Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DISNEYESQUE

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connect today's word to others: Before we check out Disneyesque, let's recall some other eponymous adjectives, the kind that call to mind the worlds created by artists: 1. Something scary, bizarre, and dreamlike might be K____esque. 2. Something strange and imaginative, full of dark humor or cruelty to children, might be D____esque. 3. And something full of color, whimsy, rhythm, repetition, invented words, contraptions, gentle wisdom, objects in gravity-defying stacks, or objects leaning at impossible angles? That's S____ian. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "DISNEYESQUE" Something Disneyesque reminds you of the cartoons made by Walt Disney, or reminds you of the characteristics of the entire Disney industry. More specifically, Disneyesque things are colorful, cartoonish, big-budget, fanciful, unrealistic, goody-goody, squeaky-clean, oversimplified, and/or romanticized. Pronunciation: DIZZ nee YESK Part of speech: It's a proper adjective, so you always capitalize it: "a Disneyesque approach;" "their approach was Disneyesque." Other forms: Although it's correct to simply write "Disneyesque" as one word, some writers add a hyphen, probably because they want to make the meaning clear: "Disney-esque." An alternative adjective is simply "Disney," as in "she thought of herself as a Disney princess" or "she had a Disney perspective on life." You can use the noun "Disneyland" to refer to any fanciful, unrealistic place, whether it's a real place ("the store is a Disneyland for sports enthusiasts") or a figurative one, like the Disneyland of Mother's Day cards, "where everything is syrup and Technicolor, cuteness and schmalz" (Aldous Huxley). You can also Disneyfy something--that is, make it Disneyesque--and then it's Disneyfied, and you've committed Disneyfication. And yes, all these words are real; they're recognized by the Oxford English Dictionary. How to use it: The tone of the word "Disneyesque" can range from positive ("a Disneyesque feast for the eyes") to neutral ("a wall painted in Disneyesque figures") to negative ("a Disneyesque ending as hearty as cotton candy"). But there's a sharper, more consistently negative tone to the words "Disneyfy," "Disneyfied," and "Disneyfication," all of which suggest an irksome lack of nuance, truth, or authenticity. As the New York Times Magazine defined it, Disneyfication is the "methodical corporate engineering of the fun experience." Ouch. You might talk about Disneyesque sounds, images, appearances, characters, personalities, music, stories, endings, productions, performances, showboating, pageantry, points of view, understandings of the world, etc. Or, say that something has a Disneyesque tone, feel, spirit, atmosphere, environment, etc. examples: Her clients are down-to-earth; they won't be dropping fifty thousand dollars on a Disneyesque wedding. "Google Assistant has a Disney-esque musical ride at [the massive trade show] CES — see for yourself in VR."    — Rose Behar, Android Police, 9 January 2019 study it: Explain the meaning of "Disneyesque" without saying "theatrical" or "sugar-coated." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Something) (is or has) _____, that Disneyesque _____." Example 1: "Her voice has a trill, that Disneyesque flutter that threatens to burst into song." Example 2: "The island delicacy is conch, that large Disney-esque shell you thought you could hold up to your ear and hear the sea through as a child." (Woman & Home, 2019) before you review, play: Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first. Tidbits and Titles! I provide the tidbits; you provide the title. From our previous issue: Here's a quote from a book: "I began to shiver in a room suddenly gone cold, and I knew in my bones that the love we give and receive is all that matters and all that is remembered. Suffering disappears; love remains." And here are some terms and phrases that often appear in that book: children, Christmas, dream, Girl Scout cookies, heart, hugs, little boy, mother, President, self-esteem, smile, story, teacher, thank. What's the book's title? Answer: Chicken Soup for the Soul. Try this today: Here's a quote from a book: "If time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future?" And here are some terms and phrases that often appear in that book: antiparticles, big bang singularity, complete unified theory, distance, Einstein, event horizon, galaxies, infinite, mass, Newton, planets, space-time, wormhole. What's the book's title? review today's word: 1. A near opposite of DISNEYESQUE is A. INCOMPLETE. B. SKYSCRAPING. C. UNDERSTATED. 2. In Shrek 2's "Fairy Godmother Song," Jennifer Saunders delivers the perfect _____, with Disneyesque _____. A. punchline .. dark humor B. parody .. sparkles and talking furniture C. tribute .. and fast-paced reversals of expectation Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. B