Saturday, May 1, 2010

Bloggery Schemes And Princesses

The image posted here was originally drawn with the intent of being used in my Princess Bride review. My scheme involved a video review full of still images similar to the one posted. I have since revised this plan on account of how many centuries that would take to do (three) and the fact that I plan to review other movies.

(1920x1080 version of image is available at my DA account. Click image for 728x410 version)

I now scheme to go more the route of my previous blog post, which is basically just a regular blog post, but illustrated. That's much more doable, could be converted into a video later if I felt like it, and hey, people can read it when they're not supposed to because it's all quiet and stuff.

Not that I endorse that sort of thing.

But blog posts about what I'm going to blog about are boring, so yeah, about the image. I don't want to say how it would have fit in the review because I still might do a similar joke, but it's Princess Jasmine from Aladdin proposing to Tiana from The Princess And The Frog.

Not to sound too girly or anything (being the manly man that I am), but these are my two favorite Disney princesses. I was a big fan of Aladdin as a kid, which shouldn't come as a surprise. It was a good movie with a magic genie. Of course I liked it. I even liked the second straight to video movie, because the genie came back to do more magic and that bird I liked became a good guy instead of being stuck in some lamp. I suspect I wouldn't like the sequel as much now, but maybe I would. It's not like I'm expecting much from it.

As for Jasmine, she was an attractive woman with long hair, a cool outfit, a strong personality, a pet tiger, and was in that movie I liked with that genie who was awesome because he could do magic and junk. She was cooler to me than any other Disney Princess one could choose from. I also liked her more than Aladdin. That guy used a wish to be a phony and turn his monkey buddy into an elephant. Jackass.

Tiana, however, usurped Jasmine as my favorite princess. Her humble beginnings, determination, strong work ethic, cooking talents... I could go on, but there's just a lot to like about her as a character. Jasmine's a good character too, and I still like her, but a lot of what I like about her is superficial and due to her environment and friends (GENIE!) more than her directly.

Tiana stands on her own. You could remove Tiana from her environment and I don't think my like of her would be diminished. Take away the magic and Agrabah, however, and my like of Jasmine would be. She'd still be cool and likable, but I don't think she stands as tall on her own as Tiana does.

Who do you think are the best princesses, Disney or otherwise? Don't worry about your manliness status. There are tools and video games in the previous post, so you should be fine.

48 comments:

  1. Heh, I just watched a middle-school production of Aladdin last night. As my mom (the pianist) noted, the costume designer made one precious princess out of a seventh-grader.

    Still haven't seen The Princess and the Frog, but it's on my Netflix queue.

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  2. As far as princess movies go, I was always a fan of The Little Mermaid when I was a tot, largely because of Sebastian's wit and awesome songs. Ariel herself was... well, wet but that's what you get for living under the ocean I guess.

    That doesn't really answer the question though, does it? Hmm... ooh, how about Princess Kida from Atlantis? Athletic, wise, with a passion for history and literature (seeing as there isn't much of either left from her culture) and totally kick-ass to boot, she at one point becomes the living embodiment of her people's god/s. Now THAT's a proper princess.

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  3. Regarding best princesses, Belle is frequently cited because she's a bookie and falls for the man who isn't handsome (at first), but the undercurrent of Stockholm syndrome kinda ruins the story for me. (Didn't care for her yellow dress, either.) I can rule out several dull princesses from earlier decades of Disney, including, alas, Maid Marian. Ariel has her charms but is not smart enough for my preference. Pocahontas is a stereotype. I might just consider Jasmine my Disney fave, altho, somewhat ironically, I appreciate Giselle as an affectionate parody of the Snow White type.

    The other main place I know to look for princesses is in video games. Of the three main Mario princesses, Rosalina's the only one I don't find annoying. Zelda's not bad, tho I tend to like her better when she assumes another identity. Elincia from the Fire Emblem series gets much cooler as a queen.

    I noticed a while back that it is much easier to find villains among kings, queens, and princes than among princesses. The only exceptions that came to my mind are the dark princesses from Mirrormask and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord. (The latter badly needs a name change.)

