I Love Disney

Sorry, I know how rare it is for either of us to post two blogs in the same day, but I REALLY needed to say something about Feministing's "Disney Princess" blog. Watch the video, I almost died laughing.

It's Hilarious

However, I did notice quite a few comments bashing Disney women, particularly Ariel. They were saying how much they hated the Little Mermaid because Ariel's not a strong, independent character or whatever. You know, Ariel's not a feminist, so she's a stupid character, I guess. Come on, the video is satire.

No matter how hard I try, it's almost impossible for me to find anti-feminist themes in the Little Mermaid. After all, didn't Ariel SAVE the prince, risk her life to become human (sorry, even I don't think having them cut out her tongue like in the original story would be appropriate. Perhaps if it was made more for adults.) Not to mention she attacked Ursula, despite the fact that Ursula had, like, all the power in the sea at her fingertips.

I'm not watching Disney movies, hoping to find feminist themes everywhere. I'm watching because I enjoy the gorgeous hand-drawn animation.

Many of the commenters brought up Mulan. Yes, Mulan is my favorite Disney movie, and I DO think she has a bit more backbone than someone like Aurora or Cinderella.

HOWEVER, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella were both made in the 50s, when the ideal model of a woman was a docile beauty who worked in the household without question. You can't expect every Disney princess to join the army and save their country. Then Disney would be even more formula-matic than it already is. Snow White was in the thirties, just after women even got the right to friggin' vote. Disney himself supervised all three of these movies, and these were the kinds of women he grew up with.

All I'm saying is, go easy on children's movies. I grew up in the second "Golden Age" of Disney, and I'm a feminist. Disney is not subconsciously trying to make our daughters/future daughters subservient housewives.

But if you'd like a list of children's films with strong, female characters, I'd be more than willing to give you a list.
1. Mulan
2. Secret of NIMH
3. Chicken Run
4. Kiki's Delivery Service
5. The Rescuers

This is why I should be President.

-BJ