Feminist Ideals in Newer Disney Princess Movies

Disney Princess movies have been some of the most popular movies in their genre for a long time. The Disney princesses are divided into three major eras: the first era which includes Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Cinderella (1950), and Sleeping Beauty (1959); the second era which includes The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), Pocahontas (1995), and Mulan (1998); and the most recent era which includes The Princess and the Frog (2009), Tangled (2010), Brave (2012), and Frozen (2013) (England et al., 2011; Wohlwend, 2012 as cited in Johnson, 2015). As time progressed, the Disney Princess movies evolved to incorporate more and more feminist ideals, for example, the princesses of the first era are more subject to traditional gender roles than those in the second era and the princesses of the second era more than the third. The transition from the first to the second era of Disney princesses is a reflection of the second wave of feminism  which focused more on equality. The princess that caused the transition was Ariel (The Little Mermaid), viewers noticed that the mermaid was different than her “submissive predecessors” because she challenged authority which ended up being a trend for the princesses that came after her. This literature review will examine the feminist ideals found in the newer Disney Princess movies in comparison to the older ones including the concept of love, resisting the system, independence and self-reliance, and commitment to personal passion.

The Concept of Love

The way Disney princesses view relationships, love, and men has changed and evolved throughout the eras. The princesses of the first era adhere to “love at first sight” and they constantly dream of and hope for a handsome prince to marry and settle down with. Additionally in this era, according to Johnson (2015) in “The Evolution of Disney Princesses and their Effect on Body Image, Gender Roles, and the Portrayal of Love”, love is something that happens immediately on sight, with the princess falling in love with a prince she barely knows. This is seen in all three princesses in that era (Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora). However, in the second and third eras, Johnson (2015) states that love is something that is now formed over time and the newer princesses do not consider men and marriage their end goal. Stover (2013) agrees with the aforementioned perspective and says that the newer princesses rarely experience love at first sight and finding a perfect prince is the least of their concerns. Morrison (2014) also agrees and in her article “Brave: A Feminist Perspective on the Disney Princess Movie” and she gives the example of Merida (Brave) who very strongly states that she does not want to be married and the movie ends with her not having a love interest but she is quite happy and content with that. In “Animating Gender Roles: How Disney is Redefining the Modern Princess”, Garbedian (2015) emphasizes the third era of princess movies in this perspective and believes that the princesses in this era are even less concerned with men and love, giving the example of Anna (Frozen) whose love for her sister was more powerful than her love for the male lead, Kristof. And it was that love for her sister that ended up saving her and not a prince’s kiss (Garbedian, 2015). Johnson (2015) agrees that the third era princesses challenge even more the idea that a happy ever after only happens through romance by saying that the movie plots of this era do not focus on getting a prince but rather the princesses’ own personal journey. On the other hand, Gazda (2015) and Baron (2017) do not agree with the previously mentioned authors and believe that the princesses of the second and third era still think of men and marriage as the ultimate goal. In “Gender roles in Disney Animation”, Baron (2017) gives the example of Ariel (The Little Mermaid) who is fully focused on getting Prince Eric, and she was so desperate that she gave up her voice to be with him even though she’s only seen him once. Additionally, Gazda (2015) in “The (de)Evolution of the Disney Princess” refers to the last Princess Anna (Frozen) as an example and says that she is no different than one of the oldest Cinderella (Cinderella). Anna and Cinderella both sing about finding “The one” and their ultimate goal is to end up with a prince (Gazda, 2015, p.37). Gazda (2015) adds that Anna is obsessed with love and it is evident when she agrees to marry prince Hans, a man she had just met. However, Johnson (2015) argues that the newer princesses still challenge the traditional idea of love because they do not wait for a prince to save them, for example Rapunzel (Tangled) saves Flynn Ryder and Anna does not choose Kristof’s true love’s kiss but rather her sister.

Resisting the System

According to “Damsels and Heroines: The Conundrum of the Post-Feminist Disney Princess” by Stover (2013), Disney’s most common technique for princess movie plots is “creating a world where the heroines are trapped” and the author says this is seen in many princesses including Jasmine (Aladdin), Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Ariel (The Little Mermaid), Pocahontas (Pocahontas), Tiana (Princess and the Frog), and Mulan (Mulan). The princesses are usually constrained by society through either pressure to be married or the pressure of a royal status (Stover, 2013). In her work, “Is Disney Surfing the Third Wave? A Study of the Depiction of Womanhood in Disney’s Female Protagonists”, Ellington (2009) agrees with Stover (2013) and gives the example of Ariel (The Little Mermaid), Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Mulan (Mulan) and Pocahontas (Pocahontas), stating that these princesses are unhappy with the cultural norms which makes them rebel against the system. Additionally, Ellington (2009) gives the example of Belle who knows that she wants something different than what everyone expects of her. This “depiction of rebellion” was praised by third wave feminists because Belle did not submit to societal norms (Craven, 2001, Henke et al., 1996 as cited in Ellington, 2009, p.18). Similar to Belle, Pocahontas doesn’t want to settle for what her tribe expects of her and she challenges society by refusing to marry her intended, Kocoum (Ellington, 2009). Morrison (2014) and Garbedian (2015) both agree with the notion of the princesses fighting against a system. In Morrison’s (2014) “Brave: A Feminist Perspective on the Disney Princess Movie”, Ariel (The Little Mermaid) and Merida (Brave) fight against a patriarchal system that confines them. And in Garbedian’s (2015) work, Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and Jasmine (Aladdin) break the role of the traditional woman in their perspective societies and want to practice their free will.

