A Generational Gap

In recent years, Disney has marketed their "princess brand" which is essentially all the female protagonists of the animated films whether or not they were actually a princess in the film (Mulan anyone?). It is these "princess" films which are often critiqued for their portrayal of the women characters. However, I think there is a problem with these critiques that lies in the over generalizing of all the princess films into this one grouping. After all, the first princess film, Snow White, was filmed in 1937. A film like Beauty and the Beast was not created until 1991, and clearly, the 1930's were a much different time than the early 90's. Thus, I think to do an accurate critique of the Disney Princess brand, this time difference must be taken into account. For instance, a lot of critiques of the princesses surround the fact that they are submissive to the men in the films- the men are the rescuers, the saviors of the damsels in distress. However, I think that this is more prominent in the early features like Snow White where she would have died had she not gotten her "true loves first kiss." But in later films such as Mulan, we have a protagonist who is sort of a "bad ass," who disobeys her father and goes against society by joining the army. I don't think this sort of plot would have worked at all in an earlier film such as Snow White which took place before the World War II which is when more women began entering the work force. The time when Snow White was made was during the depression, where women did stay at home. Likewise, it is interesting to note that a character like Ariel disobeys their father. While they do end up "happily ever after" with another male character, it is a sign of woman's liberation, that Ariel was not going to let her father hold her back.

This is not to say that there are not problems within all the Disney princess films, but I think these problems need to be addressed individually for each film rather than generalize for all the princess films.