Disney movies have always been amazing. As a child, I must have rewound each of my VHS tapes hundreds of thousands of times because I loved each of the princess movies so much. I lived by them and wished I had a Fairy Godmother to come help me with my dreams. But that is the problem. Our generation was obsessed with the story line of a delicate female stumbling into a situation in which a male (usually a prince) would come rescue them from the villain. Whether they got captured, kidnapped, or bullied by their stepfamily, the woman was always some helpless character needing to be saved.
With the emergence of the 21st Century, these themes have changed. We have seen an unbelievable shift in storylines. The difference between a movie where a girl was dumb enough to take food from a stranger, which then put her to sleep until her prince came and woke her with true loves kiss, to a movie where yes, romance is important, but discovering herself and achieving her dream of owning her own restaurant comes before that, is huge.
Disney is releasing more and more films that surround women who are strong, independent, and confident. Sure, they may fall in love with the prince, but that isn't their sole purpose in the film. They aren't treated like some arm candy or damsel in distress. This is a huge step forward for achieving equal gender roles, but we still have more improvements that can be made for both sides.
Such as, when are the females going to have realistic waistlines? The age demographic watching these films are highly impressionable. Humans come in all colors, shapes, and sizes, but for the most part, Disney sticks to a specific look with their animated characters. Cinderella's waistline is one I will never achieve. I am not built that way, but I want to see characters that reflect true body shapes and sizes. Sure, there are girls out there that have the "Disney Princess look," but what about all of us who don't? Where are our heroines kicking butt and taking names?
Disney has begun to make strides in diversity compared to the previous years. Although it is great that they represented the Hawaiian population with Lilo and Stitch and the African American population with Princess and the Frog and their latest project Moana will feature a Polynesian Princess, but they should continue to expand. "In her book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture, Peggy Orenstein reports, "'Princess,’ as some Disney execs call it, is not only the fastest-growing brand the company has ever created, they say it is on its way to becoming the largest girls’ franchise on the planet." If this is true, Disney needs to be using their power to support girls everywhere. They need to know that their audience members see these films and identify with the characters and want to become like them. Their characters are role models for these young girls and everyone deserves to have someone they can identify with and look up to.
That being said, when is Disney going to create a string of animated films surrounding a boy as the main character? As women, we get them all the time, which is GREAT! I'm not saying they aren't appreciated or needed, but the boys have to be included as well. If we are truly serious about achieving gender equality, males should have strong, brave characters they can look up to and aspire to be. When will there be a film surrounding an adventurous guy who defies expectations and follows his dreams? In the attempt to support the concept that women are just as strong, courageous, and brave as men, we have failed to validate that boys are still brave on their own. That isn't to say Disney hasn't released some films that give support to men (i.e. Aladdin, The Lion King), but men should be supported just as much as females are.
