Search Results for: blog do disney princesses hurt self image in little girls

Disney Redefining Princesses

Disney’s gotten a lot of criticism, from me and from plenty of others, for its dedication to princesses.  But today I’m here to give Disney some serious kudos for its latest Princess-related ad.  You can watch the clip on YouTube. It’s just awesome.  If you’re not able to watch it at the moment, the ad features a variety of girls, from all ages, races, and backgrounds, and the voice over repeats that “I’m a princess.”  But in between saying that, the narration says other fantastic things as well, such as “it’s important to stand up for myself.  It’s more important … Continue reading →

Disney’s Recent Racial Controversies

Disney might be considered a family-friendly company, but that doesn’t mean it’s free from all controversy.  When it comes to its own properties, Disney is far from perfect, and there have been some big examples in the past year. The first has to do with “Princess Sofia,” and it’s not over whether or not she’s teaching princess obsession to toddlers.  I didn’t comment on the story for a while because the details kept changing, but things have seemed to settle down.  In the fall, promotional images of the film were released.  They revealed that Sofia’s mother had darker skin, eyes, … Continue reading →

Diamonds Do Not Equal Love

When I first started at the Marriage Blog I mentioned my feelings on diamond commercials and promised to expound on them. Given that we see many such ads this time of year, it seems like an appropriate time to make my promised follow-up. I’m not a big jewelry person so diamonds never appealed to me. That wouldn’t really be a big deal, except that for my entire life I’ve been inundated by ads and assumptions telling me the opposite. “So what?” you might wonder. Well, the media can have a much more powerful effect, subtle though it might be, on … Continue reading →

Princess Sofia the First: Let’s Hope She’s the Last

Next year Princess Sofia the First, the newest and youngest of Disney’s royalty, will make her debut. She’s going to star in a movie that will air sometime in the next few months on both the Disney Channel and Disney Junior. Her royal highness is only still just a child, with her main peer group (i.e., the ages at which Sofia is directed) being children between the ages of 2 and 7. Sofia’s a true Disney original; unlike any of her predecessors she’s not based on a pre-existing character from a fairy tale, myth, or historical event. She’s going to … Continue reading →

Too Many Princesses

When I was little I never dreamed of being a princess. I would sing and dance and play along to my favorite Disney films “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Aladdin,” but although I longed for the adventures of Belle and Ariel, I never wanted to be them, exactly. Ariel and Jasmine seemed to have too many boring responsibilities associated with their crowns, and aside from the gorgeous library, I preferred Belle’s original quaint cottage and village of residence to the echoing, impersonal castle she’d presumably inhabit as a princess. Yet everywhere I looked, the heroines of my … Continue reading →

Angelina Jolie Argues Cultural Rights vs Disney Princesses

Posted on by

I love Angelina Jolie, I really do. She’s socially minded, she’s active in refugee and orphans’ rights and she’s not remotely hesitant to speak her mind. But in a recent article in OK! Magazine, she’s described as feeling let down by the lack of different cultures featured in children’s films. “There still isn’t a Disney princess that’s African and it’s very difficult because our daughters’ getting into princesses right now and it upsets me.” Jolie is quoted. I get what Jolie is saying, she wants cultural diversity to be in the mainstream attractions so that her kids (culturally diverse as … Continue reading →

Tinker Bell Has a New Voice! Again!

Posted on by

I’m not sure whether to be worried or exhilarated by the thinking and rethinking that Tinker Bell the Movie has received. The project has been tooled, retooled and then retooled again. It started with the poor quality of the original animation. The project was scrapped and restarted. Then John Lasseter came aboard during the Disney Pixar merger. Lasseter is a huge fan of Tinker Bell and he ordered another overhaul of the project. Now, there’s another change. Tinker Bell Has a New Voice Brittany Murphy was originally given the part of the voice of Tinker Bell. It would have been … Continue reading →

Make Your Own Mouse Ears?

Posted on by

Seriously? It’s an inescapable part of modern life that we recycle that which is old and classic and turn it into something new and modern. Disney is not the first company and certainly not the last to recycle the past for a new generation. They did it with Herbie, with Flubber, Dr. Doolittle, and while they may not remake their Disney classics, that hasn’t stopped them from creating straight-to-DVD sequels that refresh the past by generating present day interest. So what are they up to now? A souvenir store in Mickey’s Toontown Disneyland in California is going to start selling … Continue reading →

Enchanted (2007)

I love a good fairy tale and I love a good spoof, so when the movie “Enchanted” came out, I knew I’d enjoy it. However, I didn’t get to see it until this last weekend. Why, oh why, did I wait? I loved it! We begin our film in an animated land called Anadalasia. It’s ruled by Queen Narissa, an evil woman who can’t stand the thought of anyone taking over her throne. We also meet Giselle, a lovely young woman who talks to animals and never loses her temper. One day, she meets Prince Edward, and after singing a … Continue reading →

Tinker Bell the Movie – Finally!

Posted on by

My daughter is going to be in seventh heaven this Fall when Tinker Bell the movie finally makes it’s debut. You can pre-order it at Amazon right now and trust me, I already have. What’s unique about Tinker Bell? If you’ve read any of the novels that began with Gail Carson Levine’s wonderful Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg and has continued through several Fairies of Pixie Hollow novels including The Trouble with Tink, Rani and the Mermaid Lagoon and so many more, then you know that the world of Tinker Bell is expanded beyond that of Peter … Continue reading →