Independence and Self-reliance

One of the most evident feminist ideals found in the newer eras of Disney Princess movies that wasn’t found in the first era is independence and self-reliance. In Johnson’s (2015) “The Evolution of Disney Princesses and their Effect on Body Image, Gender Roles, and the Portrayal of Love”, it’s stated that the princesses of the first era are more submissive and dependent, always seeking approval and acceptance from others as well as depending on male characters and princes. Garbedian (2015) agrees with the aforementioned statement and gives the example of Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves) who is depicted as naïve and completely dependent on the dwarves for protection and the prince to save her life. To prove this point further, Garbedian (2015) compares Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves) to Anna (Frozen) who does not depend on her male companions throughout their journey but rather depends on herself and is quite confident with doing so. Ellington (2009), Stover (2013) and Morrison (2014) all agree that the newer princesses show independence and self-reliance and they all give different examples on how these newer princesses display those traits. Ellington (2009) says that Arielle (The Little Mermaid), Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and Pocahontas (Pocahontas) show independence through curiosity and seeking knowledge. Stover (2013) says that Tiana (Princess and the Frog), Pocahontas (Pocahontas) and Mulan (Mulan) show independence through their strength and leadership skills. And Morrison (2014) says that Merida (Brave) shows self-determination and independence because she insists on thinking for herself and taking her own decisions even though otherwise was expected of her.

Commitment to Personal Passion

One of things that makes the Disney Princesses of the second and third era more feminist-forward is that the newer princesses have a journey that means something to them and are not just waiting around for a prince to rescue them. Ellington (2009) believes this is true as well and gives some examples of the newer princesses committing to their personal passion, including Pocahontas (Pocahontas) whose pursuit of knowledge was shown by her sense of adventure and she keeps watching the Englishmen because she constantly wants to learn new things. Additionally, Mulan (Mulan) joins the army in secret, not only to save her father from doing so, but also to find her true identity. Morrison (2014) gives two other examples that agree with the previous authors; Rapunzel (Tangled) uses her cleverness and sense of adventure to achieve her dreams of seeing the floating lanterns- her goal throughout the entire journey. Also, the movie Brave is highlighted because Merida (Brave) throughout the whole movie focuses on choosing her own fate and her own path in life that is different than what has been planned for her, which is a powerful “feminist message”. Garebedian (2015) also believes Brave is a strong example and sheds light on how Merida (Brave) learns what is truly important in her life through her journey to fix a mistake she’s made.

Conclusion

This reviewed literature suggests that the newer Disney Princess Movies contain feminist ideals in comparison to the oldest Disney Princess Movies. Shedding light on the concept of love, resisting of a system, independence and commitment to personal passion, it can be suggested that the newer Disney Princesses promote more feminist-forward messages. One limitation in this literature is almost no discussion is held about the positive relationships of the princesses with other women around them. If further research should be conducted to examine the feminist ideals in Disney princess movies, it would be quite helpful to study how the princesses deal with other women. Women supporting women is a major aspect in feminism and the newer Disney Princess movies might have a lot of traces of that message in them. That research should focus on sisters and female friends the princesses have and should determine if it is truly positive and not a competitive relationship.

References

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2. Drucker, S. A. (2018). Betty Friedan: The Three Waves of Feminism. Retrieved from http://www.ohiohumanities.org/betty-friedan-the-three-waves-of-feminism/
3. Ellington, E. S. (2009). Is Disney Surfing the Third Wave? A Study of the Depiction of Womanhood in Disney’s Female Protagonists. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1097&context=honors
4. Garabedian, J. (2015). Animating Gender Roles: How Disney is Redefining the Modern Princess. James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal, 2(1), 22-25. Retrieved from https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=jmurj
5. Gazda, C. (2015). The (de)Evolution of the Disney Princess. Dissenting Voices, 4(1). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1042&context=dissentingvoices
6. Johnson, R. M. (2015). The Evolution of Disney Princesses and their Effect Body Image, Gender Roles, and the Portrayal of Love. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.933.5026&rep=rep1&type=pdf
7. Morrison, D. (2014). Brave: A Feminist Perspective on the Disney Princess Movie. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1178&context=comssp
8. Stover, C. (2013). Damsels and Heroines: The Conundrum of the Post-Feminist Disney Princess. LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University, 2(1). Retrieved from https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1028&context=lux