Liminality, Disability, Postcoloniality, and Disney: Liminal Disabled Tweens’ Identification with Disney Animated Films in Algeria.

<p dir="ltr">This study addresses the underexplored area of how disabled children from non-Western contexts engage with Disney animated films, focusing specifically on 25 Algerian disabled tweens aged 11–16. While Disney is a global media force often credited with inclusive representation, little research considers how disabled child audiences from postcolonial settings interpret its content. Using participatory qualitative methods—including focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and creative storytelling—the research foregrounds the voices of Algerian disabled tweens as active meaning-makers rather than passive consumers. The study draws upon interdisciplinary frameworks, with postcolonialism and intersectionality as primary approaches, to explore how identities shaped by disability, culture, religion, and social norms intersect and inform media reception.</p><p dir="ltr">Findings reveal that participants identified with Disney films in varied and complex ways. Many tweens appropriated and reinterpreted narratives to reflect their conservative, postcolonial realities—rejecting Western ideals like individualism and non-marital romance while embracing creativity and self-expression. Girls, in particular, redefined Disney princesshood to align with values of modesty, empowerment, and marriage. Some participants resisted traditional tween and princess models altogether, demonstrating agency in rejecting dominant narratives. Others connected with themes of difference and isolation in Disney stories, though identification with disability varied depending on personal and societal perceptions.</p><p dir="ltr">The study challenges dominant stereotypes about the passivity of disabled children and underscores that media reception is shaped by multiple contextual factors, including family, society, and censorship. It also critiques the one-way media flow often assumed in Western-centric scholarship, highlighting the role of global-local dynamics in shaping meaning. Ultimately, the research contributes to Disability Studies, postcolonial theory, and Global South media studies, advocating for greater collaboration between the Global South and North in shaping inclusive policies and resisting academic hegemony.</p>