Disney Princess Love
As you all know, I am a Disney fan through and through. I grew up on Disney, watching Beauty and the Beast on a continuous loop for most of my youngin' days. Pictured above, I was Bride Jasmine (Aladdin) one preschool Halloween... but why would Jasmine wear a bridal gown with a picture of herself on it? Costume logic baffles me. Anywho! At the ripe age of 23, my Disney love has only grown, not diminish, and I don't care who knows it! I love me some princess movies and I am not ashamed. I can be intellectual and love to watch cartoons. And, most of all, I can be a feminist and still support the Disney princess pantheon.
Last week, Obvi, We're the Ladies posted one of my essays in support of the princesses. If you haven't checked it out (the essay or the fantastic blog I contribute to), you can do so here. In this essay, I talked about how my feminism and love for Disney princesses can coexist. While these princess movies are not perfect, there are great takeaways in each movie for little girls... lessons of working hard, being kind, being independent. Disney is only getting better with each movie. Yes, Snow White and Cinderella , the two oldest princess movies are very imperfect in their lessons, but compare those ladies to the ones in Brave or The Princess and the Frog and you'll see how far they've come.
"So, although I am not blind to issues that pop up in these stories from time to time, I am also very aware of the true lessons I have learned from these animated women. I grew up wanting to read and be myself like Belle, dreaming and exploring like Ariel, being optimistic and kind like Snow White, and standing up for myself like Jasmine. Those sound a lot like feminist beliefs to me. I remain connected to these characters both through nostalgia and honest belief in their moral lessons. Of course, Disney’s job is certainly not done. While I may gush about my love for their movies, I know they have more to do to create the best role models for our children. Still, some of the meaningful takeaways are already there."
In the Obvi essay, I continue these thoughts. For now though, I'd like to share my rankings of these Disney princesses* and give just a couple sentences on why they earned that rank. My rankings are based on their morals, general story, songs, and just my opinion on coolness.
*yes, not all of those are actually royal, but Disney still includes them on their official princess list.
THIRTEEN || Aurora, Sleeping Beauty. She is just pretty boring. Yes, she is gorgeous, but the movie as a whole is lame. She is pretty much just asleep the whole time and she doesn't even know Prince Phillip, yet he is the true love's kiss to lift her curse. The premise just doesn't make much sense... but Maleficent is awesome and her movie is pretty cool, the twist kiss ending totally redeems the other one.
TWELVE || Cinderella, Cinderella. Ok, I always thought Cindy was overrated, as she was kind of like the face of Disney princesses. She isn't all bad, it is mostly her horrible lot in life that brings down the story. Her story isn't thrilling and her character follows suit. She was kind-hearted, but I feel like she could have tried harder to change her fate. This is a common flaw with early princesses, but they got much better about this through the next couple of decades.
ELEVEN || Snow White, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. I love Snow because of her short dark hair, totally not stereotypical for a "princess". She is sweet, diligent, and just overall a sweet little lady. She is not deterred by these seven guys, instead she asks to live with them and pay rent by cleaning up and taking care of them. She tries to practice good stranger danger with the witch, but ugh she is naive and eats a poison apple. Not so great, but I still like her. It is a shame that a random prince is the only way to help her and that jealously is the reason she in danger in the first place.
TEN || Ariel, The Little Mermaid. Ariel has never been my favorite princess and she is often used as a prime example in Disney princess criticism. Yes, you can generalize (wrongly, I may add) that the story is about a mermaid who trades her voice for legs so she can be with a human man. But that isn't the whole plot... she has long been fascinated with humans and wants to gain independence from her dad! She hoards a ton of human paraphernalia and constantly wants to learn how they live their lives. She happens to see a hottie, gets into a fight with her dad, and decides to finally become a human. As I say in the Obvi essay: "Yes, the premise of the deal is to get the cute guy to kiss her, but the real catalyst is her lifelong wish to be human."
NINE || Elsa, Frozen. I know, I know, FROZEN. I like the movie a lot, but, not gonna lie, Elsa is my least favorite character (yeah, I like Hans more...). While she bugs me for some reason, I like what she stands for. She does not have a love interest, she is realistic with Anna about marrying someone she just met, she sings about letting go of oppression, and she learns to let (sisterly) love in.
