Disney Princess Models

 

The Walt Disney company has given a lot of us beloved characters over the years, from Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pinocchio, Simba, Timon and Pumbaa, Lilo and Stitch, Winnie The Pooh, and so much more. Some of their most famous characters are the princesses, Disney has given us many princesses over the years, even at the beginning, seeing how their first movie was Snow White, and then we got more, from Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Mulan, Rapunzel, Anna and Elsa. I’m sure a lot of girls loved these characters, they probably dressed up like them for Halloween, on playdates or at birthday parties, were probably so excited to meet them at the parks, especially if you got to go to the castle. However, nowadays, some could be seen as lousy role models, sometimes it could be because they don’t do anything at all, or for being stupid, like being criticized for giving up their voices for a man, or not standing up for themselves, or some think that a man had saved their lives. Well, I personally beg to differ and I want to talk about some of princesses and explain why they’re much better than they’re given credit for and are not as weak as some say they are.

Cinderella

Let’s start off with Walt Disney’s favourite princess, Cinderella. She has been criticized for being weak, because she doesn’t really do anything, she seemingly does her chores, barely makes any effort to escape, lets her stepfamily abuse and mistreat her and relies on a man to save her. However, this completely undermines almost everything she’s been through, she had a happy childhood, she lost her mother but did have a loving father, and he wanted to give his beautiful daughter a mother, and he married Lady Tremaine, a woman with two daughters named Anastasia and Drizella, all went well until Cindy’s father passed away, and that was when the poor girl realized that her stepmother was really cruel and jealous of her, and as a result, she forced her to be the servant and do all the housecleaning while her daughters would do nothing but argue and torment their stepsister. This is all the reason she endures that abuse, she was a child and seemingly had no choice. If people say she’s lazy, they need to realize, she did chores all day, scrubbing the floors, doing laundry, making the meals for her stepfamily, sweeping the floor, feeding the animals and washing windows, that is not lazy that is hard work, if anything it’s her stepsisters that are lazy. Plus, there are many things that make her strong, the fact that despite all the abuse and mistreatment she endures, she never loses her kindness and optimism is very impressive, it can be easy to fall into cynicism and pessimism when the world can weigh you down, people mistreat you or walk all over you and life can be bleak, but Cinderella shows us to never lose that, and that is a true role model. Cinderella also shows that the kindness and love you give will always find a way of coming back to you, she has shown kindness to her animal friends, from the mice, birds, the horse and the dog Bruno, and they help her out whenever they can, from helping her get ready for the day and especially finishing the dress for her, since her stepfamily was giving her too much work to do, and they knew full well Cindy would have no time to finish the dress. Plus, the thing that can keep her sane is that while she’s working, she holds onto hope that one day, she will live a happier life, not once does she mention the hope for a man in her life, just happiness. She is also shown to be firm, whenever Lucifer tries to harm the mice or ignore her, she firmly orders him to obey, showing him she means business and even when Lucifer dirtied the floor she scrubbed, she threatened to teach him a lesson by going after him with her broom, sure she was interrupted by the mail carrier, but it was satisfying to see her stand up for herself. She also calmly but firmly stood up for herself in another time, when her stepsisters laughed at the idea of her going to the ball, she said that she was still a member of the family and every maiden was to attend, she knew that included her and she deserved to go. If people complain about her crying after her dress was destroyed, well, think about it, her friends worked really hard on that dress, and it’s not just any dress, it was her mother’s dress, talk about adding salt to an open wound, her stepsisters violently destroyed her dress and even if she could fix it, it would take too long and the ball would be over by then, which is why she seems to lose hope, plus, you have to admit that that scene where they rip her dress is really unsettling, some have said it’s like she’s being assaulted or beat up, when I was a kid, I refused to see that scene for a while. Luckily, it doesn’t stop her from completely losing hope, because this is what leads to her fairy godmother coming to help her go to the ball, she finally had someone to help her and even her animal friends get her to the ball, transforming Gus got him to finally scare off Lucifer for once, plus, this scene leads to what was said to be Walt Disney’s favourite animation piece, when the fairy godmother transforms Cinderella’s rags into her iconic ballgown. Plus, Cinderella never wanted to go to the ball to meet the prince or any man, she just wanted to have a nice time for a change, she didn’t even notice the prince when she first entered the ball, she’s only amazed by the place she’s in. her un-shallow nature is also what got the prince to fall in love with her, he knew all the girls at the ball wanted him for his title and eligibility but he could see she wasn’t that person, which is why he walked to her and asked to dance with her, Cindy didn’t even know he was the prince, this is a nice moment for her, after seeing her mistreated for most of her life, she finally got her happy moment, even if it was for a few hours. Plus, when she got locked in her room, while she does eventually break down after screaming to be set free (how else could she have escaped?), she does perk up when the mice got the key for her, but once Lucifer traps Gus (who’s holding the key), both to eat Gus and keep Cindy from escaping, after the mice and birds try to fight Lucifer but fail, it’s Cinderella who knows that her dog Bruno can stop him, and she orders the birds to go get him, which they do, it was Cindy who knew what could get her out, once the plan works and Cindy escapes, she luckily arrives in time to try the slipper on, and the Grand Duke stands up for her when Lady Tremaine tries to brush her off, plus, Cindy had something that would help her finally escape once and for all. When the stepmother tripped the footman, causing the glass slipper to break, Cindy shows that she has the other slipper, finally outsmarting her abusers and getting a well deserved happy ending, she marries the prince and her animal friends join her in the castle. This was made possible by Cindy herself and that is proof she’s not weak. Heck, Cinderella 3 even expanded her a bit, when the stepmother used time travel to make Anastasia be the lucky one who fit the slipper, while Cindy felt sad at first, she was determined to go to the castle to prove that she is the right person for the prince, she now knows it’s up to her and is determined to get it, that is also strong. Heck, there’s even a play that inspired Cinderella 3, called Twice Charmed, it’s shown on the Disney Cruise, where the stepmother has an evil fairy godfather go back in time and again, the stepsister is the lucky girl, there’s a bit where Cindy feels self conscious about the prince falling in love with a maid, but her fairy godmother tells her that it was the person she was that got the prince to fall in love with her, and that gives her courage to find him, rags and all, if you ever go on the cruise, I recommend you see this show because it’s so good!. Cinderella’s story is still a great fairytale, Cindy shows that no matter how hard life gets and how unkind people can be to you, remember to have courage and be kind, and if you do, good things will come your way.

