Robin Hood and Maid Marian ride off in their wedding carriage, Allan-a-Dale is there to say, "Well folks, that's the way it really happened."





More recently, in 2004, the Walt Disney company released The Lion King 1 1/2. The movie closely follows the story told in their 1994 release of The Lion King where a young lion prince, Simba, is banished from his kingdom upon the accidental death of his father, the king. The young prince wanders in the wild for a time before he is discovered by Timon and Pumbaa, an unlikely pair made up of a meerkat and a warthog. Timon and Pumbaa take Simba in and raise him and at the close of the movie, help Simba as he reclaims his throne from his uncle.





While The Lion King 1 1/2 closely follows the story in The Lion King, it is decidedly different because The Lion King 1 1/2 is told from the perspective of Timon and Pumbaa. We see the moment when the two unlikely friends meet and later the moment when they meet Simba. As an audience, we are given a completely different view of the original story.





Not only are we given a different view of The Lion King, but Lion King 1 1/2 is also narrated by Timon and Pumbaa. We see the pair acting as the Greek chorus throughout the movie. The film itself is set up to see as if you are sitting in a movie theatre seeing the film and oftentimes that view also includes the silhouettes of Timon and Pumbaa sitting just in front of us explaining the movie.

In both examples that I've used, the Greek chorus does not take the form of a large group. Disney's Robin Hood has a single character that fulfills the role and The Lion King 1 1/2 fulfills the role with two characters. The modern version of the Greek chorus in both films fulfills the role of the Greek chorus in classic examples: to fill in the gaps and explain in further detail what is happening. While Disney films may at first glance seem to be one of the furthest things from classic Greek dramas, we can see the similarities in the fulfillment of the Greek chorus.