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  4. MULAN!

    A. She kicks major butt.
    B. She has a pet dragon.
    C. She saves the whole dang country.
    D. She gets the cute guy.
    E. SHE HAS A PET DRAGON!

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  5. Mulan ain't a princess and never becomes one.

    As for favorite princess...meh. Princess' just aint my thing, they just don't kick much ass. Only one I ever really liked at all was Jasmine, and I disagree with Dan's assessment. The whole story exists in the first place because, though she is spoiled a bit, she isn't willing to settle for someone based on their title, looks, or money, but wants to actually LIKE *gasp* the person she's going to marry; and when it looks like she's going to be forced into something against her wishes, she takes the initiative to go out on her own. This is what's called "spine," and something most princesses (as portrayed in media) don't have.

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  6. Is Pocahontas a princess?

    If not, I'll go with Giselle from the Disney movie "Enchanted" mainly because she forgoes being a princess and hooks up with a divorce lawyer.

    Oh, and actually saving the dude-in-distress from a dragon with person, I dunno I wasn't really paying attention at that point in the movie.

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  7. Belle's at the top of my list. She starts out as the daughter of an eccentric inventor and never fails to defend him against the villagers. She even ventures into the woods to go save his sorry ass. She then runs into the Beast and is rightfully terrified of him, but see's him for who he can be rather than the kinda dick he is. Through patience, she ends up defending him against the villagers too!

    She never really shies away from adversity, and that courage is probably my favorite trait. Throughout the whole ordeal, she retains this "noble" air about her without seeming like a bitch.

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  8. Xena: Warrior Princess. 'Nuff said :P

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  9. I like Belle. she's clever, independent and strong. She's afraid of the Beast at first, but later isn't afraid of facing him and arguing with him. She stands by her quirky father and doesn't care for Gaston at all.

    As a person, she is one of my favourites, although I too like Jasmine.

    I'm not sure it's very fair to dislike her (or fail to like her) because she decided to take her dad's place in prison and later fell for the person who held her captive. After all, he set her free and she came back for him. And so many stories are about people being forced to spend time together for one reason or another, and then getting to know and like each other, I don't see this one as particularly different.

    I have to say it was very disappointing for Beast to turn into that Prince-guy in the end though. I liked him better as a Beast.

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  10. Ooo, I love this discussion, but I'm sad that Classic Steve left out my own favorite Video Game Princess: Marle from Chrono Trigger. She's adventurous, outgoing, supremely well-mannered, and downright badass when she has to be. It's really easy to forget that her father is the King of Humanity.

    My main draw to Disney princesses is my obsession with full-skirted formal gowns. I love Belle's yellow number, and Cinderella's is a close second. I also found an awesome illustration of human Ariel in a divine gown, over at the "Costume Porn" page on TVTropes.org (I site that I recommend you take only in small doses. They have a page called "TVTropes Will Ruin Your Life" for good reason).

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  11. I think my favorite is Princess Fiona from Shrek. Dame Helen had agood point that applies well here too, A major part of the story is because she doesn't want to marry a narcisistic (probably spelled wrong) prick. She's also a were-ogre, which is awesome.

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  12. We have a lot of fans of Belle here, don't we? While I'm thinking of that movie, was Big, Ugly and Furry originally a prince? I can't remember.

    Yeah, it's easier to find corruption in those least likely to be virgin royals because, well... just because. The only 'evil' princess I can think of off the top of my head is that princess from Bartok The Magnificent.

    The problem with Disney Princesses is that they have a bad rep. Up until about The Little Mermaid, if you were a Disney Princess, you establish the plot, have something happen to you so that you couldn't do jack squat during the climax, and then just sit back as some random face with a +5 Flail of Uncontrollable Libido rescues your comatose arse. Once TLM came around, though, the Princess would either (A) help out in the final battle in some way or else (B) NOT BE THE TITLE CHARACTER. Using the films of the official Disney Princesses (according to Wikipedia):

