Disney princess movies are some of the most popular animated movies ever. Most people have seen at least some of these movies, and they have been being made for decades. With so many Disney Princesses, there are a variety of stories and plots and personalities for each character. However, as a whole, there are some issues with Disney princess movies. Many people have pointed out that there are some issues with these films that haven’t aged well.
Here are the ten things about Disney princesses movies that haven’t aged that well on reflection.
Some of the storylines suggest a woman should change herself to get a man to love her
While some of the recent Disney princess movies might focus on the princess and her own journey, many of these movies over the years have focused too much on the romantic aspect.
While there’s nothing wrong with having romantic storylines, some of these stories are about the princess changing herself for a man. The biggest example of this is definitely Ariel, but it also happens in subtle ways in other princess stories.
The fact that none of the princesses have realistic body shapes
One thing that many people have pointed out in recent years is that the Disney princesses are never made to have realistic body proportions. The vast majority of the princesses are quite thin in rather unrealistic ways.
Even their faces tend to look rather similar, with a few exceptions, and this is a problem. This sends the message that women need to look for one particular way to be considered beautiful or good enough.
Some studies suggest that watching these movies promotes harmful gender stereotypes
One of the reasons that people look so critically at these movies is because they are largely marketed to young children, especially little girls. The media kids consume at a young age impacts how they view themselves and the world. There is at least some evidence suggesting that watching these movies can have a negative impact on how girls view themselves.
It can encourage them to internalize gender roles and stereotypes that limit what they think girls are able to do.
With the exception of a few newer princesses, the stories still rely heavily on the princess finding a man
One positive thing about some of the recent princess movies is that they don’t revolve around romance at all. The two biggest examples are Merida and Moana, but Elsa is another princess who isn’t given a romantic storyline.
While this is an improvement, there are still many of these movies over the years where the entire plot revolves around the princess finding her prince charming. Luckily, this seems to be changing.
Ariel literally gives up her voice to get her prince
While there are some overall problems with the Disney princess movies, there are also some specific examples that haven’t aged well. The older movies such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are a problem because these princesses barely have any personality or motivations of their own, but even some of the Disney renaissance princesses have a lot of issues.
The fact that Ariel literally gives up her voice in order to try and get a man is definitely messed up.
Belle falls in love and stays with an abusive and unstable man
This is another problematic aspect of a specific Disney princess movie. While Beauty and the Beast isn’t even close to the oldest princess movie, it has some really weird aspects. The biggest problem is that Beast literally shows to be controlling, angry, and borderline abusive. But, Belle falls in love and stays with him anyway.
There is a message that says that a good woman can change a bad man, and this is a horrible message to send. It definitely is super disturbing given how common domestic violence is.
The damsel in distress stereotype
Another overall issue of Disney princess movies that hasn’t aged well is how many of the princesses are damsels in distress.
While this has gotten better as the years have gone on with more recent princesses being very capable, many of the older movies portray women as damsels waiting to be saved by a prince. Practically all of the movies before Mulan have some element of this stereotype, and Disney still has a ways to go to make up for this.
The whole kissing people when they’re asleep thing
In recent years, another thing that many parents have pointed out is that showing a man kissing a sleeping woman is weird. This happens in both Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. This isn’t a good example of what consent should look like.
There is also the fact that many of these movies don’t really show people asking each other if they can kiss before they do it. It’s only in recent movies where some element of consent is included.
There are very few princesses of color
While over time there have been more princesses of color, there still are some issues with representation. Many people were rightfully upset with the fact that the only black princess was turned into a cute animal for most of her movie.
This is a common issue in animated movies with black characters, and it is definitely strange that it’s the only Disney princess movie where the princess spends most of the movie as an animal.
Most of the princesses are teenagers
One of the weirdest things about Disney princesses isn’t super apparent if you’re just watching the movies. While their ages aren’t always spelled out in the films, the fact is that most of these princesses are really young.
The majority of them aren’t even 18 years old. In fact, the only Disney princess who is older than 20 is Elsa. It’s rather disturbing that so many of the older princesses were 16 or younger and that their stories revolved around falling in love.
