COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY IN DISNEY MOVIES

Think about how people use colour when talking about character: if someone is bad, they’re a ‘black hat’. If someone is jealous, they’re ‘green with envy’. Colour psychology has always been an interesting topic. We can look at Disney characters and learn how they use colours in the design of heroes and villains. Those choices of colour affect our emotions and reactions to the characters of Disney movies. The use of colour in Walt Disney heroes and villains are on a scale from good to bad. Generally, the yellow, green and blue characters are more “good’. The audience thinks the characters are more ‘evil’ when they are red, black and purple.

Purple is one of the most villainous colour. When you think that purple means often power, nobility, luxury and ambition, it makes sense. You can see those characteristics in characters like ‘Maleficent’ from Sleeping Beauty, ‘Dr. Facilier’ from The Princess and the Frog, and ‘the Evil Queen’ from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. They are all characters who seek power in some form.

Blue is always a heroic colour. The characters wearing blue show characteristics like trust, loyalty, confidence and stability. There are some good characters in the blue category, too. Characters like ‘Judy Hopps’ from Zootopia, ‘Sully’ from Monsters, Inc., and ‘Cinderella’.

Green generally means growth, healing and safety. You can see the colour green in hero designs. For example, ‘Merida’ from Brave starts out as a stubborn young woman with a difficult relationship with her mother. But by the end of the movie, she has learned to see things from her mother’s perspective and they are able to set aside their differences. Or think about the mermaid ‘Ariel’; she learns how to walk on her own two feet. She also leaves the ocean to live the life she always dreamed of.