The new Princesses being excluded from the lineup

[JeanGreyForever]

Im Moana...
I thought December was supposed to be turquoise? And wasn't pearl one of the birthstones as well? why are they always changing them?

Certain months have multiple birthstones so December also features turquoise alongside blue topaz and June includes pearl as well as alexandrite. Frankly, turquoise is a better fit for Pocahontas than amethyst while pearl suits Ariel more than alexandrite ever would. What's weird is that the UK Disney Store has a collection right now featuring a birthstone for each princess, yet it's entirely different from what the Instagram picture classifies the princesses as. Not that consistency has ever been Disney's strong suit but still.

[unprincess]

yeah, I used to like assigning a birthstone to each Disney princess and would always give turquoise to Pocahontas and pearl to Ariel. Id give topaz to Belle for her gown(though this was before Tangled came out, I do think topaz fits Rapunzel really well for her hair too) and garnet to Aurora for the roses.

[JeanGreyForever]

I prefer amethyst for Rapunzel because the Disney version is so heavily associated with purple. It seems to be her kingdom's colors too with the golden sun emblem on top. I love how you chose a shade of red for Aurora. I do that too because her crown clearly has rubies in it and her lips are compared to the red rose. Ruby and garnet work for both Aurora and Snow White. Sapphire is best with Jasmine since most of her outfits feature that gemstone, while emerald works for Esmeralda for obvious reasons. I used to give diamond to Cinderella but I think aquamarine suits her as well because of the shade of her eyes, and how the Fairy Godmother specifically notes that when designing her ballgown. Although Anastasia isn't an official DP, diamond suits her better since two of her iconic outfits (the opera gown she wears to the ballet and her imperial court dress at the end) both feature diamond jewelry.

[Sotiris]

The banner of the official YouTube channel for the Disney Princess brand has been updated to include Moana.


Source: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKUyqT ... eLQbayv3hA

[Disney's Divinity]

Besides the hideous makeovers (Cinderella and Pocahontas being the worst offenders), most of the poses are cute. Well, not Aurora acting like a sassy tween from the Disney Channel.

I love that they have Jasmine in an action pose again. More like how she was in the TV series.

[Sotiris]

Moana is included in the Disney Princess Half Marathon 2020.


Source: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyPrincess ... 0208042620


Source: https://www.rundisney.com/blog/2020-dis ... nd-themes/


Source: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/ ... 20-events/


Source: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/ ... n-weekend/


Source: https://events.rundisney.com/disney-pri ... on-weekend

[Disney Duster]

Cinderella and Pocahontas are very known for running. But Moana isn't really, right? I guess they are using Moana because she is so recent?

[JeanGreyForever]

Probably because she's new. Although I can't really think of any other princess known for running besides Snow White in the forest or I guess Rapunzel in that canyon scene.

[Disney Duster]

Oh, yes Snow White is also rather famous for running. I guess they didn't want to use her because she's so close in time period to Cinderella, plus less diverse.

[bruno_wbt]

They didn't pick them because they run in their movies...

Last February the princesses featured in this marathon were: Jasmine, Aurora, Mulan and Elena.

And in 2018, the princesses featured were: Cinderella, Snow White, Merida and Rapunzel

[Disney's Divinity]

I dread the day they “redesign” Tiana, Moana, Elsa, Anna, and Rapunzel. Those drawings of Cinderella and Pocahontas are pitiful.

[JeanGreyForever]

A pretty interesting article about costume companies and the Disney Princesses. They get a slight mention which I've posted below, featuring discussion on the popular and unpopular princesses.
https://www.polygon.com/2019/6/26/18716 ... o-fortnite

“It seems like [the princesses are] all under one branch, but if you want to make a Belle costume and a Mulan costume, you have to buy both licenses. So if you want to make a big, all-encompassing princess line for a big-box retailer, you have to start getting creative. You have to start really thinking about money and seeing, well, what are the princesses that sell best? It’s why you never see Tiana [from The Princess and the Frog]. I love Tiana, she’s my favorite princess, but I guess she never sold well, so they never make her, because the licensing is expensive. Usually, that’s when they strategically tell you, ‘This is a character that we think is going to do well. We think that this character is going to be aspirational to kids and this is where we think you should put your money.’”

[Sotiris]

This was posted on the Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts for Disney Style.


Source: https://www.facebook.com/disneystyle/ph ... 433801275/

[Farerb]

They really love using the Zodiac signs ever since they added a 12th princess in the line up.

[Sotiris]

A pretty interesting article about costume companies and the Disney Princesses. They get a slight mention which I've posted below, featuring discussion on the popular and unpopular princesses.

“It seems like [the princesses are] all under one branch, but if you want to make a Belle costume and a Mulan costume, you have to buy both licenses. So if you want to make a big, all-encompassing princess line for a big-box retailer, you have to start getting creative. You have to start really thinking about money and seeing, well, what are the princesses that sell best? It’s why you never see Tiana [from The Princess and the Frog]. I love Tiana, she’s my favorite princess, but I guess she never sold well, so they never make her, because the licensing is expensive. Usually, that’s when they strategically tell you, ‘This is a character that we think is going to do well. We think that this character is going to be aspirational to kids and this is where we think you should put your money.’” https://www.polygon.com/2019/6/26/18716 ... o-fortnite

The article has been "revised" and all the information about the Disney Princesses and costume licensing has been removed. Disney probably got to them. Anyway, I never knew Disney had separate licenses for the Disney Princesses when it came to costumes. I guess those sell much more than any type of merch and makes sense for them to license them separately. Just Disney being Disney and trying to milk every last drop.

