Evolution of the Disney Princess

The articles about Disney princess movies and their impact on young girls nowadays really opened up my eyes to several aspects of these films that I had never taken into consideration before. I haven’t watched these princess films since I was a very young girl and remember each of their plots solely for the events that would captivate and catch the eye of a six year old girl. Now, as a seventeen year old, I am much more educated and aware of the prevalent topics of consent, sexism, etc. that arise in many of these films. As I read through the first article, I was fascinated that Disney enforced a rule in which animators must draw princesses’ eyes looking in various directions when they are pictured adjacent to one another on items, such as a T-shirt or a lunch box. The Disney princesses are not supposed to live or exist in the same universe, or in the imagination of a child watching these movies. I was fascinated when I read this because I realized that this psychological tactic actually worked on me as a child. I never remember thinking of these princesses living together or working amongst one another. Ms. Kobus also managed to draw my attention to critical, controversial details in each Disney princess movie that completely went over my head as a young child. For instance, The Little Mermaid was one of my favorite Disney movies, but I never remember Ariel paying the price of her voice in exchange for a chance at love with a man. The Disney princesses, especially those in the earlier films from the 1900s, were consumed by the idea of finding a big, strong, handsome man. As a child, I simply wanted to dress like Ariel for Halloween, sing her songs, and buy lots and lots of Little Mermaid themed toys. Predictably, I overlooked some of the more controversial details and focused on topics that were more concrete and tangible to me, such as the dresses and physical appearances of the characters. For instance, I am still shocked that one of the male characters in Mulan says, “She’s a woman, she’ll never be worth anything.” I had no idea until this day that Disney had included such direct, sexist dialogue in some of their children's movies. This has urged me to ask my mother, who watched these movies with me throughout her 20s, how she reacted to the sexism, beauty standards, and consent issues in each of these movies. 

-Yanna