Elsevier

Sleep Medicine

Volume 8, Issue 5, August 2007, Pages 531-536
Sleep Medicine

Historical issues in Sleep Medicine
REM sleep behavior disorder and other sleep disturbances in Disney animated films

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2006.12.001Get rights and content

Abstract

During a viewing of Disney’s animated film Cinderella (1950), one author (AI) noticed a dog having nightmares with dream-enactment that strongly resembled RBD. This prompted a study in which all Disney classic full-length animated films and shorts were analyzed for other examples of RBD. Three additional dogs were found with presumed RBD in the classics films Lady and the Tramp (1955) and The Fox and the Hound (1981), and in the short Pluto’s Judgment Day (1935). These dogs were elderly males who would pant, whine, snuffle, howl, laugh, paddle, kick, and propel themselves while dreaming that they were chasing someone or running away. In Lady and the Tramp the dog was also losing both his sense of smell and his memory, two associated features of human RBD. These four films were released before RBD was first formally described in humans and dogs. In addition, systematic viewing of the Disney films identified a broad range of sleep disorders, including nightmares, sleepwalking, sleep related seizures, disruptive snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, insomnia and circadian rhythm sleep disorder. These sleep disorders were inserted as comic elements. The inclusion of a broad range of accurately depicted sleep disorders in these films indicates that the Disney screenwriters were astute observers of sleep and its disorders.

Introduction

Several sleep disorders, such as nightmares, sleep-talking, insomnia, loud and disruptive snoring, and sleepwalking are so prevalent that they comprise part of the common knowledge for much of the general population in the industrialized world. This knowledge is also exemplified in movies, television programs, literature and comics in which depicted characters suffer from some form of sleep problem. In these situations, the author or screenwriter often inserts a sleep disturbance as a comic element and/or to pique the curiosity of the reader or film viewer, with the exception of nightmares that frequently are introduced as elements of terror or suspense.

Classic authors such as Cervantes, Shakespeare and Dickens arranged for some of their characters to be afflicted with a sleep disorder. In the first part of Don Quixote (1605), Don Quixote himself experienced an episode of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) when he dreamt that he was fighting a giant whom he was stabbing with his sword while he was actually stabbing and ripping open wine skins at an inn that resulted in the spillage of considerable amounts of wine, much to the dismay of the innkeeper [1], [2]. Cervantes in Don Quixote[2] and Shakespeare in Macbeth (1606) [3] describe characters affected by insomnia and vivid dreams, whereas Dickens in his novel The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1837) describes the case of a young man named Joe who was morbidly obese and fell asleep virtually everywhere he went [4]. This literary case was the origin for the medical term “Pickwickian syndrome”, in reference to the obesity-hypoventilation syndrome consisting, in part, of obstructive sleep apnea and hypersomnia [5]. Moreover, noisy snoring and severe hypersomnia were vividly described in the 19th century medical literature [6], [7]. An example of hypersomnia that appears to be secondary to obstructive sleep apnea is seen in the movie Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace (1999), by George Lucas. In one scene, nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker competes in a pod-race on the planet Tatooine. Despite the intense and evocative pod-race that keeps the viewer on the edge of his seat, the obese character Jabba the Hutt remains asleep throughout the pod-race while seated on his throne, and when the race is over he needs to be forcibly awakened in order to officially declare the winner. Characters with narcolepsy are found in the films My Own Private Idaho (1991) by Gus Van Sant and Moulin Rouge! (2001) by Baz Luhrmann. Periodic leg movements in sleep are shown in a memorable scene in Charlie Chaplin’s silent comedy The Kid (1921) where the tramp and the kid sleep in a homeless shelter, and they both display synchronized periodic leg movements during sleep. Periodic leg movement disorder was also described in the TV series Seinfeld, 9th season, episode 146, entitled The Money (1997). In this episode, the character Kramer complains of being kicked while sleeping by his girlfriend Emily because she had “Jimmy legs”.

Notwithstanding the above examples from various sources, the animated films may well contain the most obvious and widespread depictions of sleep disorders for the general public, which are introduced as comic diversions for the viewers.

One of the authors (AI), while viewing the movie Cinderella[8] by Walt Disney, noticed with particular interest that in one scene a sleeping dog was having nightmares with dream-enactment. That observation prompted a systematic search for any other examples of presumed RBD contained in most of the approximately 500 Disney shorts, and all the 46 Disney classic full-length animated films released between 1937 and 2005 that ranged from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Home Range. A total of four dogs were found with presumed RBD in films that were released before this parasomnia was formally described in animals and humans. Our search also identified a broad range of other sleep disorders that were inserted into the films primarily as comic elements (with notable exceptions), including nightmares, sleepwalking, sleep-related seizures, disruptive snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, insomnia, and circadian rhythm sleep disorder. The categories of sleep disorders found in Disney films are described below.

Section snippets

REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD)

RBD-like episodes were found in four dogs, in the classic movies Cinderella (1950), Lady and the Tramp (1955) and The Fox and the Hound (1981), and in the short Pluto’s Judgment Day (1935).

Nightmares

In the short films involving Mickey Mouse, it is not uncommon for Mickey to be having nightmares [17]. Mickey has nightmares in various short films, including Mickey’s Nightmare (1932) [18], The Mad Doctor (1933) [19] and Thru the Looking Glass (1936) [20]. In these shorts there is no evidence of RBD-like movements or vocalizations while Mickey is having a nightmare. In the short film Mickey’s Nightmare[18], Mickey dreams that he is happily married to Minnie, until one day a stork arrives.

