“You’re getting a little big for this”: fat characters in Disney animated films

To further develop the literature regarding representations of larger bodies in popular culture, this quantitative content analysis describes demographic and stereotypic depictions of fat characters in all 54 Disney animated films theatrically released from 1937 to 2023. The 124 identified fat characters were most commonly depicted as sidekicks of the protagonist (n = 38, 30.65%), with only four (3.23%) depicted as protagonists. Demographically, fat characters were most frequently male (n = 95, 76.61%), white (n = 92, 74.19%), middle aged (n = 57, 46.00%), and of lower social class (n = 50, 40.32%). Compared to 49.02% (N = 25) of straight size characters, 70% (N = 87) of fat characters were portrayed with at least one stereotypical depiction of fatness, such as becoming stuck in an object or space (N = 30, 24.20%) or eating more than other characters (N = 20, 16.13%). An independent samples t-test showed a statistically significant difference between the total number of stereotypical depictions of fatness among fat characters (M = 1.85, SD = 2.17) and straight-sized characters (M = 0.84, SD = 1.05), t(168.74) = 4.15, p < .001). These derisive, stereotypic depictions further harmful, fatphobic narratives about the inability of fat people to belong in society, primarily due to their own choices around (over)consumption and physical (in)activity.