A Sea Change: How Islands Create Compelling Places in Children’s Animated Films

This thesis examines the use of islands as a feature of children’s animated films, particularly Moana (2016), How to Train Your Dragon (2010), and Castle in the Sky (1986). The analysis is centered around the concept of placemaking, where physically defined places are intertwined with human ideas and perceptions. Setting a story on an island has important narrative impacts that are made even more apparent when produced for children and for a visual medium.