Are the Disney Princesses Bad for our Children?

[musicradio77]

I don't buy any of the stuff under the Princess banner. It's sickening and it is made for girls. Look what happened since 2001, that's where the Disney Princess got its start. In the past, there were other stuff prior to the franchise, they have the Disneyland albums and even soundtracks such as "Cinderella", "Snow White" and "Sleeping Beauty". Those were good finds if your are fans from our generation. Those were good films, as of today, they lose their appeal to the classics. During the last 45 years, people in their homes listened to such Disney classic soundtracks like "Cinderella", "Snow White" and "Sleeping Beauty" especially with the story albums as well. Those were on the Disneyland label back in the 1960's. I have a few albums on vinyl. People in our today generation between girls ages 5-10 listening to CD's from the Princess except little girls doesn't have a record player to play Disneyland LP's like the three animated fairy tales. In the 1990's, they have "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", "Pocahontas", and "Mulan" are such great films. Girls listened to these soundtracks on CD except the classics like "Snow White", "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty". They stopped producing mass vinyl by the end of the 80's, gone were the three classics.

As you can say, the three Disneyland LP's like "Snow White", "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty" are soundtracks along with the three story LP's from both 1962 and 1969 (except "Sleeping Beauty" in 1958) are very rare.

[Flanger-Hanger]

I don't really like how all the princesses are turning into one person with simply a dozen different dresses. They need to reinforce that each princess has her own personality and tastes and the best way to do that is to advertise their original films better (sure lots of kids know who Aurora is, but how many know what her real name is, or what her dress color should really be?).

I could see why some parents would be objectionable. Lots of teenage girls like being thought of as a "Princess" (as in someone who is rich spoiled and has the brain the size of raisin) and many people mistake Disney for an "Evil" company, so put two and two together and you get an uneducated and stupid opinion of the Disney Princess characters. (unfortunately Disney's Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo boutiques at WDW do not help Disney's name in this case.) Many parents would rather their kids watch Dora the Explorer because she's smart (I know this from reading a similar article about the princesses) but if you look at the Disney films themselves they show that the Princesses are capable of thinking and being active (Cinderella is even sarcastic at times! Gasp!). Only Snow White and Aurora do nothing (Aurora in particular because she talks only from the 18 minute point of the film to the 40 minute point, a whole 22 minutes for her to get her ten lines out). But looking at the time those films were made it makes sense for a woman to be less active. (Which ironically makes Cinderella seem more impressive).

Lots of use grew up with these films and did they stop of from learning things in life? No. Kids will only be stupid if you treat them stupid. Also it's ok for kids to pretend because it makes kids want to find out how to get somewhere in life.

just a point for musicradio77, they have read/sing alongs on CDs for kinds now so they can learn the story's and songs of the princesses, plus Cinderella's CD is still in print.

[PapiBear]

Liberty Conboy, another mom, tries to modernize age-old fairy tales to paint her daughter a portrait of a 21st century princess.

"I change the story lines," she said. "I'll say, 'Snow White was sweet, and kind … and she also thought someday she'd like to be a veterinarian.'"

[musicradio77]

just a point for musicradio77, they have read/sing alongs on CDs for kinds now so they can learn the story's and songs of the princesses, plus Cinderella's CD is still in print.

In the past, they have the read-along books both records and cassettes. I have the "Cinderella" read-along book on the Disneyland label from the 1970's. Other stuff had "Beauty and the Beast", "The Little Mermaid" and many others that are appealed to kids, but not the girls before Disney got their start with the Princess franchise.

Think about it back in the 1960's and 1970's if before grew up listening to the old Disneyland albums with such classics as "Cinderella", "Snow White" and "Sleeping Beauty". That was decades before the Princess franchise was launched and it appeal to little girls ages 5-10. If you were a kid back in the 1960's and 1970's, you remember these LP's as shown on that pic.













Those LP's are just rare if you are a Princess fan. If every girl ages 5-10 who doesn't have a turntable, but now CD's and MP3's are much better than the LP. Thanks to today technology. If people over 40 or 50 since the baby boomer generation who listens to Disneyland records since you were growing up like you're in kindergarden or at school. Disneyland LP's are just collectables, thank to the label which is now Walt Disney Records. The albums from the Disney Princess which does not have a name until 2001 when Disney launched its franchise where it was aimed at little girls. Today all the LP's just collectables and there so hard to find at a local thrift store, flea markets and on Ebay. I have about over a hundred Disneyland LP's in my collection, I'm not selling it, I keep it for my personal use. "Cinderella", "Snow White" and "Sleeping Beauty" are the rarest albums to find.

[Isidour]

they should better check on another icons like those horrible bratz dolls

I mean, they are focused to little girls but they dress like fancy sluts

No way, maybe the Disney princesses changed a little but I think that they are waaaaay better than those stupid dolls

[Disney's Divinity]

I think the only thing objectionable about the "Princess" line is how it's solely motivated toward girls. It's like the only thing that matters in life for them (as far as the merchandise goes) is getting married and having pretty dresses. It shows none of the responsibility that goes into being a real princess and focuses primarily on the insane glamor of the title.

Perhaps that's why characters like Kida, Alice, Eilonwy, Mulan, Jane and Megara have no place in the "Princess" line.

[Ariel'sprince]

Perhaps that's why characters like Kida, Alice, Eilonwy, Mulan, Jane and Megara have no place in the "Princess" line.

no,Mulan is a princess.

[Ariel'sprince]

Liberty Conboy, another mom, tries to modernize age-old fairy tales to paint her daughter a portrait of a 21st century princess.

"I change the story lines," she said. "I'll say, 'Snow White was sweet, and kind … and she also thought someday she'd like to be a veterinarian.'"

agreed.

[Ariel'sprince]

is it just me or Dora the explore is the devil?.

Ah...I think that one may just be you...why do you think Dora's the devil?

becuase she's annoying and she's really mean to some fox,she's the devil.

[Prudence]

I think the only thing objectionable about the "Princess" line is how it's solely motivated toward girls. It's like the only thing that matters in life for them (as far as the merchandise goes) is getting married and having pretty dresses. It shows none of the responsibility that goes into being a real princess and focuses primarily on the insane glamor of the title.

Exactly. The princesses and their actual stories are good. There's a lot of positive lessons to be learned from them. The merchandise, for the most part, is overly girly and not-so-good.

Honestly, I think the Tinkerbell hype needs to stop. Tink tried to kill Wendy out of simple bratty jealousy, and yet she's franchised as being a wonderful heroine! Ugh.

[Prudence]

Ah...I think that one may just be you...why do you think Dora's the devil?

becuase she's annoying and she's really mean to some fox,she's the devil.

1.) Mulan is not a princess. The Emperor's daughters from the sequel are, and they have NO merchandise outside their movie whatsoever. Princess Ting-Ting, at least, deserves a doll.

2.) Swiper the Fox tries to steal Dora's things, so she and her friends tell him not to. Just your basic defense skills. All shows for young children are annoying, but at least Dora doesn't teach kids to let bullies run off with their homework and so forth.

[PixarFan2006]

is it just me or Dora the explore is the devil?.

Nope, just REALLY annoying.

[Atlantica]

I cannot belive that article was even wirtten. So they are saying that children should only aspire to real people? So basiacally they should be stripped of storybooks, fairy tales, tv, all films, and only focus on real people?

Fairy Stories, be they from the original books, or the Disney movie counter parts, are there to inspire children, to allow them to learn valuble lessons in life. The merchandising side of things may have gone overbored slightly, but if the author of the article had taken time to look at the original movies where these Princesses came from, they would realise they are so much more than pink cash cows.

If anyone remembers Jodi Benson's interview that was posted on these boards a few months ago, you would remember that she said these movies that she does are so much more than what they appear to some people; through TLM, a boy who had refused to speak learnt his first words, and it helped a burn victim to heal. The point is, they mean a lot to people. When I have children, there is no way I am banning them from seeing Princess movies, and inspiring them from being something more than a slutty prostitute (I'm referring to the distgusting Bratz dolls...!)

In short, I DO NOT feel the Princess boom has had a negative effect on children. At all.

[darth_deetoo]

As a huge fan of the Disney Princess movies, I can honestly say I've never heard so much rubbish in my life.

[kurtadisneyite]

If all the Princesses did is parade around in wasp-waisted gowns and try to make themselves look pretty, they'd be more bling than anything else.
(have their looks inspired a return to corsetting ?? )

Fortunately, they often go beyond that stereotype.
In CINDERELLA III, when it became apparent that Cinderella had to solve her problems herself, she did, and pretty much as Cinderella (she didn't morph into Rambo or Bratz or whatever). Message; believe in your dreams, and do your best to make them come true.

If Disney further embellishes Princesses to take more active roles and do more things, and ((gasp)) interact more, that could broaden those characters personalities and make them more effective role models.

They could, for example, get back to focusing on Belle's love of literature and how it makes her more worldly. Ariel could become more of an explorer, especially with Eric. Snow White could do more as a Veterinarian or Forest Ranger (though Cinderella had the vet role in a recent "My Side Of The Story" publication).

However, excepting Mulan and Pocahontas, which apparently got thrown in to broaden the line (so where's Esmerelda, the Gypsy princess? Slu Foot Sue, the western Princess? etc..)) the CLASSIC princesses (Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White) are doing a few new things:

Ballerina dancing (books and dolls),
Singing in a Theater (Disney's Xmas Enchantment DVD),
Riding horses (CD Rom game and a new line of books coming).
Guitar playing (Cindy, Ariel and Belle, under different names).

