Disney Princess Redesgin

[Andara Bledin]

I'm having a hard time taking the author of the Jezebel article seriously when several of her claims don't seem to be about the very image they included. More revealing dress? Yes. Less wild hair? Not at all. It's just a different medium, which gives different results. Tiana's nose? That's in interpretation issue; As for the makeup and glitter: The look is supposed to be how they'd look if they were attending some grand gala, so of course they're going to have makeup and fancy dresses.

I wholeheartedly agree about the mouths, though. Most of them have gotten a very generic "sexy mouth" treatment and lost any hint of character they had. They've more or less done the same thing to their eyes, as well, which is sad. Jasmine's, in particular, irk me.

As for Merida's bust, they just cinched in her waist to a ridiculous degree making it appear larger by comparison.

Hell, if you want to talk about busty-ing up someone, look at the side by side of poor Mulan. There's no masquerading as a man with that new chest of hers.

Speaking of that, what the hell is it with Disney and their unattainable waistlines? Plus, what's up with the posture on Aurora and Cinderella?

There are plenty of things to get up in arms over, but most of the articles are missing the mark.

The side by side really shows how inconsistent it would look if they had a group shot drawn in the style of each's own movie appearance, it would be jarring having a Liefeld character on the same page as a McFarlen as well as Ditko etc, but Snow's outfit with the sparkles, really the scullery maid look is how she want's to glam up after the wedding?

For a good example of this, check out the Disney Princess page with the little circles of each Princess with the new look. Except for Merida. Who looks really out of place using her old model while everybody else is all glammed up.

[siead_lietrathua]

Speaking of that, what the hell is it with Disney and their unattainable waistlines?

easier to sell the dolls when you can use the exact same barbie-style molds rather than have a unique one for each princess. they just made the art fit the mold.

though the mulan one, now that i've looked at it, is not that bad. sure, she has a chest but she's dressed as a female, not a male. if she looked busty in male garb, then it might be worth taking issue, but at the end of the disney-version she went back to living like a girl.

[Andara Bledin]

If you look at older Mulan art where she's also dressed as a female, you can see that she's not quite flat.

Mulan being dressed
Mulan in fancy dress
Full Lineup (the only place I could get a full body shot of Mulan)

Her bust is typically closer to Snow's, but has been bumped up by the refit.

[Gravekeeper]

I don't agree with the entire rant on Jezebel either. But it's Jezebel, that's kind of what they do. -.-

[violiav]

Yeah, sometimes I like Jezabel, sometimes, not so much. Original fairy tales aside, sometimes it seems as if the people that complain about Disney Princess have never seen the movies. They complain about helplessness, etc. and fail to take context into account.
As I remember them:

Snow White- she's been pretty much abused by her crazy step mother, so yeah, she probably falls for the first person she sees from the outside world.

Cinderella (I've always thought she looked like Sam from Bewitched)- Again, abused, tormented. She just wants what her stepsisters have, so her defiance is going to the damn ball. Ive alway thought that Cindy and the Prince's eyes during the ball was far more lustful* than anything portrayed since. Two people danceing, they like each other, so yeah. She's not really saved by the Prince, but by the mice.

Sleeping Beauty is the who was more legitimantly saved by said Prince. She (and the whole castle) was asleep, so somebody had to I guess. I guess she could have always chosen not to be hypnotized by Maleficent?

IIRC Jasmine held her own against Jafar, or at least tried to fight back. Belle tried to fight back, and really, she saved the Beast. She wasn't a Princess, and he was more of a local Lord.

*lustful eyes- see also squirrels from Sword in the Stone, Duchess, Perdita, Ariel, Nala, Bianca (iirc), Jasmine, foxes from Fox and the Hound.

[Gravekeeper]

Yeah, sometimes I like Jezabel, sometimes, not so much. Original fairy tales aside, sometimes it seems as if the people that complain about Disney Princess have never seen the movies. They complain about helplessness, etc. and fail to take context into account.

Well, the original 3 ( Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty ) are a product of their times. It'd be nice to see some independence and equality there but its not surprising that there isn't any. ( I mean God, the prince in Cinderella is actually named Prince Charming ). But then there are the recent sequels...ugh.

Cinderella has two sequels which are basically Cinderella Is A Princess and Cinderella Has To Get Married Again.

Disney's resurgence started giving the "princesses" some sense of independence and personality. Yet they all ultimately end up being married off in the teens as the ultimate goal. Everything is secondary to them being married off to a pretty face to become a trophy bride.

The two that break this mold, Mulan and Pocahontas, get retconned into it with terrible direct to dvd sequels. Mulan has a sequel based entirely around marriage and ending with her marriage. Pocahontas has a sequel that likewise ends up with her married. Though hilariously enough they chose the sequel to pretend to be historically accurate. So she tells John Smith nope, sorry and marries John Rolfe.

Jasmine had some fight too her, even if she didn't accomplish a tone in the movie. However, she benefits from the fact Aladdin turned into a TV series to keep building her character. It also benefited from the fact that it was a role reversal ( Jasmine was already nobility, Aladdin was the one marrying in ). But Aladdin becomes sultan as a result. Something Jasmine eludes too when telling off "Prince Ali" in he first movie I recall.