I looked up to Cindy when I was a little girl, as I grew into a teen, I did fall into the trap of what people thought about her, but when I saw the live action movie, it made me realize and remember why I loved her so much, and I'm happy to declare, she still remains one of my favourite princesses!!

Left: 8 year old me and Cinderella

 Right: 24 year old me with Cindy on the cruise last summer

 

Ariel

Let’s get into the first princess to show up after Walt’s passing, Ariel. People criticize her for giving up her voice for a man, which is really irritating, because it’s like they barely paid attention to the beginning. The first scene with her has her looking in a sunken ship for human items and she’s shown to be curious about them, she would even ask her friend Scuttle about them, since he lives in the surface. Plus, she sang Part Of Your World before she even met Eric, she had always been fascinated with the human world and desired to be there, finding Eric was just a bonus. Plus, it’s kind of understandable as to why she wants to live a different life, she doesn’t feel safe in her home, her father is overcontrolling, she almost never has a voice because he’s too authoritarian, plus some have pointed out that whenever she’s around her father she looks scared, which speaks volumes, the breaking point comes when Triton destroys her treasures and trinkets, which is a very bad thing to do, this kind of parenting move can dock parents good points and break their child’s trust, so we can’t really blame her for signing the contract with Ursula, because she feels unsafe in her own home and whenever these things happen, people and especially teenagers might end up making a rash choice because they feel that this is the only option now, and even before she signed it, she did express doubt about it, but went along with it, if it meant escaping her father who sent bad messages that made her feel unsafe. People also don’t seem to realize while she was reckless due to her fears, Triton was at fault too, he destroyed her treasures, which is abusive, and throughout the movie, he was sitting in his throne lamenting on his actions, even after he destroyed her treasures, he did show guilt and remorse, he knew he hurt his daughter, it takes a lot for a parent to hold themselves accountable for their actions

On a side note, parents, if you do something that hurts your child, no matter their age, please be the big person, apologize and take responsibility for your actions and make it right, if you don’t, you could break their trust, shut down all forms of communication with them, they might not feel safe coming to you for anything, they might go to someone else or someone that would mistreat them, and you could lose them forever, please listen to them and show that you love them and they can trust you, please.