    Snow White (SW&t7D): Eats an apple, is comatose for the last ten or fifteen minutes of plot.
    Cinderella: Locked in the attic. Stands out in that her attempts to escape directly lead to the resolution of the plot.
    Aurora (Sleeping Beauty): Pricks her hand on a spinning wheel 2/3 of the way into the film. Comatose until after the final battle.
    Ariel (The Little Mermaid): Together with Prince Eric, drove a ship into a giant Cthulhu wannabe, killing it.
    Belle (Beauty and the Beast): Did attempt to stop Gaston, did affect the final battle, rescued the prince.
    Jasmine (Aladdin): Seduced Jafar as a distraction. Was not a title character.
    Pocahontas: Prevented her lover-boy's execution.
    Mulan: It's freakin' Hua Mulan, who is Warrior Woman personified.. Hell, Disney's Mulan was a toned-down version of the real-life Hua Mulan.
    Tiana (tP&tF): Haven't seen Princess and the Frog yet, but I've got high hopes for it.

    As far as my favorite royal teenage female: Anya Romanova from Don Bluth's Anastasia.

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  13. I always had a problem with certain Disney princesses and the image that they offer to young children. Ariel (Little Mermaid) sells her voice (read soul) the the evil sea witch (read EVIL) to try to get a guy she just met and has to be saved by her daddy. Cinderella spends years sitting around at home with an abusive step-mom and probably would have stayed there forever if the Fairy God Mother hadn't shown up. The lesson; If you wait long enough, life will just hand you good things. Sleeping Beauty; Marry the man who kissed you while sleeping. Snow White; Implied necrophilia. Beauty and the Beast; The abusive jerk that threatens you and locks you up might not be such a bad guy.

    Aladdin's Jasmine; I have no problems with. Nala from The Lion King kick her lazy boyfriend back into shape, though there was some implied incest. And finally Tiana. She's hardworking, straight forward, and dreams big. She probably would have been successful on her own eventually. She is my favorite Disney princess.

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  14. Can Esmeralda count as a princess? If so, totally her.

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  15. My favorite Disney "princess" would be Mulan first then um... er... well I don't really have a second favorite princess I just like the movies like sleeping beauty and stuff, you know the old Disney before it became lamer than hell.

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  16. Mulan is awesome but shes not a princess.

    Thereby my vote is for Pocahontas.

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  17. I like Mulan and Jasmine best. It's weird though that a lot of the Disney 'princesses' aren't actually... But strong female role models are kickass, and Jasmine has a pet TIGER FOR CHRISSAKE. can't get cooler than that :D

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  18. Nothing to say about the princesses that hasn't been said already, so I'll discuss the Aladdin sequels.

    The sequel sucks. I'm just gonna come right out and say it. The animation quality is horrid, Dan Castellaneta, talented though he may be, just can't quite measure up to Robin Williams, and most of the songs were performed by Iago (Gilbert Gottfried should not be allowed to sing more than one line in any given song).

    What really got me, though, was Jaffar. I loved Jaffar from the first game (And his appearances in the Kingdom Hearts series), but I didn't like how they handled him in Aladdin 2. Genie was severely limited in what he could do without a wish. He couldn't even save Aladdin from drowning, despite really wanting to. Then we have Jaffar who's throwing out all sorts of magic, thinly skirting the "can't kill" rule by routinely quipping "You'd be surprised what you can live through". I mean, I get it, he's evil, so he's not going to follow the rules like Genie does, but the amount of power he flung around that he shouldn't have been able to just never sat right with me.

    Now, Aladdin and the King of Thieves. That's a good movie and is definitely worth watching.

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  19. My favourite of the Nintendo Princesses is Tetra, aka. the 'Zelda' from Wind Waker. Not only did she seem a far stronger character then some of her ancestors/decendents (at the beginning of the game she was already a mighty pirate captain, actively out sailing questing and fighting) who seems to know much more of what's going on then the rest of her crew, Link and anyone else save Ganondorf and the King; but at midpoint she attacks Ganondorf to save Link from his clutches after HE gets briefly captured. Feisty, strong, knowledgable and indipendent, whilst she was Tetra she was awesomeness incarnate.

