Feminist or no, Disney is still the Antichrist.
Really cool perspective. In pointing out the massive problems with a lot of Disney Princesses, we can loose the fact that they are a step (awkward, but a step) toward better things.
I propose the next Disney princess be maybe a little chubby. And Latina! If only Aztec myth didnât almost inevitably involve blood-sacrificesâŚbut maybe thereâs some good Carribean or South-of-the-US American fairy tales that would be good for the pop culture blitzkrieg treatment.
Sleeping Beauty has always been my least favorite story. Sheâs practically irrelevant to the plot, spending half of it unconscious; as they say, you could replace her with a sexy lamp and tell the same story.
Mulan was my favorite of the Disney movies, just beating out Beauty and the Beast. And Mulan is super-light on the romance. Her and Li Shang flirt a little, but it doesnât end with a wedding or even a kiss.
I suspect someone else here linked this site in the past which is why itâs stuck in my head, but Iâll link it again anywayâŚ
Granted, I canât think of any others.
Besides being rich, charming and good looking doesnât the prince have to do something dangerously heroic like slay a dragon or thwart the evil ambitions of his nemesis? This is the fairy tale metaphor or are we still talking about Disney 
Though not with its flaws, Tangled was better than Frozen. I didnât really see the appeal of Frozen.
Mayan myths are pretty blood-sacrifice free, arenât they? (although this doesnât make any sense if youâre looking for something latina⌠more indigenous American characters are good though!)
If youâre making a list you could always add the Blade trilogy of films, if you consider Wesley Snipes as a vampire hunter a superhero.
Not for the first couple of films at least. The prince in Snow White showed up long after the evil queen had been defeated and wooed the princess with an act of necrophilia.
The prince in Cinderella has a whole different set of issues. Heâs basically just a well-groomed prop for other characters to compete over even though heâs clearly less interested in women themselves than in their shoes. (Thatâs not an exaggerationâthe king spends a good portion of the film wondering aloud why his son just doesnât seem interested in girls, while the Duke rolls his eyes knowingly and tries to find a tactful way to defuse the situation.)
Call me bitter, but I wouldnât say movies about pretty ladies singing their way to (inevitable) true love are particularly progressive. I guess traditional gender roles are a hard habit to kick.
I eventually got completely fed up with Fables, but I did like their take on him.
Merida did have a âfuck it, Iâd rather go shoot somethingâ approach to dating.
Yeah, I wish Brave had more to say about that than aboutâŚuhâŚbears.
Enough with your anti-Frozen agenda â just Let It GoâŚ
And giving birth to the 'You Tried" Li Shang meme.
I know one thing, my daughter loves Mulan probably more than most Disney moviesâŚand Iâm guessing Mulan being the character she is certainly is part of it. Disneyâs track record is uneven, to be sure, but since âThe Little Mermaidâ there has been a clear attempt to play against the classic âprincessâ tropes. Frozen and Brave, in particular, are direct reactions and counter-arguments to them: Brave has no romantic lead, while Frozen plays directly against it.
Thanks for this thoughtful analysis of the genre. I think something that is often missing is the whole âparental guidanceâ thing, particularly when it comes to young boys. They are never encouraged from a young age to seek out or appreciate heroines, and theyâre not allowed to like strong female characters.
Well not counting Aladdin, Arielâs prince is named Eric, and Auroraâs is named Phillip.
No, I get the point. I mean, at first it seems like itâs more objectifying to the men who havenât even got names. Unless theyâre actually named âCharmingâ, I suppose. But then, the moral becomes any man will do. Even if you have no idea who he is. As long as you get one in the end.
