Okay…That being said I recently sat and watched Beauty and the Beast which I hadn’t watched in a really long time. I love that movie. However, on my other recent obsession, no not Doctor Who but Pinterest, I have stumbled across this multiple times:
I couldn’t help but reflect on this a little while watching Beauty and the Beast. The innocent, glass is half full, world-through-rose-colored-glasses part of me sees a movie like Beauty and the Beast and thinks “what a great story about loving what is on the inside instead of what is outside or not caring about what anybody thinks and daring to dream big.” However, the over analytical feminist in me took some time to be a little more reflective on the movie, which led me to think about other Disney movies and ultimately concluding that Disney is not always a great feminist.
Beauty and the Beast: Belle is awesome and can see past the ugliness of the Beast, however she is a bomb shell and the Beast is like “hey a hot chick being held prisoner in my castle, I’ll use her ability to see the best in people to help save my spoiled, hot tempered self.” So ultimately the Beast becomes a better man and does the right thing and Belle is a total badass through the whole thing- but at some point I couldn’t help but think- where is the story about the handsome prince falling in love with the beasty woman? We never see that story.
Aladdin: Again, awesome main chick character seeing the best in a person and falling in love with someone she’s not supposed to fall in love with- but Aladdin is kind of a dumbass. He uses trickery and a freaking genie to get what he wants, and then still gets the girl. Really? What are we teaching little ones about lying? Chicks want honesty… he would have been better off standing outside the palace walls with a stereo held above his head.
Cinderella: So honestly Cinderella is my favorite, I think it has something to do with the sparkly dress and awesome castle. In reality Cinderella needs to get a spine- she’s kind of a doormat. I mean even the mice kind of boss her around. I prefer an “Ever After” version of Cinderella where she rescues herself and the prince doesn’t have to put a shoe on her foot to figure out who she is.
Snow White: Lives with seven men and does all the cooking and cleaning. Why doesn’t she get to go to the mines and work and one them stay home and clean? All I’m going to say.
Lion King: Okay this might be one that does with little criticism… Nola is kind of awesome. She doesn’t take shit, takes matters into her own hands and tells it to Simba straight. Really the thing that should be different is that she should get to be the leader of the Pride Lands… however I guess that’s not really how lion packs work.
Peter Pan: Why does Wendy have to just be the “mother.” Why can she play pirates and go on adventures with the rest of the Lost Boys. And instead of showing female comradery the bitchy chick is constantly trying to one-up the nice girl. Why can’t Tinker Bell and Wendy just once hang and have a fun girls night without the boys. It does make sense there are only Lost “Boys.” Girls would at least stop and ask for directions. (*pauses for laughter*)
Mulan: Chick doing what she has to for her family- which means dressing up as a man. Great- do what you gotta do in the circumstances given to you. But then this jerk leaves you to freeze to death and you invite him to dinner? No honey. You saved the Emperor… and showed him up. You make him beg, plead and buy you lots of things. And then maybe, just maybe, you let him take you to dinner.
Little Mermaid: Ariel is a dreamer and I appreciate her desire to do what it takes to follow her dream of going someplace else to live, but really she does it all for a guy who is then is tricked into marrying someone else. And again she has to rescue him. Ultimately Ariel gets what she wants of being human, marrying the prince and living out the water… all at the rip old age of 16… wait what?
So there are many others I could keep going on about- but I think I’ve made my point. And obviously some of these stories are culturally relevant and the stories were bigger than Disney to start with. Disney actually makes some of these stories a little bit nicer for kids than the originals and gives them happy messages. The morale of this slight tirade: I want to be a Disney Princess/Female Lead to show these ladies how to do it right.
Coming Soon: Sarah lays out a fail-safe survival guide to a zombie apocalypse she compiled after watching the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars Triology in one sitting.
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