![]() ![]() In the 2017 live-action remake, this princess is not only educated but also empowering, teaching young girls in the village to read for themselves. Rather, he draws much of his strength from her ferocity.ĭisney’s new vision first started becoming clear with the educated and fiery Belle in the 1990s Beauty and the Beast. For example, Moana may need Maui’s help, but not because he’s a strong male. In fact, they’re often assertive, proactive and more courageous than their male counterparts. Nowadays, it’s often the princesses doing the rescuing. Still maybe, just maybe, Disney is also trying to counter the archaic understandings of gender roles it has supported over the years. Yes, they still want little girls to be excited about their frilly dresses and magic wands. ’s the daughter of the Chief.” (“Same difference,” Maui replies.)Įven Wreck-It Ralph’s Vanellope, after discovering her princess roots, throws off her fancy garb in favour of more comfortable clothes.Īll of this shows a tonal shift from the House of Mouse, even if they do seem to want to have their cake and eat it too. In the recent film Moana, the title character is adamant that she’s “not a princess. ![]() In their recent remake of Beauty and the Beast, Belle – one of the pillars of Disney’s Princess line of toys – proclaims she is not a princess at all. In recent films, Disney has shown they are deliberately attempting to deconstruct the very princess stereotypes they worked so hard to build. This placed Disney in a difficult position where they were suddenly forced to rethink the nature of a Disney princess, lest they lose their market.Īnd, maybe, things have begun to change. ![]() Disney’s iconic damsels in distress were becoming viewed with greater suspicion. (In fact, just last year, the Disney Princess line-up helped propel Hasbro to record sales.)Įventually, this was met with backlash as fans became more aware of Disney’s subtle stereotypes, how its marketing encouraged a certain image of young women and, subsequently, a standard of beauty for young girls as well. When Disney first created the Princess line of products in the early 2000s, it proved to not only be a great way to help familiarize this generation with their older characters, it also proved to be a lucrative franchise of dresses, magic wands and makeovers. Much of our modern understanding of what it means to be a princess stems from Disney’s powerful influence. Still, with the release of their latest remake of Beauty and the Beast, I can’t help but think about how much has changed in a very short period of time for this contemporary image of women – and what the Bible says about labels. Written by Steve Norton of Newmarket, OntarioĪs a (nearly) 40-year-old male pastor, the last thing that you’d think I’d be writing about would be Disney princesses. ![]()
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