In American culture, the magical world of Disney is ever-present in the lives of our youth—but although Disney is often associated with children, on campus, you will find a particular group of college students enthused by Disney’s wonderful fantasy world. These fans form an organization known as The Disney Movie Club.
Anthony Whitehead, junior in biological sciences, is the founder and president of the club. Creating such a club gave Whitehead the opportunity to meet fellow students with a similar enthusiasm towards the Disney franchise.
“The Disney Movie Club is an organization for people with a common interest in Disney films to come together, enjoy each other’s company, and watch movies,” Whitehead said. “I put together this organization because, while I love Disney films in any setting, it is way more fun to enjoy them with other people who are also very enthusiastic about the movies and know half the lines and all the songs.”
Although the club meets every Thursday night, to enjoy a timeless Disney flick, this past Thursday was a particularly festive gathering. The members of the Disney Movie Club congregated on Harris Field for their Fall Festifall , an event filled with games, junk food, a Disney costume contest and the showing of Disney’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.
“It was a way for us as a club to do something different than our usual Thursday night meeting, have a ton of fun and get into the Halloween spirit,” Whitehead said.
Recognizable Disney characters, such as Snow White’s Evil Queen and Alice in Wonderland’s White Rabbit, could be spotted mingling on Harris Field. A variety of other characters entered the club’s costume contest, which was deliberated by a panel of five judges. Three finalists were chosen, with Maree Pascall’s interpretation of the iconic villain, Cruella de Vil , from Disney’s film adaptation of One Hundred and One Dalmatians, claiming the win for the “Best Disney Costume.”
At 7:30 p.m ., it was show time. Eager members of the club gathered their blankets and towels to take a seat on Harris Field, in front of a large projection screen. As the film began, viewers hushed to enjoy the Tim Burton film.
The film rolled on and the audience remained engaged in the movie for the duration of its showing.
Despite certain speculation, Disney has no age limit. As is evident, through the Disney Movie Club, the “wonderful world of Disney” is a prevalent part of American culture and according to Whitehead, it has the ability to take us back to childhood.