Sleepwalking

Three examples of this parasomnia appear in the short films, as displayed by Pluto, the pelican and Donald Duck. In The Sleepwalker (1942) [21] Pluto gives Dinah (a friendly female dog) his bone while sleepwalking but cannot understand how she got it when he wakes up. In the short film The Pelican And The Snipe (1944) [22], the pelican lives on top of a lighthouse with a little bird in Montevideo, Uruguay. The pelican (Monte) is a sleepwalker and the little bird (Video) spends its nights being

Sleep related epilepsy

Dopey is one of the dwarfs in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) [24]. It has been reported that Dopey suffered from Angelman syndrome, a neurogenetic disorder clinically characterized by seizures, developmental delay and no language development [25]. In a scene in which all the dwarfs are asleep, suddenly Dopey (who is the only sleeping dwarf who does not snore) starts moving around abnormally and has violent total body shaking suggestive of an epileptic seizure that lasts 10 s.

Loud disturbing snoring

In some Disney films snoring is presented as a comic feature in which loud and disruptive snoring prevents another person from falling asleep. For example, in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) [24] the loud snoring by five of the dwarfs (Sleepy, Doc, Happy, Sneezy and Bashful) prevents a sixth dwarf (Grumpy) from falling asleep. In Pinocchio (1940) [26] the snoring of Gepetto and the fish Cleo do not allow Jiminy Cricket to fall asleep and he then yells, “Silence!”. In the short film

Excessive daytime sleepiness

The most clear-cut example of chronic hypersomnia is portrayed by the character of Sleepy, one of the appealing dwarfs in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) [24]. Sleepy is always seen yawning with his eyelids droopy, or else falling asleep involuntarily such as when he plays the clarinet or while listening to Snow White sing a song. Sleepy snores while he sleeps during the night and early in the morning he already has droopy eyelids, such as when he walks in line with the other dwarfs to

Adjustment insomnia

In two different short films, Donald Duck suffered from adjustment insomnia related to identifiable stressors. Donald is kept awake by the annoying loud tickling of an alarm clock in Early to Bed (1941) [30], and then by a dripping faucet and a window blind that could not be lowered in Drip Dippy Donald (1948) [31].

Circadian rhythm sleep disorder

In the short film How to Sleep (1953) [32] Goofy falls asleep everywhere (at work, walking down the street) except when he is in his bed at night. He is fired because he spends his days sleeping at his office while his boss shouts at him, “Sleep on your own time! The film explains that sleep disorders have been recognized since prehistory. Perhaps the most historically intriguing aspect of this short film (released in 1953, the year that REM sleep was formally identified) is that when his

Acknowledgements

Miguel Iranzo provided considerable access to the classic Disney films and helped with the review. Martı´n de Riquer Mestres, David Coll and Cruz Delgado Jr. assisted in finding some obscure Disney short films.

References (47)

  • Cinderella [film]. Walt Disney Productions,...
  • Fonte J, Mataix O. Walt Disney. El universo animado de los largometrajes 1937–1967, Madrid: T&B;...
  • Cinderella II. Dream Comes True [film]. Walt Disney Productions,...
  • Lady and the Tramp [film]. Walt Disney Productions,...
  • Lady and the Tramp 2 [film]. Walt Disney Productions,...
  • The Fox and the Hound [film]. Walt Disney Productions,...
  • Fonte J. Walt Disney. El universo animado de los largometrajes 1970–2001. Madrid: T&B;...
  • D.P. Mannix

    The Fox and the Hound

    (1967)
  • Pluto’s Judgment Day [film]. Walt Disney Productions,...
  • J. Fonte

    Todo empezó con un ratón

    (2004)
  • Mickey’s Nightmare [film]. Walt Disney Productions,...
  • The Mad Doctor [film]. Walt Disney Productions,...
  • Thru the Looking Glass [film]. Walt Disney Productions,...
  • Cited by (18)

    • History—features, factors, and characteristics of parasomnias

      2023, Encyclopedia of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms: Volume 1-6, Second Edition
    • From burlesque to horror: a century of sleepwalking on the silver screen

      2021, Sleep Medicine
      Citation Excerpt :

      From the very first representations, sleepwalking has been portrayed in many movie genres including dramas, comedies and cartoons, thus attaining an audience of various ages. Previous studies have investigated how cinema portrayed epilepsy [14], coma [15], and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) in Disney movies [16], but no research (to our knowledge) has yet investigated how sleepwalking has been represented as a condition throughout cinematic history. How a given disease is portrayed in movies provides a snapshot of the popular representation of a disease in a given period.

    • Somnambulism in Verdi's Macbeth and Bellini's La Sonnambula: Opera, sleepwalking, and medicine

      2015, Progress in Brain Research
      Citation Excerpt :

      Even today, sleep disorders draw rapt attention in books, movies, television programs, and in social media on the world wide web. Many writers and producers have discovered that, by inserting a sleep disturbance “as a comic element and/or to pique the curiosity of the reader or film viewer,” they can enhance the overall appeal of what they are presenting (Iranzo et al., 2007). Prior to the mid-eighteenth century, Erasmus Darwin, John Polidori, and certain other medical writers had attempted to analyze somnambulism systematically and rationally, discarding some myths about this disorder and its likely causes.

    • Rem sleep behavior disorder

      2013, Revista Medica Clinica Las Condes
    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text