Disney Princess Intermission

So currently, we’ve finished Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty and what exactly have we learned about the Disney Princess Line? Out of all the films were going to see I have to say that these are the most formulaic; we have a princess who is naturally a good person, with simplistic dreams, likes to sing, an almost sadistic evil woman, and true love. There is something to be said about a lack of focus on our protagonists; they don’t really do much on the surface. Snow, Cinderella, and Aurora are the first three princesses and you can kind of see how they have influenced other princesses afterwards. They kind of set a style that is slowly grown out of and it's one of the reasons that I did these three first before I go over one I skipped (I wonder who?).

I think that a lot of claims people make about Disney being sexist to women could have started here and propelled outward into newer works. I find that to be a bit unfair honestly. While these princesses are not perfect characters in design, the films were never designed to flesh out the protagonist or many characters in a straightforward way and a lot of work was put into the driving forces behind the films, namely the villain and the princess’s friends. Like The Great Gatsby, Sherlock Holmes, and Citizen Kane, the films are more of an experience for our side characters with our princess's in the middle. There is also a sort of a rejection of the suspension of disbelief when it comes to romance these days. People seem feel the “love at first sight” idea takes them out of the movie when honestly it never really happened. Snow White seemed to imply that Snow and the prince knew each other before, Sleeping Beauty operated more on a concept of destiny and true loving wining out. Cinderella is actually where I think it gets dark.

In Cinderella, there is this weird theme of karma, what goes around comes around. Cinderella is given the night of her life, she has a great dress, her best friends are taking her there, her step family can’t recognize her, and she has the prince’s (who is apparently named Henry) complete attention. When the clock strikes midnight, the magic begins to fade but the two glass slippers remain and Henry decrees he will marry whoever fits the slipper. This is where it gets weird. He never gives any other description. He doesn’t give a name nor does he mention her eye or hair color. He doesn’t even say anything nor does he go to look for the girl himself, all he wants is someone who fits the magical object. What if he was part of her magical night and was enchanted? This does explain why he has a look on his face similar to Eric in The Little Mermaid when he was enchanted by Ursula. That means that Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother enchanted the prince into falling in love with her and that is rather dark. Or the argument that Henry was icing on the cake for Cinderella.

With three princesses down I should probably reaffirm that I’m not sticking to only those officially in the Disney Princess line though I will be following some of their criteria. Animals cannot be a Disney Princess and they cannot only exist a sequel. Does the character have to actually be a princess? Not at all, some characters aren’t even royalty until the end of the film and I kind of attribute the title “Disney Princess” as a sort of Miss America idea. It’s a style and attitude that Disney uses to make money, but I do feel there is more to it. After all, these characters and their movies have touched people of all genders and ages. We'll be going over some that are sometimes considered princesses and some that have been forgotten.