    ...Unfortunately, the Pink dress was out to get her, and the King of Hyrule pretty much drains her awesomeness and betrays her to Ganondorf to continue his puppetmaster vengence scheme. Only at the game's end does she again recover her Tetra awesomeness.

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  20. If you haven't seen "Aladdin and the King of Thieves", you really should. Robin Williams comes back as the Genie, and it's got one of my favorite actors in it, too...

    Granted, Jafar doesn't show up, but the new villain is even nastier, if that's possible. And voiced by Jerry freaking Orbach! (Remember Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast?)

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  21. Regarding whether or not Mulan is a Disney princess:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulan_%281998_film%29#References_to_Mulan_in_Disney_media

    I'm inclined to agree though that Tiana has the most... uh, stand-alone merits than other Disney Princesses. She definitely ranks top in my previously nonexistent list of favorite Disney princesses.

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  22. you might want to check out the Disney Heroine Round Table (http://tdciago.110mb.com/princesses.html) for a laugh.

    My favourite is Eilonwy

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  23. I have to agree with Tiana as my favorite Disney princess. The hard work and determination inspire a lot more than Jasmine's temper tantrums over suitors did. Jasmine may have been strong willed, but that often came across at the price of her maturity.

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  24. I actually never liked any of the disney princesses... except for mulan (but she's not really a princess) and i haven't seen the new tiana one. Basically most of the disney movies i watched had borring females that never amoiunted to anything - most of the awsomeness was done by the males; for a long time Simba was my favourite all time character. And this is why i switched to reading manga/anime - you get a lot more charaterization as well as cool female leads e.g. Savior, skip beat

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  25. I will go with one of the "Guest" Princesses; Alice from Alice in Wonderland.

    She managed to cut through a world of whimsy and insanity at the tender age of 7. And if we go past just Disney's rendering of it she also dealt with some REAL wacky characters.

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  26. Kiara! She's a princess even though she's a lion. She's not afraid of danger (like father like daughter), she isn't afraid to stand up for herself or ideals and she's kind hearted, even to her enemies. What's not to love about her.

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  27. Despite it being said already that Mulan isn't a princess, Mulan is definitely my favorite Disney heroine. I loved her when I was little because she was the only woman in the movies I watched who really took control of her situation, while everyone else pretty much waited for things to happen to them. She wasn't afraid of defying conventions and proved that women can do anything men can. Definitely my roll model growing up.

    I have to say I really like Belle as well, but a big part of that was for the superficial reason that she loved to read and I loved to read. Bt at the same time, she was able to see through outward appearance to what was really inside someone. I think anything who sees Stockholm syndrome is reading a little too much into it.

    As for evil princesses, how about Princess Azula from The Last Airbender?

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  28. Uh, Dan, "(being the manly man that I am)" Citation Needed. X3

    As per favourite Princess? Uh...

    Shoot.. I am not certain if Cruella De'ville counts as a Princess. Though, I would sooner go with her than Bell from Beauty and the Beast.

    Er, how about hat Gypsie from The Hunchback of Notre Dam? I mean, I suppose...

    I dunno--of various Princesses, the only ones to hold my interest were not ones from Disney... but are:
    * Ella of Frell (I feel lots of guilt in admitting that this is the movie (Ella Enchanted) in my collection that gets the most play time)
    * Princess Vespa (what? She is Kosher!)
    * Princess Leah Skywalker (though--I would never get her attention over her main love interest, an twin brother, Luke Skywalker... not that I would not enjoy watching)
    * Princess Peach Toadstool... but only because I am almost completely convince that she was something that General Akbar was warning us about. (Princess Zelda--I admit, I do not go after. I really do not think I have any more of a chance with her, as with most of the other Women who live near by, and dress up as lumberjacks--you know that whole Bull Dyke scene)
    * I guess Misty from Pokemon counts as a form of Princess... even though most of the supporting media only leave it as Misty being the daughter of a wealthy business family.
    * Princess Serenity
    * Marle Guardia from Chrono Trigger

    I dunno--most of the Disney Princesses just seem attachments into the plot to give some idea that Mister Right does not end up going off with Prince Charming really. Mostly another spot tacked onto the plot really. I mean, I did like Ariel--but mostly because that was the only really girlie Disney cartoon at my grandparents house.