This "embellishment" can be dramatic. Some people on the forum have complained about Aurora being too talky and active in her new upcoming story. In another video, Jasmine punches out a villain (her fist came right at us, filling the camera with stars).
Is that wrong? I'll leave that for others to discuss.

_____________

Finally, the girls tend to look a lot alike these days because - to my limited knowledge - staff artists riding herd on making sure the Princesses looked like they are supposed to look, aren't at Disney anymore. Now in this freelance-everything age, there is less consistency. They are Hard - To - Draw well !

And confusing are different princess styling treatments (in one design case they look like sketchy Flash animation), and much of the work is outsourced.

[pap64]

Funny how this was posted just as I am deep in an investigation about the effects of classic Fairy Tales on people, especially love and relationships.

Currently, I am taking a class called "Family and Matrimony". In here we discuss many aspects of what makes a family and the people that form it.

I believe the reason why some feminists and specialists are questioning the Disney princess line is because a while back there was an investigation about women who had been abused and many of them said that they were raised by the classic Fairy Tales (mainly Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast). Because of that, they believe that the princesses' messages of waiting for your true love to arrive and being optimistic because your love will change people might affect little girls and thus make them easy victims in a relationship.

In my honest opinion, if parents are balanced and fair when raising their children they shouldn't be affected. Let's be realistic here, fictional stories and characters CAN create a strong impression in children's lives. That's why parents should spend more time with them and don't be afraid to talk to them about th world around them and life in general. If they do that children will be able to come up with their views on life and themselves.

I am a loyal believer that you shouldn't ban everything or control EVERYTHING that your children do or want to do. In other words, if my little girl wants to be Cinderella or Jasmine, then fine, just as long as she learns to be a kind, responsible and ambitious woman. Same with boys, if he wants to play with Rambos or Gi Joes again fine just as long as he learns the right things in life.

So the ideal thing is that parents should spend more time with their children so that they are able to learn and grow as human beings. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a little girl out there that spends more time with Ariel than with her own mother :\ .

As for the Disney Princesses themselves, I don't mind them as characters. They are rather lovely, and the modern ones (Mulan, Belle and such) are wonderful characters. However, we shouldn't deny that Disney is playing heavily on their beauty rather than their smarts or character development.

I mean, Disney's gone so crazy with the princesses that now they are forcing people to stand in line for more than an hour just so little girls can meet them at Disneyland!

Also, some of the princesses have weird ideals. I mean, Snow White only cares about finding a nice prince, and Aurora gets all broken up because she can't meet a man she randomly met in the woods!

[brownie]

agreed.

I think I also agree with this, but to a certain extent. If becoming a veterinarian is what would have made Snow White happy, then that would have been a great thing to do. BUT if Snow White had wanted to become a vet just so she could make something of herself and prove to men that she's not an object, then that's silly. If doing chores and aarons all day for their family makes housewives happy, then their lives are fine. Feminists make too big a deal of other women doing what makes themselves feel worthy. They should just butt out. The princesses don't need to have career-oriented goals. Why are jobs considered better than love, anyway? That's what anti-princess people seem like they're saying. Having a job doesn't make someone a better person; it makes them wealthier. I'm going to stop here before I go off on a rant about how we're raising our children to think that they need money to be happy.

[Jay]

I think people blow things out of proportion too much now a days and this article is a perfect example. The princesses are nice characters however I agree Disney should do something with their merchandising them. Give each of them their own personality back. Jasmine is fiesty and strong willed. Ariel is brave and kind. Belle is smart and looks for the beauty in people. As for the others I know most people have aproblem with them especially Snow White and Aroura. Well Cinderella is fair and a good friend. And Snow White has a good way of making do of what she has and making an not so nice situation(cleaning the dwarfs house) turn out fun. Aroura needs a personality though and Tinkerbell should go away for a while. Make Aroura sassy and imaginative.

[darth_deetoo]

These people really need to get a grip. The princesses have very much been a product of their times.

Look at Ariel, Belle and Jasmine.

Ariel is inquisitive.

Belle is intelligent and looks beneath the surface.

Jasmine is fiesty.

Character traits that are perhaps not as readily apparent in Snow White, Cinders and Aurora.

But if you look at Cinderella III, Cinders is a much stronger character in this film, and she does eventually win through thanks to her own strengths and efforts.

I think in any new stories featuring Snow White and Aurora, we will see a much stronger role model.

[Isidour]

After reading that analisis of the Disney Princesses, sounds to me that we could make a sort of "Desperate Housewives" with the princesses