If you’re anything like me, you remember Disney playing a role in your childhood in one way or another. Looking back, I’ve realized just how much their franchise has evolved.
When I was a kid, one of the biggest influences in my life were the eight original Disney princesses, but since then, they’ve recently added a handful of princesses that reflect society’s movement forward.
In the first era of princesses, the storylines follow a princess who finds herself in some type of trouble, but ultimately her problems are solved when she finds a prince that whisks her off to her happily ever after.
However, with the addition of Tiana, Anna and Elsa, it seems that Disney is trying to show that happiness doesn’t equate to finding Prince Charming, but rather accepting yourself and working hard no matter the obstacles.
Recently Disney released “Moana,” an animated film following a teenage girl who travels across the ocean to fulfill her destiny. Although it follows a similar plotline as “Mulan,” “Moana” shows how Disney is moving away from the past, since she will be the first official Disney princess movie that doesn’t have a love interest.
This may not seem like a huge deal, but it shows how far Disney has come. Starting with Snow White, who waits hand and foot for seven men and has to wait for a prince’s kiss to wake her up from her slumber, to a princess who is a strong, independent woman is a huge step forward.
Not only has Disney made a progressive leap forward in women‘s empowerment, it has also made changes in the portrayal of diversity in entertainment.
Moana stands out particularly because she is the first Pacific Islander princess and is now the fifth princess of color, but most importantly, she portrays the body proportions of an average woman. For the first time, a Disney princess doesn’t have an unattainable tiny waist and overly exaggerated hourglass figure.
Although there are still a couple issues that still go unaddressed, Disney has begun to shift their attention towards making more progressive princesses.
It’d be great if there were future princesses that displayed even more diversity such as a LGBTQ princess, Muslim princess or maybe even a physically disabled princess.
TCHS School Newspaper