Semiotics is the study of meaning-making. It helps us to understand how cultures derive meaning from a given artefact, and how we can make better character design choices to serve a story. Despite the title, this applies to all stylized characters (just, you know, Disney is the best at it).

Video Credits (in order of appearance):
Wreck it Ralph – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Pinnochio – Walt Disney Productions
The Lion King – Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Feauture Animation
Zootopia – Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Feauture Animation
Ceci n’est pas une pipe – René Magritte
Andy Serkis Real Time Performance – Epic Games, 3Lateral, Unreal Engine
Kaleesi – Game Of Thrones – Baolong Zhang https://www.artstation.com/baolong
Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Inside Out – Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios
Pocoyo – Zinkia Entertainment, Cosgrove-Hall Films, CHF Entertainment
Tangled – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Moana – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Mike the Knight – Nelvana, HiT Entertainment
How to Train Your Dragon (1, 2 and 3) – DreamWorks Animation
Avatar – Lightstorm Entertainment, Dune Entertainment, Ingenious Media
South Park – South Park Studios
Big Hero 6 – Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios
Despicable Me – Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment
Frozen – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures