Disney Princess Research Paper

From Disney’s feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, through to many of its princess movies, the female protagonist is reliant on a male counterpart as either their goal or last hope. For example, Ariel in The Little Mermaid sacrifices her voice for a far off prince and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty can only be awoken by a kiss from one. However, as public opinions in society changed, Disney also shifted it focus when it came to dealing with female leads. To do this, they scripted strong and independent women, who could rely on themselves, rather than on some glorified man. Although transcendentalism does not solely focus on females when it comes to its ideals, the practice of self-reliance by these modern Disney princesses is in direct

I have chose to write my final discussion on the newest Disney movie Moanna. Moanna was the classic example of someone going through the Heros Journey. Although she already is held higher than most though because she is the daughter of the chief, so ultimately the next leader. She always longing for more. Her grandmother is the one that pushes her to go follow her heart, When the tribe is in trouble Moanna goes to the call of the journey to find Maui who is a shapeshifter. Maui was all about himself and did not care to help Monna help her tribe. Monna ends up helping Maui when he needs it the most, he teaches her how to sail and continue their journey. They are defeated though by a monster. Maui goes on about his way and Moanna is lost. Defeated

Moana contains many themes connected to the idea that nature is an escape from corrupt society. For example, Moana faces many problems on her island, such as the fear she will not make her father proud as the next chief, and the physical problems with the island not producing enough food to sustain its citizens. Therefore, Moana will often escape to the beach to be with her grandmother, who taught her to “dance” with the waves (Moana 2016). Moana uses the ocean as an escape from her problems in her home, and her society which does not accept her love for the ocean. Such a belief that nature can be an escape from problems is very transcendentalist. Next, Moana has to travel across the ocean to achieve her goal of restoring the heart of Te Fiti and saving her island. The ocean actually

The song “How Far I’ll Go”, sung by Disney’s Moana, clearly represents the Romantic period. Moana is brought up on an island, but is unhappy because she feels constantly pulled back by her father, the chief of the island. Moana has always felt a strong connection to the water, so when there is an opportunity for her to sailon the forbidden ocean, she jumps to the occasion. The song “How Far I’ll Go, sung by Disney’s Moana most clearly depicts the ideas of the Romantic period in the 21st century by expressing the concept of celebrating the individual.

Like boys, girls also face issues regarding their physical representation in Disney films, there are also other feminist issues in the movies. Two Disney movies that are hailed for their progressiveness in feminism are Frozen and Brave. Disney Princesses often end

Moana is a unique film that is released by Walt Disney in 2016. A typical Disney film consists of a beautiful princess who wants to find a true love in her life; however, Moana, the main character of the film, broke all the stereotypes and expectations of a Disney princess since Moana’s conflict does not arise from a love interest, but from a desire to save her island. The story of the movie is that there is a girl who lives on the island, but her island is dying because Maui stole the heart of Te Fiti. Therefore, her purpose is to across the ocean to find Maui and make him return the heart of Te Fiti in order to restore life on the Motunui Island, but the chief of the island “ her father “ wishes for their people to stay within the confines of the island’s reef because he thinks beyond the reef is dangerous, but Moana went against her father’s

In the middle of the film the death of Moanas grandmother triggers her to go on a journey to restore the heart of Motunui. This can be represented by the archetype plot journey because now Moana has to return the heart she was gifted as a child. On her deathbed she gives Moana the heart for her to find Maui and return it back to Motunui. Her mother then finds her packing and getting ready to leave, then then helps her on her way. In the film Moana the grandmother sends Moana out to sea to find Maui and return the heart. When leaving her mother finds out and helps her, the was a very emotional moment for the both of them. This shows that Moana is a very caring person, because after her grandmother's death she is heartbroken when she passes. After she finds the boat of her ancestors she is convinced that they were voyagers, these boats brought her adventurous side back to life. After hearing this news her father is furious and threatens to burn the boats, but something life changing happens in the meantime.

Traditionally, Disney tales have a common character that their princesses or princes’ curses need to be broken by the spell through a kiss love, so the dream becomes a reality. Move over, the first feature-length animated film which we knew from Disney; the Snow White and Seven Dwarves. Jasmine the princess and Aladdin the street boy both they had chemistry and realized their wishes against Jaffar and Mead-Est culture. Passing over the fabulous story of Ratatouille; However, Alfredo Linguini and Remy that is the story about rejected one according is status, who couldn’t cook. Disney animated movies blend social diversity through their tales, but they didn’t realize to go so far until they see the first African – American president in the White House, Disney made a First American princess who is black. Even though Disney cast their first black princess; The Frog and the Princess. It was a controversial animated movie for some people because all Disney white princesses married white princes. But, Disney claimed this one, they wanted the Frog and the Princess; the Prince Naveen of Maldonia a white from the frog and Tania the waitress a black girl that story happened in New Orleans the Jazz city and voodoo. This one movie stands for diversity.