    I mean, more often then not, I am more interested in the villainesse that you know will get the Disney Villain Death.

    But I blame too many James Bond movies growing up for that... X3

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  29. I think Mulan is fair game, as she always appears on the "Disney Princess" bags and accessories and stuff.

    Now let it be made clear now that I am absolutely not a fan of the early Disney movies, and by extension, not terribly fond of Ariel either, though I do like the movie (for Ursula, actually). Ariel appears to be an independent woman at first, but she spends the entire movie trying to catch a man, and her marriage to him is the fulfillment of all her dreams. I find this mildly offensive. My personal opinion is that all women should have a goal in life that is more than just getting married, and Disney shouldn't be encouraging that.

    I didn't like Tiana for the same reason. She was willing to stop looking for a cure to her curse, which would allow her to achieve her dreams, in order to marry her man.

    In short, I like the princesses best when they kick some ass, and they aren't just married off at the end, like Disney seemed to think that every woman should be. No woman's life is complete without marriage! (That's sarcasm, in case you can't detect it over the internet).

    Mulan, Pocahontas, and Megara (from Hercules) just 'cause she had such an /attitude/, are my favorites. Mulan is certainly the top of those, followed by Pocahontas.

    Mulan is strong-willed, quick-witted, clever, tactless, socially inept (for her time), and so can both physically and mentally hold her own against anyone.

    Pocahontas is adventurous, curious, physically skillful, willing to take risks, and compassionate. She can step out of her own world enough to understand someone else's while not leaving her own behind. Also, I'm a big fan of the princess saving her man, rather than the other way around :).

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  30. Tiana is definitely my favorite. The early princesses all felt flat to me, Jasmine was good but not quite there.

    Then along came Tiana and I have a favorite princess.

    Here's hoping that they do just as well with Repunzel.

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  31. Mulan has always been my favorite. Oh? Mulan doesn't count?

    Well, she totally should. How many Disney princesses defeated the Big Bad by essentially blowing up a firework in their face? Not to meantion she came up with that whole plan in less than two seconds.

    Not even Jasmine did that, although that may be more the setting's fault than hers. Ancient China =/= Agrabah, after all.

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  32. I see a lot of people saying that Mulan shouldn't count since she wasn't technically a princess. Since her family owned their own home, her father was in the military, and her family's estate is rather spacious one could assume that while she might not be a princess, she does come from a noble/wealthy/honorable family which counts in my book... at least much better then Alice from Alice in wonderland or Tinkerbell (which come on, why does she get counted a s Princess of Heart rather then Ariel?) And as Phocohantas was the cheif's daughter, then yes, she does count a princess.

    Also I don't understand where people are getting necrophilia from Snow White. The Prince and Snow White had met before, and after he found out that she ran away, went out and searched for her. If you found your loved one dead wouldn't you want to say good bye in some way. Since she wasn't rotting or anything like that, and the heart ache he must have felt... I don't see why it's such a far of a stretch.

    As for my favorite princess, thinking who I liked as a child, Ariel, Jasmine and Bell were my favorites. Now as a much wiser person of age, I definitely would have to say Mulan and Tatiana for there obviously spunk and determination. Jasmine is still one of my favorites, but I still like the others much better.

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  33. come on dan shive!!!!!!! its called the princes and the frog not the princes bride!!
    you have it on your web comic too! jeez get it right!

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  34. Glog - Is that a joke? Because both here and in the comic, I was talking about two different movies. For that matter, "Buttercup" is a character in the Princess Bride. I don't recall any buttercups in The Princess And The Frog.

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  35. I'll add Princess Mononoke to the list, when she isn't trying to rage kill people at any rate. Even then, she's still awesome, just not someone you'd would want to physically be around.

    Also, since a lot of people are being technical, Giselle isn't a princess. She was almost one in-law, but that didn't follow through.

    Also, here's a question, though I'll admit that I don't think it can't be answered that well. For those girls that get a personality epiphany during the movie and correct behavior flaws, like Ms Tiana, do we consider them before or after this change or take both into consideration?

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  36. Am I the only one who thought Kida from Atlantis was the best Disney Princess? Seriously, shes hot, has cool technology, is smart, and is like the choson one of their god! What's not to love?

    Overall princess... Xena. 100%. Followed by Princess Dianna. She was awsome too. And would have totally lived if she'd have had crashed in the U.S. Silly English ambulances, just sitting there with second rate equipment.

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  37. I'm gonna have to agree with you on this one. Frog is fast becoming my fav princess movie, if not one of my fav movies in general.

    The messages do seem to be unhealthy--but the same can be said for all media created for women. Have you seen the Lifetime channel? It's 24 hours of women getting beaten and abused!

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  38. what! sorry dan shive! i wasint looking when i was reading the blog! must of sounded like a total jerk too, i love your blog and comic and think its the best! sorry

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  39. yah i love Princess Mononoke, hayo miyazaki really hit the mark on coolness... i like princess vivi in one peice better though

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  40. Princess Eilonwy. (The princess from the Black Cauldron.)

    She's not only one of the earliest competent and relatively capable princesses in a Disney film, but has been denied her rightful place as a Disney Princess for far too long! *holds campaign sign, demanding Eilonwy have full princess rights restored*

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  41. Offtopic as this is posting here is as energetic as I feel re: contact on a friday afternoon :)

    Two things, for Dan...
    1. Midsomer Murders is not really taken that seriously in the UK :D in fact it's the butt of some jokes and probably plays to it. The main character is a detective living in a small country town where the murder rate makes LA look like a theme park, for heaven's sake... don't expect too much in the way of quality or realism ;)
    (and how the heck have YOU ended up getting into it?)

    2. Is Project Wonderful really supposed to be serving ads for your own blog onto your own website homepage? I hope you're not paying for that when it happens... especially as I just realised that's what I clicked thru to arrive here. Maybe you paying for clicks, and being paid by them for clicks generated cancels out?

    And for Zaggle/Glog... San isn't *really* a Princess, just called that by the locals (and neither she nor the animals use the "Mononoke" name either ... the direct translation of Mononoke-Hime is something like "monster/beast princess", so it'd be a bit odd to use as a self description when you consider the humans as monsters... oh wait... subtle... layers upon layers. Hmm.)

    Though that's probably how a lot of monarchies got founded, so maybe it counts? :D

    Who cares anyway ... still awesome. I'd pledge my allegience.

    Hmmm its putting my name as anon. must fix that. openID probably exposes my email addy somewhere if you want it :p

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  42. Hrm... I would say Nala from Lion King, if that is permitted. ^_^; She holds her own throughout the movie, is the voice of reason (for the most part), and sticks to her morals, unlike Simba.

    Lion King is my favorite Disney movie, regardless of the jerk that is the main character of Simba. Also helps I have some severe childhood nostalgia from it (it released when I was a kid). And, c'mon, Be Prepared is just awesome. Kiara from Lion King 2 could possibly be equal to Nala, or greater, but I haven't seen LK2 in many years, so I can't remember her character as well.

    Human-wise, i would probably say Belle, but I haven't seen Princess and the Frog.

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  43. Ariel. An unquenchable thirst for knowledge, trying to break the box she's been put in all means possible. Of course, she's way too naive and trusting, but still. Being able to think beyond what's in front of your nose is one of the single qualities I hold most dear in the world so Ariel it is. Plus, mermaid. Come think of it, if it weren't constrained by the need of a 'Prince'she may have as well taken to explore the huuge ocean she already lived in. Damn, you've got those fanfic gears in my mind running again.

    Taking a moment to read the other posts before posting I think they're right most of Disney's princesses are great, self-reliant characters until they turn into fools for love. I have nothing against love, but that shouldn't mean women should stop being who their are just because they're in a committed relationship.

    I wonder... to what extent does this reflect society's views on the matter and to what extent is this paradigm still valid?

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  44. Jasmine was always my favorite when I was younger, despite my vague obligation to like Belle because she had brown hair and read books. This may or may not have been related to the fact that Aladdin is my favorite Disney cartoon, which may or may not be related to the fact that it stars a cute (cartoon, but cute) guy who spends a lot of the movie running around without a shirt on.

