DisNet’s Fourth Annual Conference

“Let Us Tell An Old Story Anew”: Revising / Reinventing / Reimagining Disney

10th-12th September 2026

Registration Begins: 1st July 2026

Disney’s Maleficent (2014), a live-action retelling of their animated classic, Sleeping Beauty (1957), begins with a narrator challenging us to re-see the stories we’ve been told before. The entire movie, in fact, revolves around correcting past perceptions, ones that Disney originally shaped and is now choosing to reshape. Maleficent is just one example of a spate of live-action remakes and other ways Disney has reimagined itself in the twenty-first century. Such reimaginings invite research into how and why Disney feels the need to make us see them anew.

To address this gap in research, this year’s annual online Disney, Culture and Society Research Network conference invites papers that critically explore Disney’s processes of revising, reinventing, and reimagining Disney across its multimedia landscape. Ultimately, this conference will explore what it means to “reimagine” Disney and how this process reshapes what we understand as Disney culture on a global scale. To better understand these critical inquires, presentations and round tables can explore questions including (but not limited to):

• How is Disney’s past being reinterpreted, by the company or outsiders?
• How is Disney actively reconstructing its narratives, identities, and brand meanings for contemporary audiences? 
• In what ways are legacy texts, spaces, and experiences being reinterpreted to align with shifting cultural values and expectations? 
• How do these reimaginings influence the production, circulation, and reception of “Disney culture” across diverse global contexts?
• How are Disney’s present and future being strategically reinvented as they happen? 

Even if your current Disney research is not focused on this particular topic, if you are researching elements of the Walt Disney Company in its wide range of capacities, we want to hear from you! We invite abstract submissions from all disciplines and countries on a diverse range of Disney Studies topics.

Submission information: To submit a proposal for this conference, please fill out the Google Form in the buttons at the top or bottom of this page. You can submit a proposal for a presentation (15-minute lecture presented by one or more people) or a roundtable (75-minute conversation between multiple people). If you are submitting a proposal for a presentation with a co-author or a proposal for a roundtable, you will need to provide information on each person who will participate, including: name; email; affiliation; time zone they will be in during the conference in September; short biography; your social media handles for conference organizers to tag you; if you want to share social media handles and/or email in the conference program; and any accessibility accommodations you need. You will also need to provide information about the presentation/roundtable, including: title; abstract; theoretical approaches/methodologies; and topics.

Time Line

Conference: 10-12 September 2026

Abstract Deadline: 15 May 2026

Acceptances Communicated & Registration Open: 1 July 2026

Presenter Registration Closes: 1 August 2026

Attendee Registration Closes: 1 September 2026