Anyway, back to Ariel, when she realized she made a mistake when she got captured by Ursula after her 3 days were up, she apologized to her father for what she did, she took responsibility, and felt bad when her father gave the triton to save her life, she realized her mistake in making a deal with the devil. Luckily, things worked out in the end, Eric destroyed Ursula and Triton is willing to let her be human to be with Eric and the mermaid and her father have a stronger relationship as the two embrace each other before she goes off with Eric.

Maybe Ariel doesn’t exactly make the right choices but she can be relatable for a teenager who feels trapped and wants to learn more about the world and we can sympathize with her problems, maybe seeing it can encourage viewers to know that their voices matter and to continue to be curious about the world, and that is actually good!

Belle

Let’s go to who might be one of the best and most beloved Disney princesses, Belle from Beauty and The Beast. People think that she has Stockholm Syndrome as she falls in love with her captor, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth, before I explain why, let’s talk about her qualities before she meets the beast. She is shown to be an independent girl, she just spends her time reading, walking through town, never showing off her beauty unlike those shallow blonde bimbos, and whenever Gaston tries to flirt with her, she always rejects him, she’s smart enough to know that he’s a pompous jerk who only cares about looks and shallow beauty, she also even threw him in the mud when he forcefully tried to propose to her and got into her space, look up my article, “Never Your Fault,” to see more. Plus, when she offered to take her father’s place in prison, did she instantly fall in love with him? Nope! She wanted nothing to do with him, after kidnapping her father and not letting her say goodbye to him, and forcefully ordering her to join him for dinner, she shows that she knows that you can’t just get respect, you earn it, she doesn’t take crap from anyone. Plus, she’s shown to be smart, when the Beast frightened her, she decided to leave the castle, because with the way the Beast acted, he could’ve harmed her anytime, even if she made a promise, the only time she would go back on her word would be if her safety was at risk. Plus, when the Beast rescued her from the wolves, she could’ve just left him in the snow, after everything he did to her, but she decided to go back and tend to his wounds to show her gratitude, maybe she saw some good in him, and she stood up to him for being bad tempered, this is what finally gets the beast to calm down and stop throwing tantrums and actually try to be nice to her, she shows that if you stand up for yourself, people will respect you for being strong and firm, and the right people will listen to you. Plus, when the beast lets her go, when Gaston calls her father crazy for thinking a beast captured her, someone pointed out that Belle’s expression when she shows the Beast in the mirror meant she knew she would be risking the Beast’s life but she did it just to keep her father from going into an asylum, showing how she cares about others and is willing to stand up for them when she needs to, and even then she still referred to the Beast as her friend and rightfully called Gaston a monster, which he truly is. Once she came back to the Beast to save him and declared her love for him which not only brought the Beast back to life but broke the spell, at first, she seems skeptical about him but once she looks into his eyes, that’s when she knows it’s really him and the two live happily ever after. Belle’s strong attitude and assertiveness gave her the guy she truly deserved and even before the ballroom dance, he was the friend she really wanted and that makes it all the more sweeter.

 

Jasmine

Another princess I can think of as a great role model will have to be Jasmine from Aladdin, sure she’s not the protagonist this time, but she can still be someone who girls can look up to. When we first meet her, we find out her pet tiger Rajah had scared away a stuck up prince who was going to marry her just because he was stuck up, she expresses disapproval for the law that she should marry a prince by her next birthday, she knows full well that those princes are only trying to woo her because of her wealth and status, she knows her worth and wants to be married by someone who loves her, regardless of her wealth. When she ran away from the palace, she came across Aladdin, who saved her from getting in trouble for stealing, and she fell for him, because of his kind nature, she even could tell he didn’t know she was a princess, he was surprised when she revealed her true nature when the guards caught Aladdin. Plus, when Prince Ali, comes to marry her, she declares that she is not a prize to be won, which is something all girls should know, be with someone who treats you like a person and not a trophy, that’s why she fell for Aladdin, while he lied to her about being a prince (he felt insecure about being a street rat) she didn’t love him for his status, but for his personality and that’s why she easily forgave him for lying, she understood his reasons, sure she may have been a bit of a damsel near the end, but she did well in taking advantage of Jafar’s lust for her just to buy Aladdin some time to get the lamp, so there is that. Thankfully, by the end the Sultan realizes his daughter was right about the law being unjust and as leader he changes it so she can choose the man she wants, and of course, she chooses Aladdin. Jasmine is a great role model of a princess, she can teach people to see their worth and know that marriage should be about love not status.