    However, as an adult, Mulan is far and away my favorite, despite not technically being a princess. She's just so badarse. I want her and Polly from Monstrous Regiment to team up and be awesome together.

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  45. Best Disney Princess EVER: Vanellope von Schweetz

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  46. Aurora for sure, though all three of Walt's girls blow the rest out of the water if you ask me. Aurora doesn't need a sword or fighting skills or sassy mouth to be as wonderful as she is! She's dreamy, responsible, obedient, and put duty over her dreams. What other girl but Poca does that? She's so selfless. And ethereal and mysterious like a nymph. Snow is bossy, strong, has good leadership skills and knows her prince will come for her- in the meantime she doesn't pine after him. Cinderella is a very strong woman too, intelligent, a bit snarky, and her frustration is obvious yet she doesn't let it break her. Cinderella and Snow also had jobs and were hardworking way before Tia was yet it's her who gets the credit.

    Come to think of it, most of the stuff the modern girls get credit for the old ones already did! Belle as imaginative- Aurora. Belle as kind and patient- Cinderella. Ariel as romantic and proactive- Snow. Jasmine for wanting to marry for love- Aurora. Mulan for putting her family first- Aurora. Rapunzel for being girly and independent- Snow (and actually Punz is not even that independent).

    Mulan, Belle, and Rapunzel bore me though. They're cliche and too Mary Sue. Too perfect, and that makes them difficult to relate to. Ironically, they all probably get rescued more than anyone.

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  47. I've developed a fondness for Marianne and Dawn, the fairy princess sisters from Strange Magic. Disney owns that movie, but they don't tend to draw attention to that. Of the princesses in media Disney acknowledges, my favourite is Kathrine from Gargoyles, and the two I relate to most from the actual official "Disney Princess Line-Up" are Belle and Ariel. I've read some good articles nominating Nani (from Lilo and Stitch) as a Disney Princess, too, and I think she's definitely a respectable character and a good role model.

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  48. @Tora - I'm having difficulty understanding where a number of the traits you listed are coming from. Aurora has very little screen time, and the only time on screen that we hear her speaking her own thoughts aloud is when she's fantasizing about a potential husband. Not exactly the most insightful moments that there could be. For being called 'Sleeping Beauty', the movie is mostly about everyone else's actions around or about her, and very little to do with the character beyond her existing.

    The claim that Mulan is perfect misses the entire driving force behind her actions. She opts to become a soldier because she gets the impression that she is anything but perfect. ("Look at me - I will never pass for a perfect bride, or a perfect daughter.") It isn't even entirely for her father, which she admits later on in the movie. ("Maybe it was so when I'd look in the mirror, I'd see someone worth while.")

    This is why my own favourite female character in the Disney films I've seen is Mulan. The self doubt she expresses is very relatable, and her perseverance is inspiring. She has several low points in the movie, the opening, initially failing at the training, and then when she's dismissed (which given the culture is only marginally better than killed).

    Pocahantas might express self doubt to Grandmother Willow, but there's enough that I don't like about that movie that it's hard for me to have strong attachment to the character.

    Jasmine had spirit, but the movie didn't provide much insight to her as a character.

    I suppose that's the complaint I have about almost all of the disney princesses that I know. There are many generally flat characters, without character growth or insight, and because of the focus is on plot, events around them, there is no time to show growth or insight.

    I both like and dislike Cinderella as a result. I like that she does what she can given her situation to look after herself and give herself safe spaces amidst an abusive environment, but dislike that the overarching message is an implied 'wait for good to happen'. (also the usual 'get married to a stranger' but unfortunately that's a pretty well engrained part of the genre) Incidentally, there really isn't anything keeping Cinderella there; if she left, the stepmother and stepsisters would've probably been in complete disarray due to being unable to look after theirselves... a different plot involving her leaving and making a life for herself could have been good. Also could've been bad, but that goes without saying...

    For the record, I stopped watching movies and TV many years ago, so I am not up to date with the current list of princesses.

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