For decades now, Disney Corporation has been providing us with countless films made to delight and amuse children and adults alike. But not all Disney films seem particularly appropriate for their target audience. Many of these films portray violence, gender inequality, and skewed views of leadership roles that seem altogether inappropriate for impressionable young children. Better and more contemporary heroines need to be added to Disney’s wall of princesses in order to counteract years of sexism.

If you are looking for a reason to watch “Moana”, the review in the New York Times “Did You Just Call Me a Princess?” will not likely ignite the desire. The author, Scott, A O., focuses on the brand of Disney more so than the movie by referencing Disney’s marketing a few different times throughout the article. To be fair, he does mention some key elements about the movie such as the storyline, the folklore music, the characters and specifically the sidekick Heihei. However, he takes you back to thinking about Disney, as opposed to “Moana”, by referencing the similarities between Heihei and Becky, the sidekick in “Finding Dory”. He continuously turns it right back around to a Disney theme versus specifically focusing on this movie. To ensure the message is delivered, he concluded the article with

Moana has lived beneath the waves for so long she can’t remember what it was like to be human. She knows they're to blame for the poison leeching into her waters and she’ll do anything to save her father, even if it means taking lives. But when Moana lures Jake into the ocean, something about him stays her hand. This young mortal makes her feel alive again, and what’s more, she has a feeling she can use him for more than just his blood.

Unlike most Disney films, the story behind Moana is not just a fictional fantasy, the 3D computer film is also based on ancient Hawaiian-Polynesian mythology. The award winning film, for best animated feature, tells the story of a daredevil, young girl Moana, accompanied by her dim-witted rooster HeiHei, sailing for a mission in hopes of returning the heart of Te Fiti, to restore back the beauty of the ocean and islands of Hawaii. In search of doing so, she meets the arrogant, strong and witty Maui who was the root of creation of the islands as well as destruction, in result of stealing the heart belonging to Te Fitte, goddess of the ocean. The dynamic connection between the two deepens as the story unfolds, revealing Moana to be one of Disney’s

influences around them. The role models would impart on the young girls the necessary standards to compare themselves to learn their intrinsic worth and fight the opinion that women are inferior to men. Many times they look to the media for such influences. Disney princesses have for decades been the representation little girls see; however, not all of them are positive. The Disney Princess brand is broken down into three generations, or waves. The first generation, including Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora, perpetuate sexism because they teach young girls that their value lies in their beauty and their relationship with a man. The second wave

In the Disney movie, “Moana,” the main character demonstrates her personal strength as a woman capable of determining her own future. “Moana” breaks the typical Disney mold of a princess being associated with a prince as the main character. Moana realizes she has the sole power within herself to take the lead role to save her village by returning the Heart of Te Fiti. The Heart of Te Fiti is what gives the world and most importantly her people’s island life. When the Heart of Te Fiti was stolen by demi-god Maui the world fell to darkness and the island began to deteriorate. The pop culture aspect of female empowerment is exemplified in the scene where Moana is visited by her deceased grandmother, Gramma Tala, after a moment of self-doubt about being able to return the Heart of Te Fiti in order to save her people and island. In the scene Gramma Tala is deceased but visits Moana in the form of a vision. Moana envisions her people sailing the sea and her father upon one of the ships. Moana was struggling with finding her inner self and utilizes her visit from Gramma Tala, to acknowledge her self-power. In the movie Moana, the “I am Moana” scene exemplifies the current cultural theme of female empowerment being actualized when the main character, Moana realizes her own inner strength after understanding her cultural heritage, receiving inspiration from her grandmother, and embracing her role in building her future.

In Sleeping Beauty, the Prince is portrayed a strong and courageous person, he can be seen as a great character because he overcomes many obstacles to be able to help the Princess survive. Although Sleeping Beauty is a fairy tale and is stereotypically more admired by girls, the masculine tale might be liked by the male population because they aspire to be the male hero. Maleficent shows the feminine tale and warns the girls that not men cannot be trusted in some cases, and that there is no need to have a man by your side. A woman can survive on their own using her own intelligence and courage to overcome any obstacle that she might face. For the female population, this change is very important because this “hero” story helps us relate to the character and our desire to do great and special acts (Seger 387). This film proved that a woman is capable of defeating evil, and brings a new perspective into Disney