I hate to bring Frozen back into this, but I feel I have no choice.
There’s been an awful lot of talk saying that Frozen is the only movie in which the females “don’t need no man” to save them. Frozen is also credited with being the only Disney movie in which two characters don't fall in love in a single song.
I am here to argue that the other Disney females also did not, in fact, need a man. They just happened to find one, (and by the way, so did Ana from Frozen). I will also point out which movies had characters that didn't fall in love in a single song.
1. Snow White
She had a momentary lapse in judgment and took an apple from a sketchy old lady, which she shouldn’t have. The only cure was true love’s kiss, right? In the time this movie was made, we defined true love's kiss as a romantic one, not a platonic one. So it was the prince to save her instead of one of the dwarves, for example. This movie was making a testament to the power of true love, so don't call Snow White weak for needing a man to save her. There were only males around TO save her. The only other woman in the movie tried to kill her. Not to mention, the poor girl just choked on a poisonous piece of apple. Let's see you get out of that one by yourself.
2. Cinderella
She saved herself through good karma. She was kind and made the most of what was given to her and that made her worthy of magic from the fairy godmother, and earned herself a bunch of loyal friends in the birds and mice and other animals, who helped her throughout the movie. And in the third Cinderella movie, she took charge and went after what she wanted and basically earned her spot in the next Mission Impossible movie.
3. Arora
The guy didn’t save her, her caretakers (three fairies) saved her by helping the guy’s sorry self. And she needed true loves kiss, right? Same as Snow White. I bet it would’ve worked if one of the fairies kissed her, or her parents, but again, we defined true love as romantic, not platonic or parental. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a possibility.
4. Belle
She does all of the saving as far as I’m concerned. She defends her dad, saves her dad, and saves Adam from the curse. And if she really needed a man, why did she refuse Gaston’s proposal in the beginning of the movie? This is also a movie in which the characters didn't fall in love in a single song. A song can mark the TURNING point in their relationship, but they did not go from complete strangers to being in love.
5. Pocahontas
She also did all of the saving. She saved her people, she saved John Smith, and in the end put him on a boat and didn’t go with him.
6. Jasmine
From the beginning she didn’t want a man. She refused an arranged marriage, which was a novelty for the culture and the time period it was set in. She refused to bend to the law, and her resistance was the reason for her father changing it, in the end, this way she gets to choose the man, instead of the man being chosen for her. She would rather be without a man than married to someone she didn’t want. So as far as I'm concerned, she saved herself from an awful marriage that would have undermined her as an individual. They also didn't fall in love in a single song. It marked the turning point.
7. Tiana
She never wanted a guy. She wanted a restaurant. She did the leading, the saving, and all the hard work when she was stuck as a frog with a spoiled prince. It also took more than a single song for them to fall in love.
8. Rapunzel
She wanted to see the floating lights. She was a true opportunist and seized a guide to help her get to where she wanted to be. She used her hair to help them, save them, and heal him. She was also willing to sacrifice her freedom for an opportunity to save him. This movie also has characters that didn’t fall in love in the course of a single song either. To find out more reasons of how Tangled more or less owns Frozen, click here.
9. Merida
She fought for her own hand and chose to marry no one. If that’s “I don’t need no man” attitude I don’t know what is.
10. Mulan
SHE SAVED ALL OF CHINA. The guys didn’t save her, she saved the guys. AND CHINA. And, they had only just started their romance at the END of the movie.
11. Jane
It wasn't her that needed the saving, it was the gorillas. Yeah she needed Tarzan's help in the beginning, but who wouldn't? She held her own throughout this entire movie. It also took the majority of the movie for Tarzan and Jane to fall in love.
12. Meg
She saved Hercules. If she hadn’t jumped in front of that falling pillar so it would crush her instead of him, If she hadn't, he would’ve died, Greece would’ve died, Olympus would’ve died. So actually, I change my earlier statement. She saved everyone. They also didn't fall in love in a single song.
13. Ariel
SHE SAVED ERIC in the beginning of the movie! And she was also responsible for causing Ursula to vaporize her creepy eels.
I would also like to point out that Kristoff saved Ana by creating a snow anchor when the snow monster was coming after them. Just saying.
So, regardless of true love's kiss being involved or not, to some extent, these women saved themselves and others in every single one of these movies. There's also a majority of movies that have characters that don't fall in love in the span of a single song. Sorry Frozen, you're not as revolutionary as people make you out to be. In fact, if we're going to pick on these movies for anything, I think the only legitimate criticism would be that all romantic relationships are heterosexual, and I would only apply that criticism to movies made within the last 10-15 years, because it is within this time frame that I have seen the starting of more equal representation in television and movies.
I rest my case.