 

Rapunzel

Now onto probably the best modern princess, Rapunzel! Like Cinderella, she spent most of her life dealing with a horrible parental figure, a parental figure that kidnapped her as a baby and claimed to be her mom, and as the movie goes on we see her become more stronger and eventually escape her horrible life and get a great man as a reward. Rapunzel was born into a royal family, her mother got sick when she was pregnant with her and it could’ve been deadly for them, but luckily, the kingdom found a magic flower that was known to heal the sick and injured and made it medicine for the queen, saving the two ladies, and resulting in Rapunzel being born healthy and with golden hair, the king and queen were so happy that they launched a lantern into the sky, sadly the joy was short lived, a selfish and vain woman by the name of Mother Gothel, came to take a piece of hair for herself (she kept the flower for years to keep her young before the kingdom found it), and when she realized the hair will lose it’s powers once it’s cut, she kidnapped the baby, went to live in a hidden tower and raised Rapunzel as her own daughter.

Rapunzel probably seems weak at the beginning, but it’s understandable since she was raised by a woman who gaslights and manipulates her a lot, and tries to pass them off as jokes, using guilt trips to play the victim, and when one is raised by an authority figure who does these things, it can make them think that it’s normal parenting and that’s why she has no voice. We can see how much this kind of parenting has affected her emotionally, she’s too dependent on her fake mother, when she left her tower, she was having mixed feelings about this, she was worried her mother would be worried and upset, and even felt guilty for it, poor thing, as I’ve said, parental guilt trips are my biggest pet peeves. Plus, being with Gothel has had her develop a few of her toxic traits, when she first meets the wanted thief, Flynn Rider, she captures him and interrogates him and acts hostile towards him, since she’s been taught the wrong things, she believes it. Luckily, as she spends time in the world, she is able to see the good in it, encouraging the thugs to admit their dreams, and be willing to heal Flynn, or Eugene as that’s his real name, and open up about her insecurities about herself and her relationship, plus, this is when Eugene starts treating her right and she is the one that get’s Eugene to see he’s better as himself. Once she sees Gothel again, and the witch tries to get her to go with her and once again, belittles her to make her feel insecure, this time she says, “No!” showing she’s found her voice, sure, Gothel tries to manipulate her into believing he’s only with her for the crown, but kudos to her for standing up. While she feels unsure, she is shown to now be more assertive, when Maximus tries to take Eugene, she is the one that firmly orders him to sit and drop his boot and is firm about Eugene and Max getting along well. After having a great time at the palace, she and Eugene go on a boat to see the lanterns and they both really fall for each other, Rapunzel found someone who loves her for her, not her long hair and Eugene found someone who loves him for him, and stealing the crown matters less to him. Sadly, that all comes to a halt when Eugene goes to the Stabbington brothers to give the crown but they tell him they want Rapunzel, but he’s not willing to go with that, so they knock him out and make it look like he betrayed Rapunzel, when she seems him driving away on a ship, what she doesn’t know was that it was a scheme created by Gothel to make Rapunzel believe her mother was right. However, once she does get back to the tower, she soon starts to realize that she was the lost princess, naturally, she is shocked about this, but when she confronts Gothel about it, she speaks firmly and acts pretty sassy too, it takes a lot of courage for someone to stand up to an authority figure, especially if that one is a toxic parent, and whenever Gothel tries to gaslight her or manipulate her, she doesn’t fall for it, which shows how stronger she is now. Sure, she does end up being held hostage by Gothel, but it is a truly awesome scene to see. Plus, you can see how much she loves Eugene, when Gothel stabs him, she offers to go with the witch if she allows her to heal him, she was willing to sacrifice her freedom just so Eugene would live, luckily for her, things do work out for her. Eugene cuts her hair to keep her from being enslaved for life ending Gothel’s life and freeing Rapunzel from her prison, Rapunzel’s tear healed him and she finally went back to the castle where she belonged and was reunited with her parents, who treated her much better than Gothel ever did. Other ways to prove that is that Gothel only showed affection towards Rapunzel’s hair rather than the girl herself while Eugene always tried to move her hair away from her face so he could see her, heck once he was revived the first thing he said to her was that he had a thing for brunettes, showing he doesn’t care if she’s a blondie or a brunette, or if her hair is short or long, he just loves her, and her mother just hugged her rather than Gothel practically begging affection. Rapunzel can be relatable to anyone who grew up with a toxic parent, and her story can show how to stand up to those figures and know that you are strong and capable out in the world.