Belle is probably one of the best of the lot. As she had her own personality and goals, and didn't take much shit. But ultimately, still teen married by the end.

[anakhouri]

We recently watched Aladdin with our son (hadn't seen it in more than 10 years). I was pretty horrified, because Jasmine doesn't do shit in that movie. Twice she flirts with guys to help Aladdin out and that was it. Lame.

I rarely show my son princess movies. These archaic ideas about marriage and a woman's place go both ways, after all.

[Kheldarson]

Eh...with most of the princesses, I'd let my child watch anyway. I mean I'll be reading him the actual fairy tales too, so how much worse can it get?

[violiav]

Right? The actual source material was pretty scary in some cases.

Jasmine was more fleshed out in the TV show. keep in mind that Disney was trying to appeal to both boys and girls for a good part of the 90s, so the male charecters were more fleshed out. Aladdin is a big step from Prince Charming. And heck, the star of that show wasnt Jasmine, it was Aladdin. -SHE- was the supporting cast.
Disney Princes didn't even really have personality till Eric came alog.
Ya know, The Little Mermaid came out when I was in second grade. I really loved it, but I was disappointed that there weren't any really cool undersea battles.

[Bloodsoul]

B-B-But where's Princess Eilonwy from The Black Cauldron!? She's my favorite!

But what do I know? My 10 year old daughter looks up to Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and Hawkgirl.

Makes me wish I had bought my ex-girlfriend a She-Hulk action figure when we were still going out, since SH's not only a super hero but also a lawyer, my ex's planned profession.

[Lady_Foxfire]

I think the reason people were more upset about the changes to Merida than any of the others was because the entire point of Brave was that she did not want to be a pretty princess; she wanted to be a hero. Even her compromise with her mother at the end had more to do with her learning tact and diplomacy than with dressing up or getting married. So by losing her bow and putting her in a pretty dress, the marketing department essentially destroyed everything that made Merida who she was.

Also, seriously, it's the 21st century. Wanting to be pretty and find love is all well and good, but there's already lots of princesses who exemplify those goals. Let the tough, smart girls be themselves without trying to shoehorn them into the Disney Princess Clone Machine. Diversity in role models is a good thing!

[crashhelmet]

Aside from Mulan's "white washing," I'm honestly having a hard time seeing what everyone is bitching about with this.

Articles are showing you side by side comparisons and screaming bigger boobs, smaller waist, etc, but their comparison shots are at different sizes and angles. You could do the same thing with real pictures of real people and see noticeable differences.

Cinderella and Aurora were given more "modern Disney" facial features, like the eyes.

I will say that, in my opinion, they've got way too much makeup on but I was just having a similar conversation with my girlfriend on Saturday about all the teenage girls walking around the San Gennaro Festival looking like strippers and/or hookers. Maybe I'm just getting old and codgy.

[Gravekeeper]

I will say that, in my opinion, they've got way too much makeup on but I was just having a similar conversation with my girlfriend on Saturday about all the teenage girls walking around the San Gennaro Festival looking like strippers and/or hookers. Maybe I'm just getting old and codgy.

That's my main problem, they've been tarted up. I don't think they've been overly sexualized ( Aside from all of them having the same lips and several with the come hither look ). Just, well, trashy. They're all wearing head to toe glitter except Pocahontas ( Whose face is appalling and badly drawn ). Caked on make up and loaded down with jewelry. To the detriment of their original designs and personalities.

I don't see what possible good can come from homogenizing them all and tarted them up like this. They're role models whether Disney likes it or not.

[Duelist925]

Aside from Mulan's "white washing," I'm honestly having a hard time seeing what everyone is bitching about with this.

Articles are showing you side by side comparisons and screaming bigger boobs, smaller waist, etc, but their comparison shots are at different sizes and angles. You could do the same thing with real pictures of real people and see noticeable differences.

Cinderella and Aurora were given more "modern Disney" facial features, like the eyes.

I will say that, in my opinion, they've got way too much makeup on but I was just having a similar conversation with my girlfriend on Saturday about all the teenage girls walking around the San Gennaro Festival looking like strippers and/or hookers. Maybe I'm just getting old and codgy.

I want to echo what Foxfire said--it takes away a large part of her basic characterization to make her just like all the other princess's. And beyond what GK's said about that (Wayy too much makeup) It kind of creates a stepford effect, erasing some of their individual characteristics in the name of mass marketing.

[Nekojin]

With regard to Merida's makeover, I don't see how the absence of her bow somehow demeans her. While it's her favorite possession, she doesn't drag it everywhere with her, and especially not to somewhere that she'd be wearing a gown. This doesn't in any way imply that she's given it up completely.

Frankly, I'm more annoyed that Rapunzel is always shown with massive waves of blonde hair, when she was a short-cropped brunette by the end of the movie. It's almost as though the entire movie was rolled back out of existence. =^_^=