EIGHT || Pocahontas, Pocahontas. I mean, she paints with all the colors of the wind, so that's cool. In all honesty though, that song is really fantastic. This is an interesting story, and of course not everyone agrees with me. Still, Pocahontas is an independent woman who has a great support group of other strong women. She fears marrying Kocoum, as he is too serious for her free-spirited disposition. I got nervous when she was fawning all over John Smith, but she redeems herself by sticking with her tribe while still trying to follow her heart. She doesn't abandon everything for this white man, so she is still a great role model.
SEVEN || Jasmine, Aladdin. This is where it is very tricky to rank the last six or so... they are all so great at this point. But I have place Jasmine a little lower because she isn't perfect. She is a little stuck up and bratty, as any daughter of Sultan would be. That line, "I am not a prize to be won!" is amazing and she is one of the first princesses to speak up like that. I kind of love it. She still resorts to playing seductress to distract Jafar at the end, which always seemed strange when I was little one, but I get it now. Jasmine is a strong female and I give her lots of props.
FIVE || Merida, Brave. Okay, this hard!!! Merida is so great for so many reasons. For starters, CURLS. As someone with huge curly hair, I approve of this princess. More importantly, she hates the idea that her life is being completely decided for her, especially in the marriage realm. I love when she jumps into the archery competition and says she is playing for her own hand. If her husband is being decide by a bow and arrow, then yeah, she should be able to play too. LOVE IT. She loses a couple points because she is so angsty. But in a way, it is even better because that is exactly how I acted with my mom at her age, and hey, my mom wasn't even trying to set me up with a random suitor. A great mother and daughter story, free from a love story of another kind.
FOUR || Mulan, Mulan. She is easily top three for her feminism and role model-ness, but there are a couple princesses I just love more for personal reasons. So! Mulan is amazing because she is so brave - she sacrifices herself to the army in place of her dad, which is even more important given women's role in dynastic China. She doesn't fit the mold for a "perfect wife", yet she ends SAVING CHINA. A great message and overall a badass story. Yes, there is a hint of love story, but even when you think it is going to be about her losing the respect of the man she loves, she again puts China ahead of herself. A really great story and character.
THREE || Rapunzel, Tangled. Like I said, this is super hard... Punzie is my girl! She is locked in a tower, so she has no life, yet she finds a way to at least stimulate herself through hobbies (cooking, baking, playing chess, painting... kind of all domestic woman things). Not her fault though! Unlike Cinderella, who is arguably thrown into a worse situation beyond her control, Rapunzel figures out a plan to finally do what she wants to do (seeing the lanterns at the palace). She finds her own way to do something for herself for once, and she happens to fall in love along the way. Yes, again love creeps in, but I do not care. One of my most favorite lines ever is "you were my new dream". Punzie is brave, kind, and the perfect blend of selfless while still getting what she wants.
TWO || Tiana, The Princess and the Frog. Tiana is the best princess for role model reasons, that is 100% for sure. She is independent, the first African American princess, hardworking, an entrepreneur, and a good friend. She is important for Disney history in many reasons. But also, I just love her! Though she is a frog for most of the movie, it really shows how character comes through regardless of appearances. So cool. I love the message that if you work hard enough, your dreams will come true. Whether you work hard in your relationships or in a career setting, you can get what you want. And ya know what, dreams really do come true in New Orleans!
ONE || Belle, Beauty and the Beast. I could never write a list of princesses without Belle on the top of the list. She was my first princess and she will always be closest to my heart. The movie came out the same year I was born and it will be my favorite forever. She reads, she knows what people think about her and doesn't care, she knows a better life is out there, she doesn't want to settle, she sacrifices herself for her father, and she doesn't judge a book by its cover (pun intended). Shut up about the Stockholm Syndrome, too, people! She gives the Beast a chance because she is a sweet, but grounded gal who can see past rough exteriors. I could defend her all day, but I will leave it at this: Belle is my #1 for now and always.
Whew! That was a long post, and it was surprising exhausting to put together. But after rewatching all of these movies within the last couple of months, I am happy with my rankings! I mixed a little feminism with sentimental value... not too shabby. To those of you Disney lovers, please comment below and let me know what your rankings are! To those non-Disney fans out there, I have no idea why you've got to this part of the post, but thank you! :)