The older I’ve gotten the more I’ve grown to appreciate Rapunzel even more and that’s why I was so happy to finally get my chance to meet her on the cruise. Especially if any of you are Tangled fans if you ever get the chance to go on a Disney vacation, I hope you can meet her, she is an awesome princess!

 

Princess Fiona

Okay, technically I’m cheating on this one, because this character that is not made by Disney, but DreamWorks, but I think it’s great to talk about her because she is a great role model too and that is Princess Fiona. At first, we see her as your typical princess, frilly and bubbly, she may seem shallow, when she discovers her rescuer is an ogre, and his noble steed is really a donkey, or his “pet” as she called him, she is initially disgusted by it and acts like a spoiled brat, but it’s because she was raised to believe that she belongs in a typical fairytale, with a handsome prince. However, when she overhears Shrek telling Donkey about how people judge him before even getting to know him, she felt bad about it and actually tried to make it up by making her two rescuers breakfast, she also surprised them, by fighting Robin Hood and the Merry Men. Plus, later, when Donkey along with the audience, finds out her secret, she’s an ogre at night and only true love’s kiss can break the spell (anyone else think the fairy godmother was the one that did this?), we also see more depth, she never told anyone about her curse because she feels ugly and self conscious about her appearance and feared nobody would accept that, something I’m sure a lot of girls can relate to, take DJ from Full House in the body image episode, go to my inner beauty article to see more. It was only once Shrek tried to confess her feelings to her at the wedding and him telling her Farquaad was only marrying her to be King, she finally decides to reveal her curse to everyone once the sun sets, and while people are shocked over it and Farquaad orders the guards to arrest both of them and have Fiona locked back in the tower, only Shrek is amazed by this and after Dragon eats the little villain, the two ogres confess their love for each other, share a kiss and the curse was broken, and Fiona stayed in her ogre form, she felt confused about it and thinks she should be beautiful, but Shrek assures her she is beautiful, and that makes her happy, now she’s no longer insecure about her appearance because she found the guy that loves her for who she is. In the second movie, she is shown to no longer be insecure about herself when she accepts the invitation to Far Far Away, excited to meet her parents again, despite Shrek fearing they would be hostile, even though she accused Shrek for not trying to get along with her father (Fiona, he did, he tried to be on his best behaviour, Harold kept making snide comments, what do you expect her to do?!), she did later call Harold out and realized Shrek had a point about him and was willing to cut her parents out of her life if it meant she could be happy with Shrek (showing she knows what is right for her and her husband and knows when to distance herself), that is until she passed out due to the effect of the potion, and when her parents put her to bed, Harold feels guilty for his actions. Plus, she doesn’t fall for Charming when he’s pretending to be Shrek, she knows he’s acting unlike her husband, the old Shrek is the one she loves. When she realizes Charming was trying to get her to forcefully fall in love with her, she headbutted him, and was happy to be reunited with her real husband. Plus, when Shrek asked her if she wanted to stay human forever, she is touched by it and she willingly tells him, that she wants to be with the ogre she married, showing she’s grown out of the typical fairytale story she was raised to believe and is happy to be in her own story with the one she loves, that makes princess Fiona a great role model for girls, someone who can be strong and break stereotypes.

 

Disney Princesses might seem like lousy role models, especially for little girls, especially when compared to DreamWorks’ princess, but if you look more closely into them, you will see that there is more a lot to them than they appear to be and can also teach good lessons to little girls just as well as Princess Fiona does, like seeing their worth, finding a guy that treats them well and how to be strong no matter what happens. Plus whenever they do find a man, it's more considered like a reward for their goodness, they found someone who loves them for their good qualities, and that's true love! So, the next time you feel unsure about showing your children princess movies, hopefully this will assure you you're doing a good thing for them!