My child’s eye view of life was informed by the Disney Studios’ movie Princesses. Snow White and Cinderella, adapted from the dark, grim fairy tales of medieval Europe, were prettified and presented as a gift to children by the kindly, avuncular Walt Disney. Snow White was first seen on movie screens in 1938, and Cinderella in 1950. I saw these movies in the early 1950’s, and for me, the beautiful Cinderella became an icon. Not only had I seen the movie, I had a little Golden Book, and my father bought me my very first watch, a Cinderella watch by U.S. Time, when I was about 7. The watch itself was presented in a box along with a slender “glass” slipper, probably made out of plastic. I always wondered how Cinderella could dance in a slipper made of glass, until as an adult I learned that the word “verre” had been mistranslated from an old French word for “fur”; either ermine on the high end and squirrel on the lower. It made slightly more sense, although I can’t imagine how she could have danced all night in a slipper made out of fur, either.
Cinderella, Snow White, and their sister/comrade Princess Aurora, the Sleeping Beauty, all won the boyfriend lottery, each ending up with a guy named “Prince Charming.” Not only was each a prince, with excellent prospects, but he was a good son, as well, listening to his parents’ admonitions that he should pick a bride soon. While the custom of the royals in marriage in 17th century Europe was to marry to hold onto or acquire property and assets, both the princesses and princes in these stories, or at least in the mid-20th century Disney editions, were holding out for love.
In the late 20th Century Disney Studios went mad with princess-making, and they began to churn out movies starring a heroic, gutsy young woman with different dresses and hair-color, but always with the same plucky spirit. (Curiously, these spunky feminist princesses were developed long after old uncle Walt died.) There was Jasmine, from “Aladdin,” and Belle from “Beauty and the Beast.” Mulan appeared in China, and she proved herself equal to any young man who approached her. Ariel, the Little Mermaid, fell in love with a land-lubber, and Pocahontas saved John Smith from bloodthirsty savages. Except, in real life, Pocahontas was about 13 when the events of the legend actually transpired, but the Disney Studios somehow aged her to be a beautiful, sensual young woman.
There’s a controversy now, over the first “black” Disney princess. The movie was originally set to be named “The Frog Princess,” with the heroine to be called “Maddy,” which was perceived by many in the black community to be a lower-class name, and she was to be a chambermaid (who was once a frog?) who fell in love with a handsome young man in 1920’s Jazz-Age New Orleans. Many civil rights groups protested that the first African American princess should not be depicted as a maid, and her whole backstory has had to be re-written. The movie is now re-named “The Princess and the Frog,” the princess is now re-named “Princess Tiana,” and even the handsome young man was re-named, from Harry to Naveen. Oh, and Maddy/Tiana will no longer be a chambermaid.
Perhaps the most beautiful, elegant, and graceful Disney princess wasn’t a young woman at all; she was a lovely cocker spaniel named “Lady,” with a rich brown coat and long curly eyelashes that were to-die-for. As the precious, pampered pet of the Darling family, she is all-but ignored when an actual human baby comes into the Darling household. No worry, she meets up with a scamp named “Tramp” and their love story is one of the most touching movie romances that I’ve ever seen. He protects and cherishes her, and she elevates him with her love. Their spaghetti-dinner dinner-date in the alley behind an Italian restaurant was intimate and oh-so-romantic. I was 6 when I saw this movie for the first time, but have watched it over again throughout the years, always searching for a Tramp of my own.
Lady didn’t go on to rule a kingdom, or serve as a feminist role model; she was content to be in love, and to be loved, by the Darlings, by Tramp, and by her own puppies. For Lady, that was enough.
Cinderella, Snow White, and their sister/comrade Princess Aurora, the Sleeping Beauty, all won the boyfriend lottery, each ending up with a guy named “Prince Charming.” Not only was each a prince, with excellent prospects, but he was a good son, as well, listening to his parents’ admonitions that he should pick a bride soon. While the custom of the royals in marriage in 17th century Europe was to marry to hold onto or acquire property and assets, both the princesses and princes in these stories, or at least in the mid-20th century Disney editions, were holding out for love.
In the late 20th Century Disney Studios went mad with princess-making, and they began to churn out movies starring a heroic, gutsy young woman with different dresses and hair-color, but always with the same plucky spirit. (Curiously, these spunky feminist princesses were developed long after old uncle Walt died.) There was Jasmine, from “Aladdin,” and Belle from “Beauty and the Beast.” Mulan appeared in China, and she proved herself equal to any young man who approached her. Ariel, the Little Mermaid, fell in love with a land-lubber, and Pocahontas saved John Smith from bloodthirsty savages. Except, in real life, Pocahontas was about 13 when the events of the legend actually transpired, but the Disney Studios somehow aged her to be a beautiful, sensual young woman.
There’s a controversy now, over the first “black” Disney princess. The movie was originally set to be named “The Frog Princess,” with the heroine to be called “Maddy,” which was perceived by many in the black community to be a lower-class name, and she was to be a chambermaid (who was once a frog?) who fell in love with a handsome young man in 1920’s Jazz-Age New Orleans. Many civil rights groups protested that the first African American princess should not be depicted as a maid, and her whole backstory has had to be re-written. The movie is now re-named “The Princess and the Frog,” the princess is now re-named “Princess Tiana,” and even the handsome young man was re-named, from Harry to Naveen. Oh, and Maddy/Tiana will no longer be a chambermaid.
Perhaps the most beautiful, elegant, and graceful Disney princess wasn’t a young woman at all; she was a lovely cocker spaniel named “Lady,” with a rich brown coat and long curly eyelashes that were to-die-for. As the precious, pampered pet of the Darling family, she is all-but ignored when an actual human baby comes into the Darling household. No worry, she meets up with a scamp named “Tramp” and their love story is one of the most touching movie romances that I’ve ever seen. He protects and cherishes her, and she elevates him with her love. Their spaghetti-dinner dinner-date in the alley behind an Italian restaurant was intimate and oh-so-romantic. I was 6 when I saw this movie for the first time, but have watched it over again throughout the years, always searching for a Tramp of my own.
Lady didn’t go on to rule a kingdom, or serve as a feminist role model; she was content to be in love, and to be loved, by the Darlings, by Tramp, and by her own puppies. For Lady, that was enough.
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