Phys.org looks at an essay that explains the staying power of animated films and how they are able to draw us in emotionally. Eric Scott Jenkins, a University of Cincinnati assistant professor of communication, says “When people talk about Disney animation, they may describe it as magical or wonderful, and I don’t think that has so much to do with the fact that there’s a lot of magic portrayed in it, or the fact that we know these things aren’t real. We or feel them to be alive anyway, which is why someone can cry over Snow White or Bambi, and laugh over Mickey, even though we know on a rational level that these characters are not real or alive”.