Nature has been a dominant element in Disney films from their beginning with Snow White and continues to be featured in even the most recent theatrical endeavors by the company; in fact, Disney’s understanding of nature has progressed, moreover, evolved, in the times since Snow White and Bambi. Its evolutionary path was begun under Walt Disney himself and follows through to today, moving from a rural boy’'s "“folksy and homespun"” understanding of domestic animals to an urban, “sassy” and politicized perspective of environmentalism. (Whitley, 13) Furthermore, this shift can be seen on a religious or spiritual level as a move from a Judeo-Christian idea of stewardship and animals as domestic helpers, to a more eco-centric, animistic view that nature has inherent significance outside of its value to humans and must therefore be treated on an equal level with humankind. It will be shown here, through close study of specific films and ideologies that can be linked to nature, that Disney has slowly progressed from a Biblical, materialistic and utilitarian view of the natural world to a deeper, less anthropocentric perspective on the value of nature itself, thus embodying a shift from stewards to brothers, from anthropomorphism and conservation to animism and deep ecology.