I remember reading somewhere (can't find it now) that most girls who buy princess-related merch, haven't watched the movies and just pick them based on how they look. If that's true, it explains why Tiana, Pocahontas, and Mulan are not very popular. It's not that their movies themselves aren't beloved, it's that their outfits and overall appearance doesn't appeal to young girls. Tiana has a green dress that looks like a plant, Mulan is usually depicted in her boring commoner outfit and Pocahontas in her plain native attire. If Disney started making more merch with Tiana in her blue, more typically princess-like dress, Mulan with her formal matcmaker outfit, and Pocahontas with her ballgown from the sequel, I suspect their popularity would increase significantly.

[Disney's Divinity]

I think Tiana has the best dress after Cinderella's silver dress (and I don't mean the horrible re-designed dress that looks like a deflated balloon), imo. I doubt that's the reason she's overlooked. One reason could be the color. I wonder if Anna's green dress (which is also beautiful to me) does poorly, too. And perhaps Jasmine's outfit, even if it's turquoise? Green probably isn't the color the majority of little girls who would be drawn to princesses and dresses--and yet have no idea who the characters are--would tend towards. Most would probably want pinks, purples, blues with no character traits or attributes to go by.

[JeanGreyForever]

The article has been "revised" and all the information about the Disney Princesses and costume licensing has been removed. Disney probably got to them. Anyway, I never knew Disney had separate licenses for the Disney Princesses when it came to costumes. I guess those sell much more than any type of merch and makes sense for them to license them separately. Just Disney being Disney and trying to milk every last drop.

I remember reading somewhere (can't find it now) that most girls who buy princess-related merch, haven't watched the movies and just pick them based on how they look. If that's true, it explains why Tiana, Pocahontas, and Mulan are not very popular. It's not that their movies themselves aren't beloved, it's that their outfits and overall appearance doesn't appeal to young girls. Tiana has a green dress that looks like a plant, Mulan is usually depicted in her boring commoner outfit and Pocahontas in her plain native attire. If Disney started making more merch with Tiana in her blue, more typically princess-like dress, Mulan with her formal matcmaker outfit, and Pocahontas with her ballgown from the sequel, I suspect their popularity would increase significantly.

I'm glad I quoted parts of the article and posted them here then so I found that information quite interesting, especially in the way it portrayed Disney. I think it's definitely true that the DP franchise is so popular and widespread that many children who buy the stuff are only familiar with the characters from what they see in the stores and haven't seen the movies. Yet, even so, these films are some of the most popular of all time. They always top the best-selling VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray listings and most of the stories, at least the fairy tales, are iconic enough that even without the films, children have heard of them.

The appearances of Pocahontas, Mulan, and Tiana are a factor as to why they sell less (and that probably goes skin-deep beyond just the clothes they wear if we're being honest), but I think another thing to consider is their actual films. Most little girls will want the enchanted fairy tale films with beautiful dresses, grand castles and palaces, handsome princes, and magical sidekicks. The classic six princesses, Rapunzel, and the Frozen sisters (even Merida to an extent) all easily fit this criteria unlike two historical epics, one which is all about war, and a modern 20th century film set in the bayou. Another thing to consider is the era the films came out in. None of these three are from the classic Walt Disney's era, the Big Four from the Renaissance, the CGI films that have created the Revival, or even Pixar's own films. Films that don't easily fit into these brackets generally get little to no merchandise.

I'm not sure I agree that the merchandise you suggested would sell better though. Tiana, when her film came out, was equally promoted in her blue dress alongside her green dress. The past year or two, they've been putting her in the blue dress again and her Disney Store doll featured her in blue rather than green for once. The problem is that she wears a generic blue princess costume (which is exactly what it's supposed to be in the movie as well). A little girl could buy any dress like this but they want the specific princess dress as was the purpose of creating the DP franchise. On top of that, the blue dress comes across as a Cinderella knockoff, so if someone wants the blue dress, they'll want the iconic Cinderella one.

Mulan has always been promoted in her matchmaker outfit since the beginning of the line. Clipart sometimes showed her in the green dress, but all her dolls, costumes, accessories, etc. were based on her Matchmaker outfit and clearly she still didn't sell. Only the last year or so have they been making merch of her green or blue dress and her doll for the first time featured the green dress. Disney only changed her look to appease hardcore Mulan fans who weren't pleased with her being portrayed in a look that she never felt comfortable in, but that's her most marketable look and even that probably isn't a big best-seller.

As for Pocahontas, enough people probably haven't seen the sequel to recognize that look, and even the ones who have might not be fans of the movie in the first place. Pocahontas has a very iconic look so while most little girls will flock to Cinderella or Belle, the ones who do want to look like Pocahontas will expect her traditional outfit, not a cream/eggshell colored ballgown that they've probably never seen before. If little girls wanted a fancy ballgown, they'd go for one of the brightly colored ones in pink, blue, purple, or yellow, not the one Pocahontas wore so I think she wouldn't sell much more that way.

[thedisneyspirit]

As a kid I thought Pocahontas' ballgown was pretty awful. Maybe that's also a thing to consider.

There's also the thing that I feel most people who watch and like the films don't buy the DP brand because they're a little put-off by the juvenile-only content and all the pink and glitter that wasn't found in the original film. They've branched out in later years, but for a long time they only sold products that appealed to little girls and little else.

[JeanGreyForever]

As a kid I thought Pocahontas' ballgown was pretty awful. Maybe that's also a thing to consider.

There's also the thing that I feel most people who watch and like the films don't buy the DP brand because they're a little put-off by the juvenile-only content and all the pink and glitter that wasn't found in the original film. They've branched out in later years, but for a long time they only sold products that appealed to little girls and little else.

I know that I have little interest in most of the DP products because of exactly that. The ones in Japan are still a bit classier and truer to the films.

[Disney Duster]

I completely agree with JeanGrey. Also, I have always found Tiana's green dress to be the more beautiful and marketable one.